Heater Recommendation

[IA_Pool]

After getting our 27' Round Optimum up and running this summer, we would now like to invest in a propane heater. Our local stores carry Pentair heaters, but we have heard that larger Raypak is the way to go. If we do get a Raypak, is there a recommendation for a reputable online vendor?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You have all Pentair equipment so it would make sense to go with a MasterTemp. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a Pentair, they are a good heater. The difference between a MasterTemp and a Raypak is that the MasterTemp is a forced air heater which means that the fuel and air are mixed using a blower and forced into the combustion chamber where it ignites and heats the coils up. A Raypak is a simpler burner tray convection heater where gas is ignited at the bottom in a flame tray and the hot air generated flows upwards through the heat exchanger and out the top. Pentair’s are more expensive to fix if the blower motor dies (rare) but Raypaks can suffer from flame roll out into the cabinet if you get a lot of high winds around your pool. Raypak sells different chimney stacks to cope with flame roll out but proper placement of the Raypak heater is much more of an issue.

If your local shop sells Pentair, then it might be a better option to buy through them, get the full 2 year warranty (they may be able to extend it to to 3 years for you) and then have a relationship with a local shop for repairs. It’s very hard to find service techs willing to work on pool heaters and some places won’t touch a pool heater unless you bought it from them.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Raypak’s are great. But sometimes there’s other considerations that need to be taken into account.

 

[IA_Pool]

You have all Pentair equipment so it would make sense to go with a MasterTemp. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a Pentair, they are a good heater. The difference between a MasterTemp and a Raypak is that the MasterTemp is a forced air heater which means that the fuel and air are mixed using a blower and forced into the combustion chamber where it ignites and heats the coils up. A Raypak is a simpler burner tray convection heater where gas is ignited at the bottom in a flame tray and the hot air generated flows upwards through the heat exchanger and out the top. Pentair’s are more expensive to fix if the blower motor dies (rare) but Raypaks can suffer from flame roll out into the cabinet if you get a lot of high winds around your pool. Raypak sells different chimney stacks to cope with flame roll out but proper placement of the Raypak heater is much more of an issue.

If your local shop sells Pentair, then it might be a better option to buy through them, get the full 2 year warranty (they may be able to extend it to to 3 years for you) and then have a relationship with a local shop for repairs. It’s very hard to find service techs willing to work on pool heaters and some places won’t touch a pool heater unless you bought it from them.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Raypak’s are great. But sometimes there’s other considerations that need to be taken into account.

Thank you - this is really helpful insight!