heater rusted out

[drrayb]

We have a 23 (lol) year old 200btu gas heater. She still works! I did replace pressure switch last year but that was it.

We switched the pool to SWG 2 years ago. Last year at closing I found chunks of rust in the salt cell which is past the heater. I stuck an inspection camera into the heater to find the elements are thoroughly caked in rust.
I suppose this happened as a consequence of the salt, breakdown of protective coating over time, etc.

Anyways, it has to be changed now and that's not a cheap proposition (5-6k canadian)
our current swimming patterns are infrequent - 2-3 times per week, and I've turned the heater on a few hours in advance of swimming in the past
We don't have a solar cover but I am going to buy one this year

questions:
- we live in Toronto, Canada, and the pool gets decent afternoon sun from about noon onwards. Would you opt for a heat pump or another gas heater (I have heard the gas heaters are less reliable these days, and I do expect the cost of gas to keep going up). for either option, do you have a preferred brand?
- is it a disaster if i keep the pump running through this heater until the new one arrives? would there be detrimental effects of the rust being circulated through the pool water? should I bypass the heater?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PoolGate]

What exactly is rusting? Usually the heat exchanger is copper. 23 years is a long time though!

Switching to saltwater had little to do with the rust. Your water was most likely near what a SWG requires anyway.

You are not going to be happy with a heat pump coming from gas. They simply take too long to heat and will not extend your season (if you do that).

If you are not using the heater and can bypass it, I would. I suppose you could plumb in a bypass if you don't have one. But if you are going to replace the heater, just accelerate that purchase and have the installer do a bypass.

 

[Bperry]

We have a 23 (lol) year old 200btu gas heater. She still works! I did replace pressure switch last year but that was it.

We switched the pool to SWG 2 years ago. Last year at closing I found chunks of rust in the salt cell which is past the heater. I stuck an inspection camera into the heater to find the elements are thoroughly caked in rust.
I suppose this happened as a consequence of the salt, breakdown of protective coating over time, etc.

Anyways, it has to be changed now and that's not a cheap proposition (5-6k canadian)
our current swimming patterns are infrequent - 2-3 times per week, and I've turned the heater on a few hours in advance of swimming in the past
We don't have a solar cover but I am going to buy one this year

questions:
- we live in Toronto, Canada, and the pool gets decent afternoon sun from about noon onwards. Would you opt for a heat pump or another gas heater (I have heard the gas heaters are less reliable these days, and I do expect the cost of gas to keep going up). for either option, do you have a preferred brand?
- is it a disaster if i keep the pump running through this heater until the new one arrives? would there be detrimental effects of the rust being circulated through the pool water? should I bypass the heater?

Thanks in advance!

I had the exact same thing happen, but only 23-ish years old. But I realized I never drained the heater during the winter freezes either and so water sitting stagnant in there was likely contributing to the rust. Remove it from the plumbing until it’s replaced.

 

[drrayb]

What exactly is rusting? Usually the heat exchanger is copper. 23 years is a long time though!

Switching to saltwater had little to do with the rust. Your water was most likely near what a SWG requires anyway.

You are not going to be happy with a heat pump coming from gas. They simply take too long to heat and will not extend your season (if you do that).

If you are not using the heater and can bypass it, I would. I suppose you could plumb in a bypass if you don't have one. But if you are going to replace the heater, just accelerate that purchase and have the installer do a bypass.

thanks for the reply. looks like its the inlet outlet header (jandy lite 2) which appears to be solid iron or steel...in fact other bolts and stuff were already rusted/seized to the heater when we bought the house, but only on year 2 after salt conversion did i find rust hunks behind the salt cell. so who knows

id have to plumb the bypass myself... whats the worst case of running that rusty water for a season?


also, unrelated, but if i removed the heater i would reconfigure the whole pad to remove some needless elbows. would you guys advise changing from sand to cartridge filter also?

 

[PoolGate]

thanks for the reply. looks like its the inlet outlet header (jandy lite 2) which appears to be solid iron or steel...in fact other bolts and stuff were already rusted/seized to the heater when we bought the house, but only on year 2 after salt conversion did i find rust hunks behind the salt cell. so who knows

id have to plumb the bypass myself... whats the worst case of running that rusty water for a season?


also, unrelated, but if i removed the heater i would reconfigure the whole pad to remove some needless elbows. would you guys advise changing from sand to cartridge filter also?

Oh 100% I would change to cartridge. I hate sand/DE. These IMO are totally obsolete filter technologies. Holdovers from days long gone when people thought the filter is what made the water clear. I clean my cartridges twice. Once after the pollen is done and at the end of the season.

If your heater still works, you could try just running it. That little bit of rust isn't going to hurt anything. And yes, when you do finally replace it, take the opportunity to re-plumb the entire pad.