I just keep repeating "I love my pool, I LOVE my pool!" but lately it has been a pain in the nether regions. Three months ago, my Mineral Springs system display stopped working. Hayward acquired this company shortly after my pool was built, and they have changed the system so I can no longer get the part to fix it. I ordered one, but it was different when I got it, and I've been round and round with a Hayward rep who INSISTS that the part has never changed, even though I send pics of my part and the one they sent that did not fit. So I've abandoned the Mineral Springs and have been doing chlorine.
Winter months after the first of March, when my swim team is no longer practicing and I'm forehead deep in tax returns, the pool doesn't really get used March 1- mid-April. The solar cover stays on, the heat in the building is turned down to 60ish, and the pool heater is turned off. I still run the pump about 8 hours a day, and check chemicals and adjust as needed once a week. This year the balance has stayed pretty good until this week. I went out to turn on the heater, uncover the pool and clean it and the pH is low (it's NEVER low, usually I have to lower it about once a month because it gets above 7.6. When I went to turn on the heater it gave me a code LO. I called the heating and air guys who have worked on my heater for the past five years and they came out. They've had to clean it periodically and change out some parts, but this time he checked everything and said the exchanger is clogged and can't be fixed. This will be the 3rd exchanger for this heater since it was new 8 years ago. I'm trying to figure out why that would be? The first time it failed, the whole pool and equipment were less than three years old. I've always tried to keep everything balanced perfectly and with everything inside a building, it seemed to me that the conditions for everything are ideal for long life. Instead I've had real problems, especially with this heater. I made such a fuss with Hayward that they actually sent me a new exchanger no charge, and my heating and air guys installed it maybe three years ago. And now this?
Please give me some insight -- why would it fail so often? And with the price at almost $900 for a new one, am I better off to just replace the whole heater? And what are your recommendations for brand? I'm currently pretty fed up with Hayward. I've read through some of the threads on here about heaters, and feel I need to share some info with you about how my pool is used so you can give me advice based on my situation. My pool is used at least 9-10 months of the year. I have a small USA team that practices here and I teach lessons, so the pool is used 4-8 hours a day 4-6 days a week during those months. I have a solar heating system that keeps the water pretty warm when it's over 80 outside, but even then I turn the heater on for lessons since I need the water about 86 degrees for the youngest swimmers. The pump and heater are on timers that turn them on and off again, and I run both about 8-10 hours a day, depending on how much use the pool is getting.
I appreciate any help that's given and want you to know that I adopted your system about 4 years ago, and it has saved me a TON of money, and I thank you for that. Too bad more pool owners don't know about your methods!
Winter months after the first of March, when my swim team is no longer practicing and I'm forehead deep in tax returns, the pool doesn't really get used March 1- mid-April. The solar cover stays on, the heat in the building is turned down to 60ish, and the pool heater is turned off. I still run the pump about 8 hours a day, and check chemicals and adjust as needed once a week. This year the balance has stayed pretty good until this week. I went out to turn on the heater, uncover the pool and clean it and the pH is low (it's NEVER low, usually I have to lower it about once a month because it gets above 7.6. When I went to turn on the heater it gave me a code LO. I called the heating and air guys who have worked on my heater for the past five years and they came out. They've had to clean it periodically and change out some parts, but this time he checked everything and said the exchanger is clogged and can't be fixed. This will be the 3rd exchanger for this heater since it was new 8 years ago. I'm trying to figure out why that would be? The first time it failed, the whole pool and equipment were less than three years old. I've always tried to keep everything balanced perfectly and with everything inside a building, it seemed to me that the conditions for everything are ideal for long life. Instead I've had real problems, especially with this heater. I made such a fuss with Hayward that they actually sent me a new exchanger no charge, and my heating and air guys installed it maybe three years ago. And now this?
Please give me some insight -- why would it fail so often? And with the price at almost $900 for a new one, am I better off to just replace the whole heater? And what are your recommendations for brand? I'm currently pretty fed up with Hayward. I've read through some of the threads on here about heaters, and feel I need to share some info with you about how my pool is used so you can give me advice based on my situation. My pool is used at least 9-10 months of the year. I have a small USA team that practices here and I teach lessons, so the pool is used 4-8 hours a day 4-6 days a week during those months. I have a solar heating system that keeps the water pretty warm when it's over 80 outside, but even then I turn the heater on for lessons since I need the water about 86 degrees for the youngest swimmers. The pump and heater are on timers that turn them on and off again, and I run both about 8-10 hours a day, depending on how much use the pool is getting.
I appreciate any help that's given and want you to know that I adopted your system about 4 years ago, and it has saved me a TON of money, and I thank you for that. Too bad more pool owners don't know about your methods!
