Help with new Pool Heater

[ramsfan]

View attachment 67045Hello! I currently have a 10 year old heater, that needs replacement. When we moved in, the pool had not been used in quite some time, so many things required repair and/or cleaning. The heater seemed to work well the first year, then late last year, it started to go on and off intermittently, and more concerning there were times when the gas would build up outside the heater and ignite at once, causing a rather loud boom. We found a leak in the pilot tubing, had that replaced, and everything worked well for a year, and now we are having all sorts of issues. At this point, I don't want to continue to try and repair this unit, as it is significantly damaged due to salt water corrosion and rust (photo below)

Here are my questions, I am open to any and all advice....

My pool guy, whom I like, is recommending a RayPak 406k BTU. I did some research on this site, and this unit is very well liked. Before I buy and have it installed (it is around $3k installed), I just want to make sure there aren't any other great ideas or options.

Second, if you look at the photo of my current heater, you will see fairly significant damage to the bottom area, and that corrosion is very noticeable inside the unit as well. I believe this to be due to the salt water that comes out of my pool equipment rather frequently.

When we first moved in, I did some things to try and reduce the amount of salt water that would come in contact with the pool. For example, the backwash drain emptied right at the heater. I added a 15 foot piece of tubing to divert that down the yard. This was the biggest change, but even with that and other changes, there is still salt water that flows down and comes in contact with the heater (small leaks in the joints, when I got to empty the pump basket, when we changed the salt water generator, etc...)

I would think it best to elevate the new heater a few inches off that concrete slab to allow any salt water to flow below it, but that might also require re-plumbing of the water and gas lines, so that they "line up".

Has anyone had similar issue, or does anyone have any good ideas to remedy this salt water coming in contact with a heater issue? I would like the new heater to last a long time, so those are the tips I am looking for. Thank you all in advance!

 

[ps0303]

Yes I would vote for a Raypak. Same as the RUUD that you have now. The new units have feet on them so I see no real need to raise it any more off the ground. Also the newer units have a stainless steel floor panel on them so less likely to rust away on the inside.

Sounds like if people had been draining the pool right at the heater, that would cause the unit to rust away. Sounds like you fixed that though. Get all of your leaks taken care of.

 

[ramsfan]

Thanks for advice, and for the great information about the changes made to the units!

Looking at another thread here, there is a discussion about the size and length of pipe that is required for certain BTU levels of heater. I can assume that 10 years ago, the correct pipe was used, but I would also like to validate that. Is that a DIY thing, where I can measure the pipe, and then check the manufacturers specifications?

Thanks!

 

[Ted527]

There are charts online for btu capacity of pipe sizes. Need to go by ID for gas piping.

 

[kadavis]

It looks like you have a 2 stage regulator at the heater, if that's the case the line can actually be smaller to heater. Is this propane?

 

[JoeGolan]

Do you have an irrigation system and does one of the heads hit the equipment?

Depending on above and if water for it is from a well....there may be additional salt/corrosive elements coming from irrigation system.

 

[ramsfan]

It looks like you have a 2 stage regulator at the heater, if that's the case the line can actually be smaller to heater. Is this propane?

Natural gas from the utility is the gas supply.

Super newbie question, so the two stage gas regulator that you see, is that something that just works, or does that need to be checked out before (or during) heater replacement?

 

[ramsfan]

Do you have an irrigation system and does one of the heads hit the equipment?

Depending on above and if water for it is from a well....there may be additional salt/corrosive elements coming from irrigation system.

I do have an irrigation system that is serviced with well water, but I am honestly not sure if water hits in this area. I will definitely check that out. I do believe that the salt water discharge from back flow was the major cause of the corrosion. There is a PVC pipe now that runs along behind the heater, and I also added a 15 foot blue plastic hose, that diverts the water far away. None of that was present before, so in the past, discharged salt water was literally flowing right into the heater bottom several inches up.

I also did some research, and they make covers for these, so I will invest in one of them for the new heater, as we have about a six month pool season, and honestly only use the heater for a one month period early, and one month later in the season - plus maybe one time during an unusual cold period during summer.

 

[ps0303]

I don't like putting covers on these but since you probably have an actual winter, snow maybe, I guess it would be wise. Also, you want to make sure the unit is winterized as well. Meaning to make sure no water is left inside the unit as it could freeze and cause the heat exchanger to burst.

No the regulator does not need any servicing or checking. They work or they don't and 99% of the time they work for 20+ years without needing to be changed.

Yes you could do the install yourself but the previous installer changed the headers around so the water came in on the left side instead of the normal right hand side. So you would either have to do the same change to the new unit or you would have to re pipe the water to come on on the right hand side. I caution you on changing the headers yourself.

 

[ramsfan]

I don't like putting covers on these but since you probably have an actual winter, snow maybe, I guess it would be wise. Also, you want to make sure the unit is winterized as well. Meaning to make sure no water is left inside the unit as it could freeze and cause the heat exchanger to burst.

No the regulator does not need any servicing or checking. They work or they don't and 99% of the time they work for 20+ years without needing to be changed.

Yes you could do the install yourself but the previous installer changed the headers around so the water came in on the left side instead of the normal right hand side. So you would either have to do the same change to the new unit or you would have to re pipe the water to come on on the right hand side. I caution you on changing the headers yourself.

Thanks Paul - just to clarify, I did not mean I was interested in doing the install myself, I just meant can I check the regulator myself, but you answered that.

I am definitely hiring a contractor to do the heater install, thanks for the feedback on the regulator and the headers!