Mastertemp 400 heater problem

[JoyfulNoise]

Centerpoint Gas says "If you are requesting a meter upgrade for a generator or pool installation, the generator or pool heater must be installed and regulated."

They are the gas supplier so they operate under the rules they establish and the equipment they provide. However, your pool heater operates as a low pressure appliance (~ 7-11” WC dynamic gas pressure and 400CFM flow rate). That gas flow can be provided at low pressure (~12-14” WC) or high pressure (1/2 psi) at the meter.

I would have the gas company send out a technician to look at your setup and give you advice on what is needed. You have a very short run from the meter to the heater and you can easily be supplied with high or low pressure gas. The only issue is you would need to add the appropriate regulator at the heater to drop the gas pressure down to what is required by the appliance. All the appliances in your home are low pressure as well so you would need an additional regulator on the pipe that goes into your house.

 

[ajw22]

Centerpoint Gas says "If you are requesting a meter upgrade for a generator or pool installation, the generator or pool heater must be installed and regulated."

That is fine. There will be a regulator between the gas meter and the house service.

 

[jsoto58]

That is fine. There will be a regulator between the gas meter and the house service.

Just for clarification, the meter is only 5' from the heater. The line T's before going into the brick and branches off to the Heater.
Plumber said I need a regulator at heater and also for the house.
Plumber has to pull a permit before Gas company will come out to install larger meter.
$90 for permit (Houston), $$ for Plumber and $350 for upgraded Meter by Centerpoint.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just for clarification, the meter is only 5' from the heater. The line T's before going into the brick and branches off to the Heater.
Plumber said I need a regulator at heater and also for the house.
Plumber has to pull a permit before Gas company will come out to install larger meter.
$90 for permit (Houston), $$ for Plumber and $350 for upgraded Meter by Centerpoint.

That is correct. The gas company only changes their equipment. You are responsible for everything else. Whoever installed the pool/pool heater did not do their job correctly. They should have checked the meter for its flow rate and then had it upgraded as part of the pool build / heater installation.

 

[jsoto58]

Just to resurrect this post, I got my Gas Meter upgraded to a larger size by Centerpoint in Houston. It is a 2# reduce to heater via regulator. My heater was not working prior to the meter upgrade and it really confused me. It was working several months before, but not after about 3-4 months being idle. I had no error lights on the panel, but No Ignition and the Fenwal flashed 3x. I did change the Igniter, but no luck.

Well, since the Gas meter was changed and new regulator installed to heater, my heater works now (previous meter I did not have a regulator at heater). I don't know if the gas pressure/volume is better now or what, but I am in business now.

Any thoughts?

 

[ajw22]

We see many 400 BTU heaters installed with 250CFM gas meters that run into the same problem you had. Some work for a while and then when something changes with the gas service the heater stops working.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just to resurrect this post, I got my Gas Meter upgraded to a larger size by Centerpoint in Houston. It is a 2# reduce to heater via regulator. My heater was not working prior to the meter upgrade and it really confused me. It was working several months before, but not after about 3-4 months being idle. I had no error lights on the panel, but No Ignition and the Fenwal flashed 3x. I did change the Igniter, but no luck.

Well, since the Gas meter was changed and new regulator installed to heater, my heater works now (previous meter I did not have a regulator at heater). I don't know if the gas pressure/volume is better now or what, but I am in business now.

Any thoughts?

If the gas pressure falls too low during operation, the heater will fail. If the pressure isn’t current at startup, the heater will not start. Incorrect gas pressure causes lots of weird problems that look like something else. That is why the very first thing TFP typically recommends is to determine what gas supply you have and what equipment is using and delivering that supply. Pool installers are HORRIBLE at this part of the design and build process because they simply don’t take the time to understand the customers need and they very often leave it up to their plumbing sub to figure out. If the plumbing subcontractor isn’t a NATE certified contractor that deals with gas appliances, then they rarely have the experience to do it correctly.