Possibly Damaged Heater from TX Freeze - Fixed

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DogtownTX

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May 30, 2012
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Houston, TX
Everything seems to have made it out fine from the freeze except maybe the 400k BTU Hayward heater (the most expensive bit). The heater is dripping water at the moment, could be ice is still in it as this is the first time I've run it since the freeze. Assuming the worst and it's a cracked pipe in there, and assuming also that only the water path is compromised, can these things be repaired? Or is a full unit replacement the only way forward?

Thanks!
 
It is gushing water out when running or do you see drips? It could be condensation. My pool water hit 40degs over last several days but a little higher today. So just the heat with the very cool water could be one answer.
I assume you had your pool circulating during the freezing temperatures thus you had water going through your heater. Did you notice any water seeping out then? If not, this may be more of a condensation issue.
 
Thanks Herman. It's dripping at the moment, no gushing. And it was running for the first day of the freeze, then the power went out, so day 2 was no protection. Day 3 I did some reading and saw I needed to open the drain valve which I did. But no much poured out. Though I had also drained the filter tank and pumps by that point.
 
DogtownTX said:
Water flows from underneath within a few seconds of turning the pumps on, after being off for more than 12 hours. Looks like a leak, not condensation, have a repair guy coming this week.
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Unfortunately it does appear to be a leak but you will know more once the service person is there. You can take the sides off to get a better view of the coils or just wait till the person arrives. Great that you were able to get a person out soon as I am sure pool service people are just as busy as plumbers for homes.
 
Ktown said:
A pool guy or plumber is needed to check the pool heater? I have the same issue after the freeze.
Click to expand...

Depends on the model heater and how good you are at wrenching.
 
Turned out the header slightly separated from the heat exchanger, likely due to ice. It was leaking around where I circled in the picture, but just behind that cover, and dripping out from below.

The repair guy replaced an o-ring, secured the parts back together and no more leaks. About the best case this side of no problems at all.

Screenshot 2021-02-24 214205.png
 
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