Raypak Heater 266A - 266,000 BTUs - Leave it ON?

[Litespeed]

My question is, can I leave my Raypak heater on all the time? For example, I have the pump schedule to go on at a certain time, and then it's off overnight, coming back on in the morning. I have the heater set to 78 degrees. Will it damage the heater if the water flow stops for several hours given the pump schedule? My assumption is that the water pressure switch in the heater will make sure that the heater isn't heating when there isn't sufficient water flow. Is that true?

My hope is that by setting the pump to run at certain speeds at certain times, I can basically use the heater's water pressure switch to control when the heater kicks on and off, depending on pump circulation speeds.

 

[IceShadow]

Correct, water pressure switch should stop the heater when the pump stops. If it doesn't it's a pretty severe safety issue as it is, because pumps can go out unexpectedly.

 

[1poolman1]

Pressure switch is part of the safety system on a heater. It really shouldn't be used for this purpose. While it will work as you ask, if it fails the heater will not turn off, and that is not pretty (I think I still have pictures). It is much better to have a timer send power to the heater in conjunction with the run time of the pump.