Hello! Hoping someone can help guide us here. We have a Raypak propane heater that heats a 42 X 16 fiberglass pool and a 10 X 10 hot tub. We have had the same issue over and over and the heater is only one year old. We have had the error code “rollout SW open” 3 or 4 times in the last few weeks. It has been cleaned by the pool company, we added a fence as a wind block, and the pool company has ordered an enhanced part (I think a regulator) because they thought excess wind was the problem. Now they are saying that the propane company needs to audit the pressures because our flame is yellow/orange instead of blue. Propane company is coming tomorrow am. We have also had some light smoke at times. Any help would be great? I’m not sure that our pool company really knows how to correct this issue and we have been unable to use it for 3 weeks. Worried we won’t be able to use the pool either this weekend when the temp looks favorable. Any help would be great!!
Raypak: “Rollout SW Open”
- Thread starter OhioSunshine
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,888
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
Yellow/orange flame is indicative of an air/gas mixture imbalance. Gas flames should be blue. Problem could be the gas pressure or it could be poor airflow.
Anything special about the location of the heater? Indoors? Under a deck?
Someone who is knowledgeable about the burner system should check it for proper parts, assembly, and cleaning.
@ps0303 @Pool Clown @swamprat69 ideas?
Yellow/orange flame is indicative of an air/gas mixture imbalance. Gas flames should be blue. Problem could be the gas pressure or it could be poor airflow.
Anything special about the location of the heater? Indoors? Under a deck?
Someone who is knowledgeable about the burner system should check it for proper parts, assembly, and cleaning.
@ps0303 @Pool Clown @swamprat69 ideas?
Thank you ajw22: To answer your question, there is really nothing remarkable about the placement of our pool heater. It is roughly 8 feet away from the nearest wall and is not under a deck or indoors. The propane company is coming tomorrow to test the gas pressures. If it is poor airflow, how would we remedy that issue?
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,888
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
See this for more on color of flame. LP should be blue with yellow tips...
Post pics of your heater showing its location.
I would have someone who is knowledgeable about the burner system should check it for proper parts, assembly, and cleaning. We saw one system where the burner tubes were installed upside down.
Post pics of your heater showing its location.
I would have someone who is knowledgeable about the burner system should check it for proper parts, assembly, and cleaning. We saw one system where the burner tubes were installed upside down.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,888
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
That heater is in a tunnel boxed in on three sides. Depending on the way your prevailing winds are you can have weird air flows around the heater. The fluid dynamics of the air flow in that area, especially with the heater running creating a chimney air flow effect up that area, would be an interesting study.
Can you easily remove that wood fence?
Can you easily remove that wood fence?
We can remove the fence.... it is only temporary. We put the fence in though in response to our pool company asking us to. We receive the strongest winds directionally from the South, and the fence blocks a good portion of wind coming from that direction. Hope that makes sense. Are you thinking it may make it worse by creating a tunnel effect?
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,888
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I don't know. You have to look at the weather conditions when the rollout SW blows. It takes observing what is going on at the time of failure to see the pattern and fix. Looking at it after the fact may not give all the clues.
But see what the gas guys come up with. And take things one step at a time.
But see what the gas guys come up with. And take things one step at a time.
swamprat69
Well-known member
Looking at your photos, what does the branch tee after the regulator but before the heater go to and what is the output of that appliance/accessory and the length of the gas piping run to that appliance/accessory. A yellow flame is indicative of incomplete combustion and can cause soot (carbon) to plug flow through the heat exchanger causing rollout. You should have heat exchanger checked out. Also what is the model number and outputt of your heater? You should have the LP supply pressure checked with only the heater running and then with both the heater and the appliance/accessory running at the same time.
We have had 3 Raypak gas heaters and had problems with the roll out switch from the beginning. Every time the wind blew in just the right way it would blow it out and we had to get it replaced. They installed the tall stack on it and that solved the problem. Take a look at this video on you tube and see if this helps you. I just don't have a picture right now that I could post for you but its exactly what we have and if you are handy the video shows you how to install it. Ours is not propane but I imagine the gas source is not the issue, but rather the wind.
Raypak® Outdoor (High Wind) Stack for Gas Fired Heaters
Raypak® Outdoor (High Wind) Stack for Gas Fired Heaters
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,888
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60