Raypak's Protek Shield Assembly

[PlayedIn]

I have the Raypak 336k heater which I installed in May. I really haven't been paying attention to the Protek Shield until today where I can see a significant amount of corrosion. I think this is due to me not staying on top of my water hardness as we have very soft water in our area.

I'm struggling to find a replacement Protek Shield Assembly (part # 017960F) that I won't have to wait weeks for. If I cannot find one, is it possible to clean out the existing assembly until my new one arrives? I'm worried that my heat exchanger might become corroded if I don't do something quickly.

I searched here, but didn't find any relative information. Thanks for any advice.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

The Protek Shield is a sacrificial zinc anode.

Sacrificial Zinc Anode | Sacrificial Anode for Salt Water Installation

A sacrificial zinc anode for salt water pools will help protect metal in your salt water pool from corrosion and other damage.

www.saltwaterpoolandspa.com

Even if it looks ugly just leave it in for it to do its job until you get a replacement.

What is your water chemistry?

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
SALT
WATER TEMP
CSI

I suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[PlayedIn]

Thanks for the reply! I don't have a salt water pool, but I assume the Protek Shield is still useful for me since you can see a "lot" of white looking stuff on the anode. Regarding my pool chemistry, I will get those numbers. I have read through the ABCS of Pool Water Chemistry a few weeks ago and definitely a little too late. I probably need to re-read for a refresher.

Months ago when the pool was new, I errantly added stabilizer and also was using the Trichlor pucks and now my CYA is out the roof. I have drained a significant amount of water just to get it down to around 110 (using the "diluted" test method). So it seems its going to take quite a while to get the CYA down to an acceptable level. I try to keep my ph at around 7.8 which wasn't easy when I was adding cya via the pucks. I don't try to test the ph when my chlorine is high.

My Calcium hardness has been very low, so instead of using liquid bleach for my chlorine, I've been using Calcium Hypo for chlorine and to try and get the CH up. I am doing that because the manual for my Raypak 336k recommends a much higher level for CH (can't remember the range off the top of my head), and "I think" the manual implies that if their water chemistry recommendations aren't closely followed, it will void the warranty. Hopefully the heat exchanger will hold up while I try to get my water chemistry to where it needs to be. Perhaps I'm worrying about the CH for no reason considering I have a vinyl liner, but I worry about the exchanger.