Replacing a smoking Hayward H400 heater?

[wysocki]

I have a Hayward H400 heater on my 24k gallon pool and it's been running great for over 25 years and I"ve last run it a couple months ago. BUT...
Yesterday I turned it on and within a minute there was dark smoke coming out of the top vent with an oily smell to it! I pulled the cover off and vacuumed out a few charred ashes of leaves etc but that did not stop the smoking. I ran it last night keeping my spa hot for several hours and it appeared to do the job. But this morning I fired it up and the smoke poured out again.

I replaced the heat exchanger in it about 5 years ago but I'm puzzled about what it is that could be smoking so much. I wasn't aware of any combustibles present above the burners. Any ideas? Buying and installing a new 400k BTU unit will probably set me back about $4k!

 

[1poolman1]

I have a Hayward H400 heater on my 24k gallon pool and it's been running great for over 25 years and I"ve last run it a couple months ago. BUT...
Yesterday I turned it on and within a minute there was dark smoke coming out of the top vent with an oily smell to it! I pulled the cover off and vacuumed out a few charred ashes of leaves etc but that did not stop the smoking. I ran it last night keeping my spa hot for several hours and it appeared to do the job. But this morning I fired it up and the smoke poured out again.

I replaced the heat exchanger in it about 5 years ago but I'm puzzled about what it is that could be smoking so much. I wasn't aware of any combustibles present above the burners. Any ideas? Buying and installing a new 400k BTU unit will probably set me back about $4k!

At 25 years (that's about 100 in human years) your burners are very likely completely burned out and the gas/air mixture is so bad you are getting a tremendous amount of soot. What is seldom told is that pool heaters actually burn themselves into oblivion as 400K BTU is more heat than most understand. The temperature inside that heater when it is running is upwards of 2000f. When new they look like this picture. When burned out they have huge gaps where the little slots should be. It doesn't take many to cause what you are seeing:

They are still available, HAXBRN1930. About $100.00 each.

 

[wysocki]

Yow! That's PRICEY! (Especially since there are 8 of them). But not as pricey as a whole new unit. There are similar H-series burners for $350 for all eight, but I don't think they'd fit. Then, since it's so old, what else might happen to it? I'll open it up tomorrow and check the state of the burners. Thanx!

 

[wireform]

Please don't take this the wrong way but that heater is done and time for new.

 

[wysocki]

Thanks for smacking me on the head, @wireform, you are absolutely right! Us old guys sometimes can't escape from our penny-pinching upbringing - I bought my first house for $10k!
Anyway, now comes the stressful job of deciding what to buy. I have iAqualink automation so I don't really need anything that has a bunch of controls on it. I've heard mixed reviews for Jandy, Raypak, Hayward, Lochinvar... how to decide??? I see terrible reviews for all of them.

 

[ajw22]

I've heard mixed reviews for Jandy, Raypak, Hayward, Lochinvar... how to decide??? I see terrible reviews for all of them.

Heaters are a commodity. They all basically work the same with similar designs and components.

I like the Pentair MasterTemp as the easiest to repair and get parts for. I would not get Jandy or Raypak. You know how to maintain a Hayward heater if you want to go with what you know.

Pentair MasterTemp Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Hayward H-Series Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Jandy JXI Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

RayPak Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com