Hello, new here, but thought it would be a good resource for me. I have a Pentair MasterTemp 250NA heater. Within the last couple of weeks, we have noticed a large puddle of rust-colored water/granules/material coming from underneath the heater. In emailing Pentair support, they said the leak is coming from the blower, and the 'unit' needs to be replaced. My questions are: 1) how would water get in to the blower/assembly? 2) Is the blower bad, the coils bad, the whole heater bad? 3) Can this be fixed/patched/welded/glued, etc., or is replacement the only option?
Rust-colored water?
- Thread starter twebb101
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,372
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
You probably have a leaking heat exchanger that is usually caused by low pH water chemistry or a Trichlor feeder leaking back into the heater.
You can disassemble the heater and open the burner can and take a look.
The heater is probably not economically repairable.
You probably have a leaking heat exchanger that is usually caused by low pH water chemistry or a Trichlor feeder leaking back into the heater.
You can disassemble the heater and open the burner can and take a look.
The heater is probably not economically repairable.
Thanks @ajw22. I added another picture to the post to show the current plumbing setup; we do have a Bromine feeder in the system as well.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,372
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
- May 3, 2014
- 62,715
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I believe they are. Also, Bromine in its raw form is rust colored.
Lets ask @JoyfulNoise for his input.
Lets ask @JoyfulNoise for his input.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,716
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Bromine tablets are just as acidic as chlorine tablets. When the bromine dissociates from the organic DMH molecule and hydrolyzes to form hypobromous acid, the pH is greatly reduced. Some formulations of bromine tabs will add baking soda to the mix to try to offset the acidity but that’s not always the case.
There is no check valve in the plumbing to protect the heater from the bromine feeder. Essentially the acidic water is backing up into the heater and eating away at the heat exchanger. The feeder was not installed properly. However, even with a check valve there is risk of failure and acidic water making it into the heater. You should not use any form of tablet feeder with a heater.
There is no check valve in the plumbing to protect the heater from the bromine feeder. Essentially the acidic water is backing up into the heater and eating away at the heat exchanger. The feeder was not installed properly. However, even with a check valve there is risk of failure and acidic water making it into the heater. You should not use any form of tablet feeder with a heater.
