Should I buy my heater from the pool store or online?

[sbalberti]

Looking at putting our heater in. When I built my pool a few months back we had the pad area poured to accommodate a heater, but didn't install since it was hot outside and wouldn't be using the heater. We used the saved money to upgrade our plaster. Looking at the Pentair master temp 400K BTU. It's a lot cheaper online than what my PB is selling for. My concern is warranty problems if I buy online. Just wanted to see if you guys had any other ideas to get a good price and keep the manufacturers warranty. Also is there anything i need to tell them specifically for install? I also have a Pentair ET8. Thanks In advance!

 

[Catanzaro]

A warranty is a warranty as long as you purchased the unit from an authorized manufacturer, and not a reseller. I actually called the manufacturer for my heat pump as to make sure the place I purchased this from was an authorized dealer. I know this sounds far fetched, but always a wise practice to check first. If installed according to the manufacturer, the warranty will apply as they will send out someone to troubleshoot the unit.

Once you purchase from the pool store, the warranty is still from the manufacturing company, unless they are also the installer. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Pentair does often require that their equipment be installed by a licensed contractor and will only accept a warranty card that is signed off by the installer. For gas, it’s a good idea to let a licensed gas heater installer do the job. So, even if you get a good deal online, you still might be paying a lot for the install.

Shopping around to different stores and even plumbers licensed to do gas work will typically get you the lowest “installed price” that satisfies the Pentair Warranty.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Also, it would have been better to get the heater at pool build as it would have been bundled with the other equipment and you could have gotten the three year extended warranty. Buying it on its own, even with a pro install, will only get you a 1 year warranty from Pentair.

So, when you shop around, you might want to see if anyone will offer to extend the warranty to 3 years.

 

[Geebot]

You can buy a whole-house warranty with pool equipment coverage for not a whole lot of money (but gaining a lot of peace of mind).

 

[Chemnut]

Call me old, but I prefer dealing with locals. If this internet trend continues we won't have anymore brick and mortar stores left. Check around, some pool stores aren't bandits like most. Support local!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You can buy a whole-house warranty with pool equipment coverage for not a whole lot of money (but gaining a lot of peace of mind).

Not to sidetrack the conversation but my experience with home warranty companies is that they are great “in theory” but terrible in practice. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been nickel & dimed by them for stuff they “promise” to cover. In my neck of the woods, the basic policies have pretty steep annual costs (~$600 or more) and fairly large service charges ($75 per incident) and things like washer/dryers and pool equipment are additional annual charges (25-50% more over the base policy price). I shutter to think what kind of run-around I’d get on an expensive pool heater repair...

 

[Geebot]

Not to sidetrack the conversation but my experience with home warranty companies is that they are great “in theory” but terrible in practice. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been nickel & dimed by them for stuff they “promise” to cover. In my neck of the woods, the basic policies have pretty steep annual costs (~$600 or more) and fairly large service charges ($75 per incident) and things like washer/dryers and pool equipment are additional annual charges (25-50% more over the base policy price). I shutter to think what kind of run-around I’d get on an expensive pool heater repair...

I can't vouch for all companies and all experiences but we have had very expensive appliances replaced (and recently received a new pool heater) in addition to some expensive repairs on other appliances. If you own a house and a pool you will incur expenses one way or another, but for what we pay in premiums a $3,000 pool heater balances out those payments for quite a few years.

 

[sbalberti]

Thanks for all the reply’s! I’ll talk with my PB and see if he can swing a deal on the price and extending my warranty. I’ve sent him a fair amount of business.

 

[bmagrogan]

I can't vouch for all companies and all experiences but we have had very expensive appliances replaced (and recently received a new pool heater) in addition to some expensive repairs on other appliances. If you own a house and a pool you will incur expenses one way or another, but for what we pay in premiums a $3,000 pool heater balances out those payments for quite a few years.

I’ve had the same experience with our home warranty company, HMS. The first year we owned our house and pool (pool was built back in 2008 and we bought the house in 2014) the Pentar pump died on us about 1/2 way through the summer. HMS covered the pump, labor and piping that had to be redone and all we paid was our deductible ($75). That paid for the entire home warranty for the next 18 months in that one claim.

Personally I would rather spend a set amount of money and maybe in the end spend a bit more and not have to put out a large unplanned expense.

As for a heater, you will enjoy it, we tried our pool the first year without one and ended up not using the pool very much. The next year we bit the bullet and put in a heater and it made the pool so much more enjoyable. We get a lot of shade, which is nice for being out there, but not great for heating up the water.

We ended up buying our heater through the local company that opens and closes our pool and does a biweekly service for us. We bought it through them so we would have someone to service it and ask questions of when using it.

Good luck with either way you go!

 

[ps0303]

Raypak/Rheem has a better track record and fewer parts that mean down the road repairs will be cheaper, if any.

As for warranty, well I can tell you I have seen even with Pentair, they can be sticklers on the warranty of not installed by a licensed contractor/installer. The choice is yours but supporting a local company that sells the same product you want is a great idea. Of course I am a local guy that sells pool heaters so I am biased. I do have a family to feed but I do not have a second home or any expensive cars that you would be subsidizing by purchasing from some of these online companies. Also keep in mind if you purchase online and there is an issue with the unit, you will be on the phone dealing with that for who knows how long. If a customer buys from me and there is an issue I can remedy it right then and there. If the unit is damaged in shipping you will have to sit and wait for that to be resolved as well. If purchased thru a local company, they should inspect and can swap it out almost immediately. I have dealt with dented or broken units in the past.

The choice is yours obviously.

from Pentair: Warranty - Pool and Spa Product Registration & Warranty - Pentair

 

[Murray16]

I was going to order my heater (Raypak) online and install it last year, but since I travel a lot I decided to go with a local company so the wife would have someone to contact if there were any issues. I contacted the local company about installing a heater that I purchased online, but they said they won't install a heater not bought from them. They gave me a good price on a Hayward heater and a swg system so I went with them. They both work great and I love having the heater. We have used the pool way more this year than last year.

I would recommend trying to find a plumber that has worked with pool heaters before. My pool guy installed the heater before I had gas plumbed to the house and the plumber who came out to install the heater was clueless. I got 2 psig pressure to the house instead of the standard 1/4 so a regulator was needed. The plumber knew I had the 2 psig service, but still came to the house without a manometer to measure the gas flow, or a regulator. He came back again with a manometer thinking he could get a regulator at the supply house down the street after he measured it, but they didn't have one with the correct fittings. So the third time he was able to finish it. Another thing that I didn't realize at the time was he used steel piping for the portion going directly into the heater and it's already rusted and staining the deck. I'm going to call another plumber to replace it with painted or galvanized lines.