What to do about a dead heater?

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Hansenaz

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Sep 19, 2016
45
Phoenix
My poor suction problem (thread Poor suction) morphed into a clogged pool heater problem.

My pool is 20 yo, we haven't used the spa/pool heater for 10 years, and the pool guy took it out of the loop now because "it was full of rust" and by itself adding 20PSI back pressure.

My two concerns are: 1) I'll probably want to sell my house in 5 years 2) I don't need useless stuff in my side yard (dead heater + propane tanks).

My questions:
1) Is it worth repairing an old heater (or even possible)?
2) Should I just haul it away and deal with potential replacement when I sell the house?

Thanks for your opinions/experience on this...
 
I'd definitely get rid of it and have it hauled away. Nothing makes selling a house harder than a yard full of junk. Trying to fix an old rusty heater is likely just more problems than it's worth. You can simply sell the house with the pool as-is and inform potential buyers that the purchase of a new pool heater is required to heat the spa. Pool's really don't add much value to a home other than making them more "sellable", especially in this part of the country where pools are practically a necessity. Someone interested in buying your home is there to buy the home, the pool is just a nice add-on. If a potential buyer is going to balk at having to lay out $4k for a new heater install then that tells me they're not really interested in buying the home in the first place. I'm sure there's all sorts of "deals" you could come up with (buyer buys the heater/seller pays for install, etc, etc) when the time comes to sell the house.
 
Hansenaz said:
My poor suction problem (thread Poor suction) morphed into a clogged pool heater problem.

My pool is 20 yo, we haven't used the spa/pool heater for 10 years, and the pool guy took it out of the loop now because "it was full of rust" and by itself adding 20PSI back pressure.

My two concerns are: 1) I'll probably want to sell my house in 5 years 2) I don't need useless stuff in my side yard (dead heater + propane tanks).

My questions:
1) Is it worth repairing an old heater (or even possible)?
2) Should I just haul it away and deal with potential replacement when I sell the house?

Thanks for your opinions/experience on this...
Click to expand...
If you are 100% certain you will sell your house soon, and a heater will increase the home's value/buyer appeal (return on investment) then yes, I would replace it.

Otherwise, I would not replace it as you were not using it anyway, and remove it from the system.
 
domct203 said:
If you are 100% certain you will sell your house soon, and a heater will increase the home's value/buyer appeal (return on investment) then yes, I would replace it.

Otherwise, I would not replace it as you were not using it anyway, and remove it from the system.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah it's sort of a puzzle. For some buyers it might make a difference...for others not.

I'm thinking investing a couple thousand now doesn't make sense if I'm not going to use it...I could do that at time of sale as part of the deal. On the other hand a cheaper repair (rather than hauling it away) might be smart. So I guess I'm really wondering whether repair is possible/advisable. If not I should probably just haul it away.

I wonder if they have value? As scrap?
 
Hansenaz said:
Thanks, yeah it's sort of a puzzle. For some buyers it might make a difference...for others not.

I'm thinking investing a couple thousand now doesn't make sense if I'm not going to use it...I could do that at time of sale as part of the deal. On the other hand a cheaper repair (rather than hauling it away) might be smart. So I guess I'm really wondering whether repair is possible/advisable. If not I should probably just haul it away.

I wonder if they have value? As scrap?
Click to expand...

For the cost of a heater, you can completely repaint your home exterior. A freshly painted exterior will do more for sale-ability of your home than a heater no one sees. If your home doesn't need an exterior paint job, then use the thousands you'd spend on a heater to do touchup work inside the home as that will go a long way to making the house sellable. Invest that money in an appreciating asset (your home), not in a depreciating expense (new heater). Most people buying a home with a pool know that there will be costs associated with getting the pool up and running; let the buyer worry about the heater....

- - - Updated - - -

Can you post any pictures of the heater with the panels off and the guts exposed? We have several heater experts on the forum who could probably give you an idea of what it would cost to rebuild it.

Scrap value would be minimal to non-existent; more likely you will have to pay for it to be removed...
 
At least in my area, the people on Craigslist Free would take it within a few hours (they took my old Intex pool full of algae and with no equipment all bent up from dragging it as-is from the back to the front curb, half dead sod, bushes I had pulled out with a bobcat, etc). If you're going to get rid of it, i'd try that before paying someone. Put it on the curb and post a curb alert, it will be gone
 
I got some pictures but I don't know that they show much. How do these heaters work? Send water through some narrow "tubes" like a car radiator?

I took a hose to one end this morning and saw some rusty water come out the other hole...so it's not really blocked. Anyone know how much back pressure a new heater will add to the system? In my case I always had about 30PSI before my "low suction" problem where it went to 35PSI. After bypassing the heater it is now 12-14PSI.

Thanks for your comments/thoughts.IMG_1621 (1024x683).jpgIMG_1714 (1024x683).jpgIMG_1718 (1024x683).jpg
 
This heater isn't worth repair. It's way too old and as you have seen, you get rusty water from it in your pool. Get rid of it and replace it if you want a heated pool.
 

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Thanks....but it was a small amount of rust and I never saw it in the pool. Problem was that it causes so much back pressure that it killed suction. And probably it doesn't work (haven't tried it for years). I agree I should probably just haul it away but here's the key question before I take that step: 1) cost of a repair/rebuild (ball park)? 2) cost of a replacement? I don't want a heated pool/spa but the next guy might...
 
If you look up Raypack gas heater and Pentair MasterTemp (both 400k BTU/hr), you see the online prices range from $2,000 to $2,600. Add another $750-$1,000 for installation by a pro and you'd be looking at $3,500 to $4,000. That assumes you don't need any major gas replumbing work.

Fixing something costs less but, given the condition of that heater, you could spend hundreds of dollars on parts and labor (assuming you can find parts) with no guarantee that it will work for any length of time.

Paul is the TFP expert when it comes to heaters (it's his livelihood). If he says that heater should go to the dump, then you can trust his advice. He has no incentive to steer you wrong but a disreputable repairman has every incentive to give you false hope at fixing it and charging you for lots of labor.
 
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