RayPak Heaters

Raypak Heaters

Raypak Model Number History can help understand the various current and previous Raypak product lines and model numbers.

Raypak has a few product lines of heaters. Raypak residential pool and spa gas heaters include above ground heater models; in-ground heater models from 200K to 400K BTU; and low NOX versions of the in-ground heatrs from 200K to 400K BTU.

Raypak also has a product line of residential pool and spa heat pumps with five models from 48K BTUs to 140K BTUs. The higher BTU heat pumps are available in a model with heating and cooling.

The Raypak Professional series heat pump pool heaters, from 140K BTUs to 170K BTUs, are designed specifically for commercial properties such as apartments, condos, hotels, motels, schools, parks, community and high-end private pools. It’s also appropriate in tough coastal weather conditions where salt air challenges durability.

Raypak also has a wide range of commercial gas pool heaters with BTUs up to 2,340,000 BTUs.

Rapak is a Rheem company and most HVAC companies know their way around the units and can get parts. You are not locked into installation and service through pool store channels. Raypak has a good warranty for heaters purchased separately and installed by a professional contractor, not necessary a pool company.

Raypak heaters have a traditional burner tube geometry like a BBQ or hot water heater. Gas is injected into a manifold of burner tubes with the heat driving the flow of exhaust out the stack. This design is susceptible to wind and atmospheric issues causing flame roll out problems and dirty combustion tubes.

Digital Model Gas Heaters

Since 2004 Raypak has manufactured the Digital models MODELS 206A, 266A, 266, 336A, 399 and 406A; and since September 2011 the LOW NOx HEATER POOL MODELS 207A, 266L, 267A, 337A, 399L and 407A.

Low NOx Heater Model

Low NOx heaters normally have somewhat higher efficiencies and exhibit much lower NOx emissions.

They were developed to satisfy low NOx emissions requirements as first imposed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California. Your area might require a low NOx heater. You should consider a low NOx heater in any case.

Raypak Model Numbers

• Designation for a Digital heater using propane gas is "EP"; a Digital heater using natural gas is "EN".
• Designation for a Millivolt heater using propane gas is "MP"; a Millivolt heater using natural gas is "MN".
• Prefix "P" is for plastic (polymer) headers.
• Suffix "X" is for cupro-nickel tubing; "C" is for copper tubing.
• Example: P-M406A-EN-X = Plastic headers, 406 model size, digital, natural gas, cupro-nickel.

Raypak Serial Numbers

Before 1995, it was month (first 2 digits) and then year (digits 3 and 4).

Beginning in 1995, they changed to year and month. The first 2 are the year and the next 2 are the month.

Serial number 1604304448 was made in April 2016.

Cupro-nickel Heat Exchangers

The cupro-nickel heat exchanger is 25% NICKEL AND 75% COPPER (denoted by an “X” at the end of the model number.) The other unit is 100% copper (denoted by a “C” at the end of the model number.) The copper heat exchanger is the most efficient material for heat transfer, so the cupro-nickel is derated.

The purpose of the cupro-nickel is to give additional protection to the heat exchanger that can be attacked with poor water chemistry. That is the advantage, but it also has less ability to transfer heat.

The input BTUH accounts for the heat exchanger material, and the heater efficiency is 82%.

How to Locate the Raypak Heater Model and Serial Number

The heater’s model and serial numbers are located on the rating plate found on the inside of the unit. To locate the rating plate, first loosen the door screw. Remove the door(s), pull up and out. The rating plate will be either a gold or silver color with the Raypak logo. The serial number will have 10 digits. The date code is found in the first four digits of the serial number, for example, a unit made in April of 2001 will have the first four digits read as 0104.

Propane Heaters

The board on the propane heater, depending on the age, will have a tab that has been broken off.

Propane is heavier than NG when its in gas form and it likes to sink to the floor and pool, making for some lively outcomes if it happens to pool in the right place. The designers at Raypak found a way around this. When the tab is broken off, the system will only try to light one time before it locks out, instead of the three tries for NG.

If you convert a propane heater to NG by installing the NG orifices and NG gas valve regulator you will need to disconnect power from the heater to reset it and then try again if it does not light.

Maintenance

Raypak Digital Heater Installation and Operation Instructions

SNS Error

SNS error is a bad water sensor.

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Part 6C.

P/N 009577F

Heater Hits Max Temperature before Actual Temperature

When automation is controlling the heater the automation temperature and the Raypak heater temperature can be different and the heater can hit its maximum temperature while the water is not yet to that temperature.

The default maximum temperature for the pool and spa can be raised.

See page 28 of the Raypak INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL

Spa Max Temp – Spa Setpoint Maximum Adjustment

Refer to step one on page 28 to access the program screen. Press the MODE button until SPA MAX TEMP appears on the digital display. Using the UP and DOWN buttons will change the Maximum Temperature Setting to your desired value. The control can be set for a maximum of 107°F (42°C).

Pool Max Temp – Pool Setpoint Maximum Adjustment

Refer to step one on page 28 to access into the program screen. Press the MODE button until POOL MAX TEMP appears on the digital display. Using the UP and DOWN buttons will change the Maximum Temperature Setting to your desired value. The control can be set for a maximum of 107°F (42°C).

Service Menu and Fault History

To access the Service Menu and fault history, press the MODE and UP buttons simultaneously for 3 to 5 seconds. The heater will continue to operate normally while in the Service Menu. The first screen displayed is the Flame Strength indicator, which indicates the pilot flame current using a bar graph and numerical display. A signal of less than 4 indicates a weak flame signal and may require service. Refer to Section 5 Troubleshooting for possible causes and corrections.

Press the DOWN button. The Supply Voltage screen indicates the voltage supplied to the control board. Normal readings range from 24 to 29 volts.

Press the DOWN button. The Run Time indicates the total hours of operation for the pool heater, as measured by the amount of time that the main gas valve has been powered. The Cycle count indicates the number of on/off cycles of the heater, as measured by the number of times the pilot valve has been powered.

Press the DOWN button. The Fault History can display up to ten faults in memory. The order of the faults begins with “Fault Last,” which is the most recent fault, and proceeds through ten most recent messages in chronological order. The second line of the display shows the fault message. If there are no faults in the history buffer, the second line reads “All Faults Clear.”

Altitude Adjustments

Air is thinner and less dense as the altitude increases. A natural gas or propane heater needs an optimum mixture of air and gas. If the air/gas mixture is incorrect you will have an orange yellow flame instead of a good blue flame.

At higher latitudes the gas needs to be adjusted for the proper air/gas mixture.

• The Raypak Standard Digital is good to 2,000 feet.
• The Raypak Digital low NOx is good to 5,000 feet.

Atmospheric heaters: Rated inputs are suitable for up to 2,000 feet elevation. For elevations above 2000 feet, reduce gas input 4% for each 1,000 feet above sea level, as high elevation reduces combustion performance.

Lo NOx heaters: Rated inputs are suitable for up to 5,000 feet elevation. For elevations above 5000 feet, consult the factory.

Raypak LP heater high limit fault

This thread describes how the high limit fault was fixed BT insulating the header around the sensors,

Rollout Switch Failures

If high winds are blowing out the rollout switch consider installing the Raypak Outdoor (High Wind) Stack for Gas Fired Heaters.

The stack hood can help alleviate problems caused by excessive winds interfering with the flow of flue gas because the construction of the stack hood allows for dilution air to the flue gas which acts similar to a vacuum breaker on a water system by reducing/eliminating backflow.

You can find a YouTube video on the installation.

Millivolt Trouble Shooting

Check for 500 mv dc coming from the pilot generator. Red and white wires. Red pilot generator wire goes to the TP terminal. White pilot generator wire goes to the TP/TH terminal.

If that's good, check for 500 mv dc from the TP terminal to the TH terminal with the violet wire.

If that's not good, you have something open on the limit string.

The limit string is a series of on/off switches that all have to be on for the voltage to get from the TH/TP terminal to the TH terminal.

The red wire connected to the TH/TP goes to the roll out switch, you should measure 500 mv dc between the TP terminal and the other side of the roll out switch. The red wire leaving the roll out switch should go to the water pressure switch. You should measure 500 mv dc to the orange wire leaving the pressure switch.

The orange wire leaving the pressure switch should go to the first high limit. You should measure 500 mv to the out terminal of the first high limit switch.

From the first high limit switch, there should be a black wire to the second high limit switch. You should measure 500 mv to the out terminal of the second high limit switch.

Leaving the second high limit switch should be a black wire going to the thermostat. You should measure 500 mv on the out terminal of the thermostat.

Leaving the thermostat, there should be a yellow wire going to the on/off switch. You should measure 500 mv on the out terminal of the on/off switch.

Leaving the on/off switch should be a violet wire going to the TP terminal.

So, basically, the voltage needs to get through the entire string in series to power the gas valve.

You can remove the red wire from the TH/TP terminal and remove the violet wire from the TH terminal and check the resistance of the entire limit string.

The entire limit string should be closed and show low ohms.

If open, you can go in series as described above checking to see which limit is open.

If high ohms, a limit might be bad or a connector might be bad.

Note: TP means thermopile. TH means thermostat.

The gas valve has two solenoids. It has a pilot valve solenoid and a main gas valve solenoid.

The pilot valve solenoid is powered by the TP and TH/TP terminals. The resistance of the pilot valve solenoid should be about 9 to 11 ohms.

The main gas valve solenoid is powered by the TP and TH terminals. The resistance of the main gas valve solenoid should be about 1.5 to 1.7 ohms.

RP2100 Model Gas Heaters

The RP2100 models of gas heater were manufactured from 1998-2004 and were replaced by the current Digital model. Models are R185A, R265A, R335A, R405A (ATMOSPHERIC, LOW NOx)

R185A, R265A, R335A, R405A (ATMOSPHERIC, LOW NOx) Replacement Parts

Raypak Heat Pumps

Raypak Heat Pump High Pressure Trip Lockout

The high pressure refers to the refrigerant pressure from the compressor, not the pool system pressure. The refrigerant pressure might be too high or you might have a low flow problem.

There have been reports of a few newly installed Heat Pumps where Raypak needed to send out service under warranty to adjust the high pressure switch.

High Pressure Switch Lockout

If the high pressure switch opens, the control de-energizes the compressor output and the fan continues to run for 15 minutes after the HPS opened and the display will show “Hi Press Trip”.

If the high pressure switch trips 7 times in a single cycle, the display will show “Hi Press Lockout” and the unit will be locked out of operation for 4 hours.

The unit will automatically reset after 4 hours or the lockout can be manually reset by pressing the MENU button or cycling the power.

The high pressure switch must close for 3 seconds for the control to recognize it as closed.

Raypak Heat Pump Water Pressure Switch Adjustment-

The Raypak HP Installation Manual says "If the location of the HPPH is below the water line of the pool, the Water Pressure Switch (WPS) or Water Flow Switch (WFS) might need to be adjusted or an external WFS might be needed."

If your HP tries to turn on when your pump is off then the Water Pressure Switch requires adjustment or you need a Flow Switch. This can happen when the pool water level is more then a few feet above or below the HP. This will be the case when the HP is used with an Above Ground Pool.

The Water Pressure Switch has a locking feature on the bottom. You reach under the switch and move a piece of plastic to unlock it, then rotate the dial and test until it works correctly. Once you have the best setting, lock the switch and replace the cover. Don't accidentally remove the sensor from the tube when making the adjustment.

Raypak 5450/6450/8450 Heat Pumps No Longer Have the Internal Automatic Bypass

There is an April, 2020, report that the newest Raypak 5450 / 6450 / 8450 heat pumps no longer have the internal automatic bypass. It has been removed, though their website, data sheets, etc. still advertise this feature. The member has a new 5450 and the water flow is terrible - not enough to drive the Polaris cleaner.