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(More customer reviews)Broke again!
Update- the unit stopped working again on 5/1/09- same problem stuck thermostat- technician installed installed a one way valve between the heater and the Chlorinator cell citing backflow of highly chlorinated PH+ water into the thermostat. 100.00 dollar repair for parts and labor. Problem I have with this theory is that the cell was on the far side of a purposefully designed u turn to avoid this from the start- well see.
Purchased this along with several other components during a pool replaster & remodel the Spring of 08
This was bought along with a slew of new components that I will start reviewing - a new jandy RS 8 Automation system, solar panels, pentair quad de 60 filter, goldline chlorinator.
I decided to review this component first because Im having issues with it.
The heater is tiny - like a little 3 foot cube - way smaller than my old raypak 2100. Its form factor allows really tight installation, and I tucked it away in the back corner of the yard.
The unit is designed to be controlled with an automation system primarily, but also has a manual control panel underneath a plastic smoked little flip cover on the front. It hides a few functions- a power button, pool /spa selector, & a red led readout for temp and error codes, and a temperature up and down button. When manually changing temps, the display will react to panel button pushes then switch back to the current temperature flowing through the unit.
There are a few major issues you must consider and design for before you add a heater of this magnitude to your system.
It requires MASSIVE flow of natural gas, so much I had to completely rebuild my homes feed from the street to the side of the house to keep it running. I suggest having your gas provider do a load survey on your home before you even consider putting in a heater this powerful.
It requires at least 38GPM of water at all times including during the heaters "cool down" period. The unit will not fire up without at least a 38GPM flow through it so pools using smaller 1/4-1/2 HP circulation pumps are not likely to flow enough water to even let it fire- likewise even with larger pumps a filter that hasn't been cleaned in a while that has higher pressure may cause the unit to run intermittently or begin "cycling" as well.
The unit achieves its lox Nox capabilities by using a clever forced fed firebox using a fan. This is different technology than legacy heaters most are familiar with. You need to prepare yourself and the install site for increased noise, and heat. All vegetation in the exhaust stream- all organic matter I've seen in the exhaust path will be dead within months.
Once activated a slightly loud fan comes on and then after a few clicks-it fires up with a rumbly whooomf !
Frankly its a bit overkill for a normal 21K gallon pool. Just the way I like it. Its performance for its size is staggering, almost commercial pool like in its heat output. This thing could scorch the earth when running.
Unfortunately for me the unit had broken twice since May 08,
The first time it wouldn't fire up then shut off.
It took weeks to get a diagnosis.
Pool guy said he diagnosed it as an igniter & ordered parts & the parts never showed. After 4 more weeks of not having a heater I called a warranty center and the factory repairman came out. The guy literally replaced 5-6 different components costing upwards of 100 dollars each- over the course of half a day looking for the magic combo that would make it work.
The broken part was the very last thing that could have broken - the gas block. Im still trying to figure out what could even go wrong with a solid looking block of metal.
Access to the inside is a breeze and thats a good thing. Each panel has basically 4 bolts holding the panel on. It is easy to get to the components, and the system has onboard diagnostics but its hard to actually nail down problems as the on board diagnostics dont seem to be able to pinpoint issues really well as each problem required multiple investigations.
A month ago it started firing up and clicking off. Another multi- diagnostic problem. My pool guys diagnosed an igniter - again.
Another factory guy came out and traced the problem to a stuck internal thermostat. After replacing the internal t-stat the service guy traced its sticking to the water chemistry being "off" and showed me a corroded t-stat.
My chlorinator handles chlorine and I measure Ph weekly- if this is true one can NEVER let chemistry be off for any amount of time? That just isnt how pools work, all chemistry is a bounce bewteen a few point on each end measurement. - Or does this thing have a run of bad parts?
So Im building a love hate relationship with this part - (like the Miele blue moon vaccum in another review) I love it when it runs, but it doesn't seem to run reliably.
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