Looking For Advice On Repair/replacement Of A Pentair Mastertemp

[jkusmier]

My Pentair MasterTemp 400 is in its 7th full season of use and has been leaking water for a few weeks. I finally removed one of the access panels and sure enough, the bottom of the combustion chamber/"tub" is heavily rusted. I have a salt pool, and while I maintain my salt level around 3600 and pH between 7.4-7.8, I guess time took its toll on the copper heat exchanger long ago, and the leak finally ate out my combustion chamber as well. It probably didn't help that my builder didn't install a bypass valve, so flow was constant and eroded the heat exchanger even when the heater wasn't in use. Quick questions:

I have a 17,500 Gal inground pool. After checking the specs on a 250 BTU unit, I think that will suffice. The 400 BTU was probably overkill on a pool my size - thoughts?

I plan to buy an HD model with a cupro-nickel heat exchanger. It appears that regardless of BTU rating, models equipped with a cupro-nickel exchanger cost $300+ more than those with copper heat exchangers. I've read it's well worth the investment, especially with a salt pool. Thoughts?

Finally, and what should probably be my first question: would it be more cost-effective to replace the heater, or to just have the unit serviced and the heat exchanger and combustion chamber replaced? Dumb question since I haven't asked for a bid, much less called for service, but wholesale prices on the heat exchanger and combustion chamber total $750+, and I'm sure the additional labor for repair versus installing a replacement unit will add another $200-300.

I appreciate any advice, and thanks,

Joe

[Pool Clown]

Replacing with a smaller heater will increase the heat up time and use more gas to do the job. While the bigger heater uses more gas per minute., it runs less minutes. You were probably sold the larger heater for a shorter heat up/wait time. The heater has an internal by-pass that should control flow through the exchanger provided that you don't exceed max inlet flow rate of the heater. My guess would be chemical balance accelerated the erosion. If you lost the combustion chamber as well, and with 7 years on that unit, i would also lean toward the new unit. If you were to buy the exact same unit and size, and you are mildly inclined, (its' just a matter of gas, elec., plumbing, and vent, If indoors. Virtually no parts.) you could probably make the swap yourself and save the install, however, Pentair will reduce your warranty period for DIY'ers.

It's a trade off...

[jkusmier]

Well, the replacement heater arrived last week. The box was pristine but when my installer (a buddy who happens to be a licensed service pipefitter and has installed a few pool heaters in his day) and I removed the heater we discovered cracks on the outer panels. When we removed one of the access panels we discovered some a broken bracket and some internal parts that were hanging loose. I ordered the heater from Amazon, and quickly checked the reviews (which I'd ignored previously because I was already well familiar with the MasterTemp) and read reports of similar damage. I promptly reported the damage and happily, Amazon is offering a full refund, no restocking fee or return shipping charges. Apparently my complaint was the straw that broke the camel's back, because within a day Amazon marked the heater listed with the particular Amazon merchant/store I'd ordered from with "Item Under Review" while they investigate whether the problem is due to shipping practices, quality control, etc. According to some of the reviews, Pentair redesigned the MasterTemp heaters sometime in the past year or two, using thinner plastic throughout and replacing internal metal brackets with plastic ones. I contacted a few pool retailers and was told they too experienced similar problems until they started strapping and shipping the heaters on pallets. (Mine did not ship on a pallet). UPS will be picking the old heater up this week, and I ordered a new one from another online seller (a Google Trusted retailer). I called the seller on two different days, spoke with different persons and both confirmed problems last year but stated none this year after shipping the heaters on pallets. They suspect the boxes were being turned upside down, which is somewhat more difficult to do if they're strapped to a pallet. So we shall see. Pool Clown, have you experienced a similar problem or heard about this?

Thanks,

Joe

[ps0303]

Don't expect any better quality from a new Mastertemp. I find the Pentair heaters are nothing but problems. I will be replacing a three year old one tomorrow as the customer has had nothing but issues. Yes sometimes there are lemon products but I see lots of Pentair pool heater lemons. I don't like internet sales specifically for the problem you had. If you had a local company to buy it from it would save you the hassle of waiting to return plus you can inspect when you pick it up. Also pay attention to the warranty for when you buy from the internet. It's not the same 2 year that you get when purchased and installed by a professional. Yes I know your friend is a pipe fitter but the pool companies don't see it the same way.

I install tons of heaters on salt pools where the heat exchanger is copper. Cupro nickel is not the end all be all. You still have to watch your chemical balance and keep it right. If you don't, no matter what, you will ruin another heater. Cupro nickel can leak but just takes a little longer. As for the bypass, yes you can add it but honestly there should not be any ill affect on the heat exchanger if the water runs thru it all the time. Only chemicals or poor product quality ruins most heaters.

Just my 2 cents.

[jkusmier]

Had a second MasterTemp installed today. It was shipped on a pallet and there was zero damage.