Bugman1400

This is an easy one.......I'd start collecting all your paperwork and stop any payments. This one for sure will be heading to court. Remember...forget about what you said versus what he said, its whats on the contract. Most importantly, its always about the money!

I'm not sure what second blower you are talking about. Either your pool guy is misinformed or you misunderstood what he said. There is an exhaust blower that turns on when the cycle intiates. You can easily tell by holding your hand over the exhaust vent. If you don't feel the air then you have a problem. You also didn't mention any error codes.....what codes are you getting?

Not sure what you mean by an above ground heater unless you are referring to an above ground pool that the heater was once attached to. Is the 125K BTU heater electric or gas? The electric heaters don't seem to be as hot as the gas ones. That size heater seems small for a 35K GAL pool, however, it really depends on where you live. It also depends on how hot you like the water. If you are in Florida or Southern Cali, a 125K BTU heater may work. I live on the North/South Carolina border and I have a 26K GAL inground with a 400K BTU gas heater. I like the water on the hot side (88 deg by my thermometer...which is not accurate). In my area, without the heater, my pool water is around 68-72 degrees at the first part of the Summer. So, my heater needs to be able to produce a temp rise of about 30 degrees. Once I turn the heater on, it normally heats my 26K GAL pool about 2-3 degrees an hour. So, it takes the better part of a day to initially heat the pool. A 250K BTU heater would work but, take longer to heat to 88 degrees. Once the pool is heated, it takes much less BTUs to keep it at the desired temp.

Whenever I break down my DE filter and hose off the grids and then reapply the DE, my pressure is around 12-15 psi. At 25-30 psi, the filter is clogged and will not allow hardly any flow. The problem with backwashing is that it dumps your DE. It also does not do a good job getting the junk off your grids. Typically, I will break down the DE filter twice before the Summer pool season gets going. The sediment that ends up in the pool during the Winter is what gets clogged in the grids the first time. Then, as the pool water gets warmer, the algae starts to clog the grids. When that happens, backwashing will not get rid of the algae. You'll need to break down the filter and hose off the grids. After the two grid cleanings, I am good to go all Summer.

Who normally breaks down your DE filter to clean the grids? Your grids will need to be inspected for tears or rips that would allow the DE to end up in the pool. Cleaning the grids are a real pain but, simple if you do one at a time. Grids are usually pretty sturdy; they have to be to stand up to the years of exposure to chlorine and other pool chemicals. Even if one or multiple grids are torn, they can be purchased at your local pool store for around $30 each.

I would invest in a new lid gasket. If your lid is easy to close that means the gasket has been flatten out or compressed and may not make a good seal. I also used to the lube and thought that was all that was needed but, I was mistaken. You could also have an air leak somewhere else like a cracked pipe or joint.

Most heaters will not start up if there is no flow detected. The danger you have to watch out for is if your heater is in the middle of heating and you accidently shut the pump off. That will lead to severe heater damage.

ditto

I think that product is the same as Green to Clean that I use in the 4lb jug. Follow the directions on the Green to Clean jug and you should be set. You may have to take apart your DE filter and spray down the grids and reapply the DE a few times. If you leave any of the coagulated algae trapped in the DE filter, it could comeback later after the chlroine level has dropped. I also have a DE filter and the Loop-Lock pool cover. I follow the same steps every year and the only time I ever had a problem was when I tried a short cut by not cleaning the grids on my DE filter when using the Green to Clean.

The symptom you describe sounds like a sooted up flame sensor. Find the flame sensor and use an old piece of sand paper or steel wool to clean it off.

That reminds me that I've seen corrosion on the orfice to the switch.....because that hole is small and the pool water either reacted with the switch metal case or the pool water just left deposits around the hole.

The pressure switch is the round device that has a hose (the diameter size of a pencil) connected to it. If you are 100% certain there is water flowing through the heater then you can jumper out the pressure switch. If the heater still doesn't fire, you've got other issues.

If there are no error codes then, it doesn't sound like the heater is the issue. It may be the RS6. An easy way to find out is to jumper the fireman's switch and adjust the local thermostat to something well below MAX. If the heater cycles successfully a few times then obviously its the RS6.

Sounds like a prime candidate for putting in a drain system.

I'm kind of surprised its leaking from the tubes....those things are fairly thick. I think the headers are plastic and so those melt/deform rather easily. I melted both of mine when I accidently shut the power off to my pump while the heater was ON. That story with pictures is covered in this Forum. There is also a gasket that may have dry rotted if you haven't used the pool for some time. If there is actually a hole in the tube, seems like you could drill it out slightly and try to solder it using 15% silver solder.....like the HVAC guys use.

Sounds like a proper sequence to me. Do you smell any gas? If not, then you have a gas supply problem. Either your gas pressure is too high or too low so, check your regulator next to your unit. The other problem could be the gas valve but, if you hear the click then the gas valve should be okay.

It seems the probability of a pin hole leak on a 2 year old heater and heat exchanger is small. Perhaps the water came from somewhere else. I always have water in my exhaust vent........from rain or my sprinklers. Having to deal with heat exchanger problems of my own recently (thank you PC and PGNJ), I'd be surprised if the heat exchanger is "toast" (or "tost", as Wizzard puts it).

How much does that usually run? I do not have Kool Deck currently.

I believe the whining sound was the ceramic shaft seal that is usually lubricated by the little bit of water in the pump.

How are you measuring the voltage.....with the leads on the gas valve or with the leads off the gas valve? Try to read the voltage with the leads off the gas valve and see if you get the ~24VAC then. Also, what error codes are you getting?

They look like gnats to me. Do you have any other water nearby other than the pool.....like a creek, river, or swamp marsh?

Please take a few more pictures.......one of the label and another two of the wiring again but, from another angle.

In general, the returns are supposed to pass through the pump first then, the filter second then, the heater last. I have the same pump and if the pump is more than 5 years old and you cannot remember the last time you replaced the lid gasket then replace it.

What makes you think the LX400 blower motor was bad? That is a $500 mistake if your not certain. If you are having problems with the LX400, there is a plethora of info posted in the past week or so. BTW,I have the same model. Nice house and pool, BTW!

My pool light at the deep end has a junction box in a bush a few feet from my diving board. If you have one, I would try disconnecting the wires and try to reset the breaker. If the breaker still trips then, it is not the pool light.