I have a Laars/Jandy LT400n-l. Installed in 2003.
Up until the last week, it seemed to work fine.
About 5 days ago, I noticed a large amount of soot on the fence that the heater in installed near.
I started paying more attention, and I notice the exhaust gas is really HOT. I'm not sure how hot it is supposed to be, but if you hold a piece of paper in the exhaust stream, it will turn brown nearing ignition.
I planned on heating the pool for Christmas, so I let the heater run overnight, and all seemed to be OK, until last night.
The pool reached the set temperature and turned off like I expected, except now it won't re-light.
Before, when it would go through its lighting cycle, I would see the orange glow from the HSI in the little sight window.
Now, there is no orange glow, and no ignition.
I'm having trouble figuring out where the HSI is mounted so I can inspect it. Is it a major dismantling operation to check this part?
What should I expect for exhaust temperatures? Does the sooting sound like a problem? There is a lot of rust down around the burner openings.
How long should I expect this heater to last?
I'm fairly handy, but I don't want to get in over my head.
Any help greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Matt