Beachbreeze

Can a Salt Chlorinator be installed vertically with the flow switch below the salt cell? Will the weight of the water give the flow switch a false reading when the pump is off?

You can try recalibrating the system. With the pump running, take the power switch down to the “Off” position, and then back up to “Auto”. You should hear a click within 10 or 15 seconds. When you do, press the diagnostic button five times in a row. The system will go through a recalibration process. Wait until the numbers stop changing. If the system settles on or near a number that is close to what you believe to be the salt level in the pool, slide the power switch up to “Super Chlorinate”, then back down to “Auto”. This will lock that number in as the new average salt reading. If the system settles on a number that is unrealistic, there is something wrong with either your system or your cell. The most likely issue is that your salt cell needs to be replaced. It could also be that the board in your power center needs to be replaced. At this point you will want to call Hayward at (866) 429-7665. Their tech support team will usually be able to help you determine which part needs replacement. They will need the serial number from the inside of your control panel door (located under a bar code). And the install date of your system if you know it. I know when I replaced a cell I had to recalibrate mine and it seemed to work fine after that. I've also had some luck putting the system into "super chlorinate" and letting it run for 24 hours. It seemed to recalibrate itself.

I've tried the fix a leak and it was just a waste of money. I had a main drain leak for over a year and finally decided to check the line. I started digging down at the filter and when I got to the first elbow I noticed it was off and never been glued on. To find other leaks I fill the pool and keep an eye on the level until it stops going down and mark it with duct tape. That will give you an idea where the leak may be. If there are no cracks at that level, it may well be in your in one of your lines. Check around the skimmer inside the pool. A lot of time the plaster does not stick or falls off where it connects to the plastic skimmer. If so, I've had good luck just caulking it and it stopped the leak. You may also want to check behind the light if you have one in the pool.

I've run across this also. The main drain was separate from the spa main drain. The main drain for the pool came up into the skimmer, which is how it gets back to the filter. If you look in the skimmer and both ports on the bottom are open there's a good chance that is how yours works. If so you should also have a disk in the bottom that looks like a flying saucer. That is how you control the flow of the main drain and skimmer. If that is the case do not let your water level drop below the skimmer or you will lose all filtration from the main.

I've had more than a few technicians from Sta-Rite come out to check this problem and everyone said the water was fine. Sta-rite talked me into switching to a cupro-nickle heater and that did not make a difference. Second time I started it up I had the same issue. I took the older one and installed it in one of my other pools that is not a "salt" pool and have never had the scale problem. I have a hayward on my third pool which is also a salt pool and have not had an issue with that one when firing up the heater. I have friends who have "salt" pools and have just installed the Pentair version of the same heater, so I will see if the same thing happens.

I have this problem every year when the temperature gets down around 32 degrees. Once it warms up the pump quiets down again. I would wait until it warms up a bit in your area before you start fixing things.

I had a fiberglass pool and wanted to add a heater. The problem I had was there was no main drain, just the skimmer. If that is your case you will find it difficult to heat the pool water that is lower than the skimmer unless your returns are very low.

I changed the blower motor and that seems to do the trick. They recommend changing the gas orifice on the blower that I got but I saw that after I got it all together again so I hope it's not a big deal. So it seems the blowers only last two years from my experience. I have two of these units. I would mention that these units do not work well with salt generators since they always put out large pieces of scale when you start up the heater and shorts out the cells. I had to add a bypass last year and switch to chlorine tablets when heating the pools. Thanks for all of your help and patience.

Well, took off the blower and everything looked good in there, no blockage. No water in the exchanger. Looks like I'm going to have to start looking for prices for the blower online. Cleaned out more insulation and left the rats another treat.

I'm sorry, I thought you said in your hand. That's the bolt I was going to remove. What will that indicate?

I did not see any pictures in your first post on this topic. Are you referring to the bolts that hold the water inlet/output manifold. I see in the diagram that there are four insulation blankets. Like I said, there was quite a bit of chewed up insulation around the outer part of the heat exchanger. I'm thinking instead of taking the blower off, just removing the one piece metal elbow/combustion chamber cover assembly. I'm wondering if there may be a nest or torn up insulation in there that is restricting air flow form the fan to the flue stack.

I've already had to change two blower motors. I did look at the windings and everything looked fine, no burnt smell. I have two units, one working and this one so I can compare them. Been raining for two days now, I'll let you know how I make out taking the blower off and cleaning it. Thanks for the help.

I checked the air flow hoses and they were intact. I'm thinking maybe the first time I turned it on some insulation may have gotten sucked into the blower. I'm going to pull it off and see if there is anything blocking it.

Today I went back and took the covers off and started it up. After running for five minutes the entire unit shut down and the AFS led on the back of the control panel was on. The diagnostic led on the ignition module flashes repeatedly one time indicating air flow fault. A few things I noticed was a bunch of yellow insulation around the bottom and by the gas module. I also noticed a few bite marks on a couple of wires, nothing broken. I noticed this a month ago and cleaned most of the insulation out. I did leave behind a poison rat pellet that is gone. Everything seems to point to the blower unit. Any ideas? Oh, I did not swap out the stack sensor.

Temperature doesn't seem to be an issue. I'll check that tomorrow. I was told in the past that you could check the flue temperature by holding down to buttons on the control panel, but I can't remember which ones they were. I was thinking of taking the flue stack sensor from my working one and swap it and see what happens.

The service heater comes on. I tried it today and it ran for about seven minutes before shutting down. First the gas shuts off and after the cool down, the blower shuts off.

No, it came out fine and went back in okay.

I had the same problem last year and changed the by pass valve, it was corroded, and that solved the problem. When I went to turn it on again this year, the same problem occurs. I checked the by pass and it looks fine. Tested it in a pot of boiling water and it opens and closes fine. I put it back in and still have the same problem. Any suggestions?