ikbpool Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 just bought a house with and old gas raypak pool heater was working fine till today now pilot is is on and today heater working most of the day. Burner wont start. what I have tried so far. Back washed filter cleaned all baskets. Cleaned out burner area. switched to spa. Help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ps558 Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 just bought a house with and old gas raypak pool heater was working fine till today now pilot is is on and today heater working most of the day. Burner wont start. what I have tried so far. Back washed filter cleaned all baskets. Cleaned out burner area. switched to spa. Help How do feel with testing the heater with a meter or jumping out components? The pilot light lights the burner but also heats a pilot generator mounted next to it. This creates millivolts that go thru the fusible link,pressure swith, hi limits, on/off switch, thermostat to the gas valve. If everything is good the heater lights. It can be dangerous to work on pool heaters so be careful or call a pro. First turn the gas valve to pilot position, this leave the pilot lit. Check for any loose wire connection or burned wires. Were the pipes come in and out of the heater is a removable panel. This were the hi limits are. The pressure switch might also be here of in the main bay connected to a copper tube usally in the upper right side. Circle looking with 2 wires. If you have a volt meter set it to 2 volts on the DC scale. turn the thermostat to lowest setting and the on/ off switch to off. Were the red and white wires from the pilot generator to gas valve take a reading should be above 300. Is it is lower than this there is a problem with the pilot generator. If it above this turn the on/off switch to on and thermostat to highest setting and take another reading it still should be above 250. Now to find were the millivolts is lost leave one probe at the gas valve and take the other lead and test each side of the fusible link , pressure switch hi limits etc. Were the volts drop is were the bad part is. The second way is not recommended but can be done. The heater as it is in the on position calling for heat. You take a piece of wire and jump out each component of the heater seperatly. When it lights that is the bad part. Give it a little time for the gas valve to open. Do not remove any wire or the pilot might go out. Try not to stand in front of the heater fuel air mixtures can burn violently. As I stated it might be better to call a pro and have look at it. Some Gas companies even have techs to look at pool heaters as well as a pool store Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 Being an older Raypak Probably with the cast iron headers and flanges, It more than likely the pressure switch. Just take a small piece if wire (as mentioned b4) or a metal screwdriver and connecting the 2 leads on the pressures switch which is located in the upper middle in the front. When jump the pressure switch and if the heater fires then you need to change it out. If not then I would call and get it serviced because it just may need a good cleaning if you havent had it done b4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 something else to try... The problem may be the pilot, if carbon/spider gets into the burner of the pilot, it can sometimes "deflect" the flame away from the pilot gen tube. If you bend down and look at the pilot, it may appear to be on but the hole where the flame shoots out to heat the bulb is clogged. sometimes you can tap the assembly firmly, not hard to dislodge the obstrution. since your heater works sometimes and not others, you might get lucky. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikbpool Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Hi I just want say thanks to everyone for your answers I did a little of everything and the pool heater is working. Your answers were very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrs01 Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Hi, I also have a similar spa heater problem - i have tried jumping all the components out and also direct linking into the valve but still nothing... I have checked the millivolts and seem to be ok. Is there anything that goes wrong with the gas valve itself or is it easy to clean up? Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ps558 Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Hi, I also have a similar spa heater problem - i have tried jumping all the components out and also direct linking into the valve but still nothing... I have checked the millivolts and seem to be ok. Is there anything that goes wrong with the gas valve itself or is it easy to clean up? Ta Most of the milivolt heaters will not lite with any reading below 200 milivolts. Check with a volt meter on a 2 VDC scale. Gas valve can go bad and need replaced there is no taking them apart. You can also try cleaning all the wire connections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.