Service N' Repairs Startin With Heaters

Hurley

And here we go. This one's for you Ray.

Customer call, saying heater works some days, not others. As dennis Hopper once said "What do you do, what DO you do."

mdshunk

I'd probably start my troubleshooting by determining what type of heater it is.

Hurley

Do you mean Brand or gas fired versus heat pump.

mdshunk

Right... and if gas, HSI, electronic, standing pilot, etc. Each variety has a different list of things that can potentially cause intermittant operation.

Hurley

Much the same as Beer , booze, and liquor cuase intermitent failure in me (a lesson I will probably never learn).
Pool heaters are what I do and in this thread I'm hoping to help with basic diagnostics. So I would like to ask what is the first step to take in diagnosing. Being that I clame to know what I'm doing mabye I should start.
First thing to look at is the pool. Not the heater.

1. Take out the barracuda\Kreepy Crawley or any other vacume in the skimmer

2. Check\empty the skimmer and pump baskets and check the pump impeller for clogs

3. Backwash or bypass the filter.

Any of these can open a pressure switch to shut down the heater.

mdshunk

Oh, another one of these Socratic method guys. I wish you fellas would say that from the get go, so you don't waste the time of people who think they're responding to a person that needs help.

dirt diggler

easy ...

call Hurley ...

have him fix ...

shake hands with Hurley ...

drop invoice to customer in mail ...

voila!

(oh - shake hands with customer multiple times)

Hurley

Sorry MD, shoulda been up front bout it
And thanks Diggler. Think I owe ya both a beer.

POOLMANinCT

tempermental operation has always been toughest for me.

b4 the service call..

do you have sufficent gas in tank to push to burner.

flow hindered etc?

before the meters come out. unit & switch harnesses clean & tight?

is pilot burning? if no
relight , check tubing for obstruction. (redundant hi limit will break pilot circuit)

lit pilot, call for heat & continuity of safety harness.

spark system check fuse & transformer output. safety harness.

ju.p safety harness in both circumstances to qualify my control valve.

btw I do not check gas pressure that is fuel suppliers responsibilty...

at this point no parts have been changed.. are we burnin' boss?

POOLMANinCT

forgot to ask are we milli hsi or spark?

& btw if your not working on this thread stay in the truck... viola

Hurley

still workin it. And readin your post I can say you've got the basics dowm at least. So lets narrow it down. What gives you the most trouble.

dirt diggler

hurley ... have no fear ...

in about 3 weeks ... i will probably be getting this thread alone to its 5th page ...

rest up my friend ...

POOLMANinCT

troubleshooting 24v componets aside formbthe safety harnesses. mechanical control problems I usually nail...

its the electronics that I am weak in

ray

Hurley

I think I started this with "and here we go" . That rings true for us all as the good weather is on its way.
But tonight I gotta sign off. Will be on tomorow. Talk then.

dirt diggler

yeah ... im up way to late as it is


gotta get off these winter hours/sleep patterns ...

Viper

Teledyne Laars Natural Gas Pool heater model # ESG175N

I cleaned spider webs out to the orifices and fired away. Lit fine and shut off about 1 min. later. Now will not fire again. No gas is being released. Thermal couple is good and pilot is working fine.

Is pressure switch the only other thing that could cause the valve to not release gas?

I will test to see if switch is open tomarrow but didn't have a meter with me.

Poolman

Hurley
Easy if heater is millivolt sell an electronic ignition.(get rid of the pilot).

Viper
It could be a bad switch or like was stated above the flow could be impeded. It could be the fusible link if theres a mouse nest covering the heat exchanger. It could be a loose wiring connection. It could be the gas valve is bad. Best way after observing conditions is to get the meter out and check the circuits. If possible see above response to Hurley.
Scott

POOLMANinCT

well said poolman

problem lies where the power dies........

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

POOLMANinCT

oops didn't see it was a teledyne mv unit,

jump the redunadnt high limiy, rep even says the same

yellow wire w orange wire nut, ditch the nut & jump it to the valve, was a major tele defect a few yrs ago & they are still out there... but if pilot is lit its not the redundant.... jump entire
safety harness to give a good blast of mv throughout.....

you need pilot generator output #s, also I'm a big fan of continuity tests

ray

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

Viper

Went back today with meter and tested everything. All points tested fine so I turned gas from Pilot while testing to ON and poof it works perfectly.

I still have no idea why it wouldn't work yesterday

Only thing I can think is the pressure switch opened up.
PS. I've since backwashed