hey guys. So bought a Hayward Pool Heater (Item# H400FDN) from Inyo in April, 2019. Everything was working great when installed, but this was in the summer. Ran it a couple of times for the kids, while I tried to make sure I understand it’s operation, but that was it. Now it’s cold enough here in Louisiana to use it and I be damned the heater will not work. Same problem as my old heater and the main reason I replaced it. It fires up, runs for about 5-10 seconds blowing heat out the exhaust, and then turns off, cycles the fan, and restarts. This goes on for 3-4 cycles and then throws an error, of IF. The filter was cleaned last month, which I clean every 3-4 months, but I plan to check it again tonight. There are no leaves or debris blocking the exhaust, and I’ve verified my water chemistry.
What now?
I don’t even have a heater, but Googling found me this:
https://www.totallyhayward.com/techServices/pdfs/Splash_2-52.pdf
Maybe you have insufficent gas pressure?
Well, that is actually very helpful, if only to have me think about the problem differently. I oversized my NG entry, but the night I was running it, I had a NG grill running, a NG Heater next to our dining area going, and I just assume my NG Furnace was running. I will try it again when I get home, without all that running and see if my performance is different. I don’t want to purchase a manometer right now, but should that be the finding, then I can look to see if my NG Provider can do anything to improve my service pressure.
We’ll see tonight when I get home and post back. thanks
Unfortunately, that did not change anything, but at first I thought it did. The unit ran for 3.5min, before turning off and going through the recycle. Then it would relight and run anywhere from 20sec to 2.5min, before finally throwing the IF code. It’s raining today, so I will have to try cleaning the filter tomorrow to verify pressure, to just cover the bases. Then I will start tearing into my brand new heater to try and figure this out, what fun.
I don’t mind the maintenance and I can live with the cost, but it frustrates me when you invest In both and a new product doesn’t perform, and always when you need it to. Friends warned me about buying Hayward, including my pool tech who installed it. Said that most of his peers moved to Pentair, due to the problems including warranty repair difficulties for Hayward. Well, I guess I’ll get an opportunity to test that premise.
Thanks for the help, and sorry for the vent.
So 12/4 update, I found the troubleshooting section for my heater at Hayward. Went through everything I could except the gas pressure, as I did not have a manometer. Assumed when my installer (who Hayward requires to validate warranty) did that test, like anyone would with a natural gas appliance, when I noticed that the tape covering the adjustment pressure plug was undisturbed. Took a chance, ordered a $35 manometer off of Amazon, as a service call would probably cost me $75-$100 if I was wrong. Low and behold the pressure was below the 2 inH2O as required. Turn of a screw, and she is working like a champ. Thanks for the assist.
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WOW what a great outcome, we’ll done & now we all have access to this info.
know I learned something today. Thank you.