My Raypak is only 3 summers old, from first summer the mother board needed to be replaced after two months of use, pool closed following summer no equipment was used, this summer more fault codes after about a month. Was told by a pool company the board needed changing again, defective. However, Shutting down heater this usually resets.
I also noticed the digital display in front seemed a bit foggy or had condensation.
Upon inspection, realized water from rain seeps into the control area of heater where the electronics are! What a poor design! There is a direct shot from the vents on the top where the rain can come inside through an opening directly behind control board where it was not properly designed for weather proofing. These engineers have overlooked a very simple problem that should have been addressed before production. At about $400 a shot to have a professional install replacement boards every couple of years you would think someone would have discovered this! The pool companies can’t be bothered trying to find the problem, much less hassle for them and more lucrative to just change the board with a new one.
I probably will never buy a raypak again because of this oversight!
Is there a cover/duct/chimney that can be installed where gas fumes vent on top so the rain does not go on the vents?
Contacted customer service at Raypak explaining the design flaw that causes condensation and water in electronic compartment. This is a constant problem as long as there is rain and customers that are unaware will just be told “bad or defective Board”.
Response by company was “out of warranty” Period.
Do yourself a favor and purchase a different brand heater. Terrible customer service and no attempts to even help alleviate the obvious problem or even send a replacement mother board. I imagine buying these circuit boards at over 400 dollars installed provives a source of revenue they perhaps would rather not lose.
My next heater will not be a Raypak just based on the companies response. May even replace this heater sooner than later even though only 3 years old so as not to dump $400 every year for continuous replacements.
The PC Board is located in a gasket protected control box, behind a rain baffle, that should keep rain water (that enters through the top vents) from reaching the control box. Although we don’t commonly see this, there would be a couple of things that may help: Install or repair gutters that may be allowing rainwater to fall directly onto the heater. Redirect any lawn sprinklers that may be hitting the front of the heater. Avoid covering the heater in the winter- as that can cause condensation in the control box. Check the plastic control bezel for any cracks or gaps.
Thank you for the response! The plastic control bezel is so cheaply made one side of plastic hinge is broken so we put masking tape over top to protect and keep it shut. This by the way only happend this summer. The furnace is located where there is clear space, no water spouts, drains, or sprinklers anywhere near the vicinity. Also we do not use any winter cover. There was an older furnace this replaced that functioned for 13 years! There is no gasket under the front display or anywhere in compartment that i can see. The opening where water was coming in from top vents has no gasket or even screws mounting from underside. I used gorilla tape to seal this about one foot wide seem leaking to control box, then taped the edges of the plastic display panel on front as I could see water seeping in from top edge of plastic. Looking at my records we had one display panel and two “faulty” control boards so it is possible when the original parts were replaced the pool tech forgot to use a gasket, but there is nothing there now that I can see, plus if there is one it does no good. Right after a simple rain storm I would check the control box and of course water was inside. I used a blow dryer inside and on board to dry it out before taping seams.
The gorilla tape I used has solved the problem so far regarding water enetering, the display no longer presenting faiult codes as of today. Thankfully!
I wrote again direct to company and of course no respose or resolution, no surprise.
Sorry to hear that. Usually, their products hold up well. Maybe they had a design issue during that period when your heater was manufactured. Good luck and keep us posted if you hear from them.