YODA SAYS...

We are privileged to serve many businesses and organizations that operate pools. If you multiply the pools by the years, I think we have well over 200 pool years. Our techs age in dog years. We started tracking equipment failure and cost to individual assets in 2011. We found that about 3% of all the assets contribute to more than half the trouble and cost. That’s some leverage if you are paying attention. If we can identify and focus on the root causes, we will have fewer problems to deal with.

“Fix the leak before you mop up the floor” - Dad Pool heaters fail often.

“I hate a pool heater” - Pool builder that will remain nameless. Here I’m going to discuss preventing problems with pool heaters that use natural gas or propane as the heating source as this is the type we see fail most often. It may get a little techy, but just know what we are talking about is improving reliability and reducing costs. That makes for more universal happiness.

There are two primary areas we can look at to prevent problems.

1. Combustion

2. Water Flow

Combustion – Gas and propane heaters use combustion to convert fuel into a heat source.

Combustion needs 3 things; Fuel, Spark, and Oxygen.

A lack of oxygen for combustion is a core problem. Many times these heaters are installed in a pump room. There is not adequate air introduced into the room for efficient combustion. When the heater has too little air, the fuel/air mixture is too rich; Too much fuel and not enough air. This makes the heater burn “dirty” and you will

BY CHUCK MOBLEY FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THERMAL CONDITIONING, INC.

get soot build up on the heat exchanger. Too much soot and the heat cannot go up and out the flue. The outside of the heater cabinet starts to get hot, and the paint on the heater starts to discolor. This will result in total failure and worse, a potential fire hazard.

What can we do?

Follow manufacturer suggestions and your local codes for proper combustion air.

Another issue we see a lot is chemicals being stored in the room with the heater. Fire needs oxygen for clean combustion. Air that has a high concentration of chemicals will have a detrimental effect on the combustion and reduce the life of the heat exchanger and can be a fire and health hazard. On a scale of good to not good, this is not good.

Water Flow – As water flows through the heat exchanger, it absorbs heat from the combustion that is taking place. Quite literally, there is a fire burning below the heat exchanger that is heating the water that flows through it.

Now imagine if you were to reduce the water flow by half. What would happen? If you had the same amount of heat energy but half the water, what would be the result? The water leaving the heater is hotter. Much hotter!

Problems with water flow may be the thing that destroys most heaters. You have to think like Goldie Locks; Not too little, not too much. We need it just right. Too little water flow leads to overheating and too much leads to the heat exchanger being fouled. Both conditions lead to early failure and expense.

It is critical. Every manufacturer has parameters for the minimum and maximum water flow through their heaters. Next time you are in your pump room or wherever your heater is, look to see how much water is flowing through the heater and if it is within those parameters. That is a loaded ask. In most installations, you have no way of knowing. This is not good.

There needs to be a way to know the flow rate through the heater and if that flow is within the parameters.

Some manufacturers will have a thermostatically installed governor to regulate water flow. We’ve seen many of these devices fail. Don’t trust it. A governor may tell you one thing and do another, as sometimes governors will do.

So there we go. Make sure we have adequate combustion air and are flowing the right amount of water through the heater. This will dramatically improve reliability and save you thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs. There was so much I would like to share, but I’m running out of space and word count.

Oh and thanks, Yoda. You did a great job as a dad.

3% of all equipment causes more than half the problems and cost. That’s leverage if you are paying attention” - Chuck

Located in Charlotte NC, Thermal Conditioning is a full-service mechanical contracting company that specializes in root causes. “Why do things go wrong and what to do about it?”

Thermal Conditioning has extensive experience with the indoor pool environment, including air quality, heating, cooling, and dehumidification of the air and pool water heating.

List Of Advertisers

3rd Level Consulting | p16

A3 Kids Performance | p15

All Women L.E.A.D. | p36

Career Plug | p11

Commercial Energy Services | p22

Cintas | p41

Cressi | p4

EOS | p23

FINIS | Inside Front Cover

Hinge | p25 iClassPro | p12

Jackrabbit Swim | p2

Neptune-Benson | p8

Risk Management Services | p34

Splash About | p6

TeamUnify | p20

Tri Swim | p31