I was thinking about swimming pool heat pump service problems today. My favorite models have the least issues of course. They are still just machines, and sometimes they need to be repaired. Some of my favorite brands that I sent out 15 to 20 years ago are still running and have never been touched by a mechanic. I hope that the ones that I like now will have the same performance. That isn’t too good for my business model now but maybe customer referrals will make up for that. A pool is supposed to be fun and relieve stress and not cause you stress with operational problems. My goal has always been to have give people a comfortable pool that they can use for the longest possible time where they live. The most common call that I get is that there are no unions included on their new heatpump. The unions are inside the access panel usually taped to a PVC pipe so that they don’t get lost of or broken in shipment. The next most common call is that the heat pump is leaking water. 99.9% of the time that is normal condensation that is caused when you take heat out of the air to put in the pool you bring the air below the dew point and water then drips out of the pool heater. The more water on the ground the better the heat pump is heating. If you are ever in doubt that it is condensation you can test it with a chlorine strip to see if it reacts to pool chemicals. If no reading than you are fine. You can also turn the swimming pool heat pump off for a day to see if the area dries out. If it does dry out then everything is normal. Tripped breakers and blown fuses are common. Check that before you pay for a service call on your heater. Most issues are flea type things. The big elephant repairs are pretty rare. I think one in 5000 pool heat pumps lose a compressor. That could be a figure from the air conditioning / heating industry but I am sure it is close. Fan motors on pool heaters sometimes fail. Many times that is because they are installed just under the drip edge of the roof. They are designed to be outside for 15 years but are not designed to get a flood of water from the roof during a rain storm. If you have no choice and can’t move it then maybe put a 6 foot gutter over the heat pump. Electrical controls like contactors and relays are taken out by ants many times especially in the South. I have even seen a opossum and huge frogs in the control panel. They got in their when they were little and then grew too big to get out. You might have to seal up some holes when that happens. Not on my new heat pumps though. They are pretty well sealed up. If it starts raining frogs then you have bigger problems than your pool heater and I would take cover inside. If anyone has any trouble shooting questions please write, text or call and I will try to help out.
Keep swimming. It is great exercise and lots of fun.
I am on your side.
Best,
Marcus Cell 360 348 7574
I want you to have the best swimming pool heat pump with the longest warranty, the highest efficiency, made in the USA, with the least chance of needing service. I feel like this year pool owners are consulting Voltar to pick a heater or chiller. How do I know this? The hint I have is that they are calling me after they buy for help with an issue with the machine. I have seen and probably serviced every swimming pool heat pump and most gas heaters that were made in the USA since the early 1980s. People ask me if they should buy a metal cabinet heat pump and they live on the beach. I say that it isn’t a good idea and they go someplace else and buy one. I say that my customer should only buy a USA made heat pump with engineers in the country and service contractors ready to help and then they buy a Chinese heat pump for $200.00 less and have to call China if something goes bad. I was given a Chinese heat pump for free after a trade show to test on my pool from %#@& so I know what it is like to e-mail and call China when it is dead on arrival than watch the Chinese rep disappear when it isn’t a simple fix. I tell a customer to buy a big heat pump and then they order a 50,000 Btu heat pump from e-bay for their 25,000-gallon pool and then bad mouths heat pumps instead of the bad research. If you are going to live in your home for more than a year then please get a reliable, heat pump that is made in the USA with high efficiency for a low power bill, doesn’t shut off at 55F when you need heat the most, has a long warranty, big enough for your pool with a titanium heat exchanger that is quiet, covered with a polymer cabinet and stainless steel fittings so it doesn’t look like a sunken ship salvage after a few years. I had a customer spend $100.00 more for a Canadian heat pump with a factory 2000 miles from them when a great manufacturer was one hour from their home with factory service guys patrolling their neighborhood like police officers in a crime zone. (It also had a 5-year labor warranty.) That is an amazingly long time for labor in your backyard. Now everyone is asking me to buy the Hayward Heatpro HP2104T with 140,000 Btu’s. I have sold lots of them with no issues. Maybe I have sold more than most pool guys. Also, some of my favorite people are Hayward engineers and customer service guys that I have known for more than 20 years. (You know who you are) The problem is the warranty isn’t very long is most states. It might be good for some people and for others they can do better. I want you to do better. Since you should not buy a heat pump more than once or twice in your life, you need to get it right the first time. Pool heat pump buying is not just about buying the biggest Btu unit. There are lots of variables to consider. Just ask me and I will tell you the pros and cons of most of the brands as I have seen and service most of them. Some USA manufacturers are buying Chinese heat pumps and then just putting their label on it and selling like their own. Some are putting the heat pump together in the USA and using foreign and Chinese parts. The warm tropical water in your pool should be a fun thing and not a burden if it fails. Let me know what kind of project you have going on and I will pick a model that checks all the boxes so that you get the best possible heat pump and have the longest swimming season.
