They voided your warranty because you are loyal and did your pool heat pump homework.

I received a call yesterday from a pastor at a bible camp requesting parts to repair his swimming pool heat pump. 15 years ago he had bought a swimming pool heat pump made by one of the largest pool equipment company in the United States. At that time they were happy to see him buy it from his computer. The camp is on a tight budget and they needed all the money possible for activities and quality counselors. He did his homework and bought what he thought was a good heater. It proved to be a good choice at that time as it lasted for many years. Recently he had to replace it due to age and the fact that his camp is near the ocean and subjected to salt and harsh weather. He bought another heater made by the same manufacturer because the old heat pump had given him good service and he liked to stay with what worked. He didn’t buy it from me as I would have advised otherwise now. The new heat pump failed quickly after he bought it. He called the factory to arrange warranty service as it was well within the time period printed in his owner’s manual. They asked him if he had put the heat pump in himself and he answered truthfully, that yes he did glue the pipes and set the unit, but he had a licensed electrician transfer the wires from the old one to the new one. The well-know factory then thanked him for calling and told him that they were voiding his warranty. Their new business model is that now only want local pool companies to install heat pumps. That is their new marketing strategy to get more pool contractor business. There is no school that gives diplomas for gluing 2 PVC pipes and putting a heat pump on a hand truck to set it on a concrete slab. He was loyal to the company for 15 years, and bible camp or not, they treated him with no respect or courtesy. Broke my heart to hear this story. Especially that kids are involved. I ordered him the parts, but that will take time and the camp pool is cold during their short camp season. If you want to know what company it was, give me a call. It seems some other companies are looking for lame excuses to void warranties too. I won’t let that happen to you. I know which companies want your business and then they stand behind their warranties because they care about you and also their reputation. Get a heat pump made in North America with a long warranty that has high efficiency and a good reliability record and you will have the highest chance of many years of trouble-free service. It just so happens that I know a few. 🙂