Swimming Pool Heater

These innovations were made possible due to the addition of computer boards, fans, motors, and other expensive mechanisms. With innovation comes challenge, so there were plenty of bugs and issues that all of the heater manufacturers experienced and are still experiencing. I will share our experience with the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to how the popular pool heaters stack up to each other.

There are three popular swimming pool heaters that our pool cleaning service in Irvine has experience with, so lets dive in. They are the Raypak P-R407A Digital LoNox Swimming Pool Heater, The Hayward H-Universal LoNox H400FDN Swimming Pool Heater, and the Pentair 460736 Master Temp LoNox Swimming Pool Heater. Let us start with the company that pre-dominantly specializes in boilers and heaters.

Raypak Swimming Pool Heater Is A Well Built Legend!

Raypak has been the authority in swimming pool heaters for over 50 years. Every once in a while, our pool cleaning service in Irvine will come across a working Raypak Pool Heater from the 60’s which is proof of how well built their pool heaters are. Raypak focuses on heaters and boilers unlike the other pool equipment manufacturers who also build pumps, filters, salt systems, etc. etc. Some say this specializing is what makes them better!

The older Raypak RP-2100 had a few bugs along with the other heater makers. Specifically, The temperature control board needed replacing prematurely on several of our installs and we had several cases of noxious, fumey gas that came from blocked up heater injectors and burner tubes from spider webs. Raypak changed a few things and have worked out some of their bugs, but all the heaters have very sensitive gas composition issues and will have challenges with blocked injectors and burner tubes due to demand for more gas with a LoNox Pool Heater.

You can expect fewer problems from a Raypak LoNox Pool Heater than from the other pool heaters from our pool cleaning service experience, but this does come at a premium as Raypak does make the most expensive, pool heater! It also comes stock with a copper heat exchanger which is fine unless you have a salt water pool or a heavily used hot spa in which case you would want to upgrade to a cupro-nickel plated heat exchanger to better protect your pool heater from corrosion and erosion. This upgrade could cost $300 to $500 extra with the Raypak and this needs to be considered.

Hayward LoNox Universal-H Pool Heater Is Good For Salt Pools and Hot spas!

Hayward has changed their pool heater design a couple times in this last decade, but has come up with a pretty decent, factory tested pool heater that is competitively priced. The major benefit of this Hayward Universal-H-400FDN pool heater is it comes stock with the cupron-nickel plated heat exchanger which makes it attractive for a salt pool or a heavily used spa. This means that you can expect to pay around $300 to $500 less than the Raypak which has to be upgraded to the cupron-nickel heat exchanger.

We have seen more pre-mature repairs on Hayward’s temperature control pad and computer boards than with Raypak and these can be expensive repairs (up to $800 or so). You also need to make sure and measure that you have enough room for the clearance of this Hayward Universal-H Pool Heater, because it has an awkward, low, and wide shape which leads me to the major benefit of our next pool heater.

Pentair LoNox Master Temp Pool Heater is Light and Compact!

You will get the lightest and smallest pool heater I have ever seen in the Pentair 460736 Master Temp Pool Heater. This heater makes for easier installs when it comes to tight spaces and walls that maybe need lifting over.

At 84%, this heater also rates highest in energy efficiency with the others only slightly less. The difference in energy efficiency is not huge, so it is not enough to gain much favor from us, yet. Like the others, this heater has had it’s share of bugs and issues as well.

Pentair has changed the design of their heater several times this past 16 years, but this appears to be a keeper for now! We have noticed some issues with using this pool heater with large sized pumps. Installers need to be aware of the tolerance of water flow within the heat exchanger for all the pool heaters, but especially this one from our experiences.

And the Best Swimming Pool Heater is?

Our favorite is the Raypak LoNox Digital Heater! This does come with conditions, however. The Hayward Universal-H comes in a close second as it is usually cheaper and comes stock with the cupron-nickel plated heat exchanger which makes it well built for a salt pool or a heavily used hot spa. If you have a salt pool or a hot spa, you should buy the Raypak LoNox Pool Heater and upgrade it to a cupron-nickel plated heat exchanger and pay the extra money or save that money and buy the Hayward LoNox Universal-H Pool Heater knowing you may need that saved money for a repair sooner.

The last point I want to make is for you to understand that these modern LoNox pool heaters have a lot of mechanisms, parts, and computer boards in an outdoor setting . You should expect more expensive, necessary repairs than older heaters had. Aggressive pool or spa water can damage your new pool heater, so make sure you hire a water chemistry certified pool cleaning service in Irvine to avoid prematurely destroying your new pool heater.

Be sure and read some of our other articles like perfect water chemistry , so you can follow some basic water chemistry instructions to make your pool heater last the test of time. An efficient swimming pool heater is just another piece of your Pool Heaven in Irvine.