What To Do When Your Pool Heater Won’t Start
Tips for troubleshooting your pool heater.
When you’ve been looking forward to a nice relaxing swim in a warm pool, it can come as quite a shock and a disappointment to discover that your pool heater won’t start. Most people’s troubleshooting abilities are limited to checking that the pool heater is plugged in if it is an electric heater or has fuel if it is a gas heater. However, you can expand your troubleshooting abilities with these simple tips.
Check the Filter
The most common cause of swimming pool heaters refusing to start up is a dirty swimming pool filter. A dirty filter or pump basket can restrict the water flow so much that the heater simply can’t work. Fortunately, this is an easy fix all you have to do is remove and clean the filter and make sure all the valves are open.
Check the Safety Switches
If the filter isn’t the problem, the next most likely cause of your pool heater problem is a disabled safety switch. Pool heaters are set up with a basic circuit known as the control loop. Each of the safety switches in this circuit must be enabled for the heater to turn on and begin to generate heat. You will probably need to consult your pool heater manual to identify these switches.
The first switch in the loop is the pressure switch, which controls the flow of water into the unit. To see if the switch is working right, you can check it for voltage with a power meter or multi-meter. You can also temporarily bypass the pressure switch by using a jumper wire to make good contact with both terminals on the switch. If the switch is the problem, bypassing it should allow your heater to start running.
If the pressure switch is not the problem or not the whole problem, you would need to continue through the rest of the control loop, testing the high limit switches, the thermostat switch, and the fusible link (on a gas heater).
Call The Stanley Louis Company
If you’re not comfortable troubleshooting your own pool equipment, you can call The Stanley Louis Company at any time for help figuring out why your pool heater won’t turn on. We work on all kinds of gas and electric pool heaters and you can rely on us to get the job done right the first time at a fair and affordable price.
We have a highly trained pool heater repair technician on call 24/7 to assist you with all your needs. To request service, please call us at 800-217-6527.
