Your pool or spa is lukewarm or cold, it won’t heat or won’t start, there is a rumbling or squealing noise? It may just take some detective work on your part to find the cause of the heater malfunction.  Sometimes the culprit is not in the heater itself.

Therefore, the first step to troubleshooting is to look ‘outside’ the heater or the environment it is in.

Checking the water circulation is a good place to start.  A heater will not start up if there is inadequate water flowing into it. If your pressure gauge is sitting higher than normal it is likely you will need to backwash or clean the filter. Conversely if the pressure gauge is lower than normal, check the pump basket and skimmer basket.

Check the on/off switch, gardeners or pool valets may have turned the unit off.

Check the pool plumbing valves are set correctly, again, the gardener or pool valet may have turned a valve off or set reset it the wrong way as part of the winterising process

Check the thermostat setting.  It may have been set lower of the winter period and has not been dialled back up.

Check the gas isolation valve. Sometimes when a heater is shut down for a period of time (over winter for example), the gas to the heater will be turned off at the gas isolation valve.

Troubleshooting heaters has been simplified with diagnostic lights, or codes, which some manufacturers include in their latest designs. Whether on the heater display or in its internal circuitry, the lights and codes can provide instant diagnostic information about the status of important system functions, including water flow, pressure, thermostat and gas-valve operation. When referring to your heater’s manual, you can determine whether these codes can be cleared by yourself, or if your gas technician is required.

Time to call the Pool Gas team for their expert help