If your heater is not connected to an
automated system, turning it on and heating up your pool and spa can
be confusing. Almost all heaters have a simple to use control panel
that you can use to turn on the heater and set the desired
temperature. In this video I am using the Jandy JXi Pool & Spa
Heater but your heater is probably very similar to it.
On the heater itself is the control
panel and from there you can turn the heater on and set it for pool
or spa mode. Once the pool pump is on you can then set the heater to
the desired temperature and turn it on. If you are going to heat an
attached spa, you will have to turn the valves to spa mode. I go over
that in detail in the video.
Let me go over some common mistakes and
user errors when it comes to manually setting your heater.
I see these mistakes out on my pool
route and once you know about them you will be much wiser when using
your heater.
Heater has no power?
The buttons on the
heater will not function unless the pool pump is turned on. If you
are trying to turn on the heater outside of the pool's daily timed
run cycle you will need to turn the pump on at the timer box. Once
the pump is on and running you should see the control panel on the
heater activate. Now you can set the heater to the desired
temperature and mode – either pool or spa mode.
Can I heat the Pool with the Spa
Settings?
You can heat the
pool from either “Pool” or “Spa” mode but the heater has a
dedicated mode for a reason. In each mode you can set a desired
temperature and the heater will save that set temperature for you. So
if you turn on your heater to heat your pool and you press the “Spa
Heat” button the pool will then heat up to whatever temperature is
set for the spa. Usually it is set at 98-100 degrees. So the pool
will heat up to 98-100 as if it were the spa. So it is best to use
the “Pool” button and set that temperature to your desired level,
usually 80-85 degrees. So both buttons will turn on the heater but
each button has a set temperature for either the pool or spa.
How do I put my Heater in Spa Mode?
This is a very
common problem and I think the pool valves can be a little hard to
figure out. The majority of pools use Jandy valves, notice that the
small handle part is the “on” position and the large flared part
marked “off” is the off position. The suction line valve is
located right in front of the pool pump. Turn this valve handle
completely to the opposite direction. Then find the return line valve
handle and turn that one completely to the opposite position. The
return valve is the one coming out of the heater. Once you have both
of these valves turned you should be in “Spa Mode.” After doing
this several times you will get the hang of it. When done make sure
you turn the valves back again so that it will be in “Pool Mode”
when the timer starts up later that day or the next day. Otherwise
the pool will remain off all week and it will be circulating only the
spa.
Why is my Heater running the next
day still?
One thing that you
must do when you finish using the heater, besides turning the valves
back to pool mode from spa mode is to turn off the heater. Most
heaters have a pretty obvious “off” button. The heater may turn
off during use once it reaches the set temperature but to actually
turn it off after use you will need to hit the “off” button on
the heater itself when you are done using it. Note also that if you
turn the pump off before turning off the heater and you push the
“off” button on the heater, it will not turn off. Remember, for
the buttons to be active the pump must be running. So before turning
off the pool pump, hit the “off” button on the heater. If you
fail to do this the heater will be running every time the pool turns
on for it's timed programmed cycle. So the pool can potentially be
heated all week and in most cases if you were using the spa and
turned the valves back to pool mode the pool will heat up to the spa
temperature (98-100 degrees) giving you quite hefty gas bill.
My Spa is draining down after I used
it last night?
Unless it is a bad
check valve chances are you didn't turn the valve completely back to
pool suction and it is still partially open to the spa suction. Since
most spas have a small bypass returning water to it, even a small
amount of suction from the spa drain will cause it to drain down.
Just make sure that you turn the valves completely back to pool mode
when done.
So these are some common user errors
and mistakes that are made when using the pool heater. One way to
ensure that the heater will not turn on after using it is to shut off
the gas line after each use. Many heaters are installed with a simple
shut off handle and this is a great way to insure you won't get hit
with a giant gas bill.
Related videos:
Jandy JXi Pool & Spa Heater
Overview Video: https://youtu.be/kNroru8-zf0
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