Pool heaters and the big bang

Summer is upon us, and many of us will be inspecting pool and spa heaters again, at which time we could be ourselves vulnerable to flash-ignition, or the big bang. Flash ignition is not likely to kill someone, but it will certainly get their attention, and could scorch their eyebrows and whiskers. For this reason, I always inspect the combustion chamber before I turn the heater on, and then I stand to one side and wait patiently for ignition. Once or twice, I’ve been startled by the woosh and flash of built-up gas igniting, which typically occurs when spiderwebs occlude the orifices of the burners, and particularly on those burner orrifices immediately adjacent to the glow-coil or pilot.

More often than not Kieth I find the gas off to the heater and disclaim it.

And I have followed your recommendation and always suggest to remove diving boards.:wink:

Oh my!

Glad to hear it Brian. Pretty soon everyone will be as paranoid as I’ve become and we’ll all sit around sucking our thumbs. Stay tuned for more litigation horror stories.