Pool Heater

[NYHigh]

Ok, so I have #6awg= 2 hots, neutral and a ground running from main panel to heater disconnect. Then, from the disconnect to Heater.
I have a 240v GFCI breaker to install but:

1) The heater only has terminals for 2 hots and a ground. What do I do?

2) Just to be clear, this heater says 208/230v PH 1 60hz. Can I hook this up in a residential setting(meaning can i hook up 240v to this thing without ruining it?

3) what is available for bonding the pool frame? There is no lug on it anywhere? It's an above ground pool.

 

[suemarkp]

The heater does not require 120V, so don't connect the white wire. It does not need GFCI protection either. If you insist on a GFCI breaker, the white pigtail needs to be connected, but the load side white should just be left unterminated since you have no place to use it.

Something with a 208/230V nameplate should be fine on residential 240V.

For an above ground pool, there are usually metal diagonal pieces that are bolted in and provide rigidity to the shell. Tap into perhaps 4 of those bolts and attach a lug. Otherwise, look at the directions. Any pool manufacturer should know that their shell requires bonding unless it is completely non-metallic. You also need a way to bond the water -- have a metal ladder or anything else bonded that sits in the water?

 

[NYHigh]

The heater does not require 120V, so don't connect the white wire. It does not need GFCI protection either. If you insist on a GFCI breaker, the white pigtail needs to be connected, but the load side white should just be left unterminated since you have no place to use it.

Something with a 208/230V nameplate should be fine on residential 240V.

For an above ground pool, there are usually metal diagonal pieces that are bolted in and provide rigidity to the shell. Tap into perhaps 4 of those bolts and attach a lug. Otherwise, look at the directions. Any pool manufacturer should know that their shell requires bonding unless it is completely non-metallic. You also need a way to bond the water -- have a metal ladder or anything else bonded that sits in the water?

There is a ladder, i don't remember if it's metal or not. I'll check again.


I did a search about this and just noticed that someone else wired a pump and a heater like this one and someone mentioned to him that the pump and the heater should turn on and off at the same time. I think i messed up because i ran seperate disconnects and seperate circuits for each. Right now i have the heater fused at 50a and it is on a 60a a/c disconnect and the pump is fused at 20a on a regular weatherproof disconnect? Any suggestions with this setup? Am i asking for trouble?

 

[chris kennedy]

I did a search about this and just noticed that someone else wired a pump and a heater like this one and someone mentioned to him that the pump and the heater should turn on and off at the same time. I think i messed up because i ran seperate disconnects and seperate circuits for each. Right now i have the heater fused at 50a and it is on a 60a a/c disconnect and the pump is fused at 20a on a regular weatherproof disconnect? Any suggestions with this setup? Am i asking for trouble?

There should be a factory flow switch in the heater.

 

[NYHigh]

There should be a factory flow switch in the heater.

So what does that mean, when the pump turns on, since it is on a timer, it will automatically turn the heater on?

 

[chris kennedy]

So what does that mean, when the pump turns on, since it is on a timer, it will automatically turn the heater on?

If the thermostat says there is a need for heat. But it does mean the heater will shut down when the flow stops.

 

[NYHigh]

If the thermostat says there is a need for heat. But it does mean the heater will shut down when the flow stops.

The way this guy has it piped out is: Out of the pool, into the filter, out of the filter, into the heater, out of the heater, into the pool. What if there is no need for heat and the pump wants to run, how will it circulate if the heater did not turn on? And what if there is a need for heat but the pump doesn't want to run, how will it circulate if the pump is not on?

 

[NYHigh]

The heater does not require 120V, so don't connect the white wire. It does not need GFCI protection either. If you insist on a GFCI breaker, the white pigtail needs to be connected, but the load side white should just be left unterminated since you have no place to use it.

If I wire it this way, is the GFCI breaker doing absolutely nothing?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

If I wire it this way, is the GFCI breaker doing absolutely nothing?

If the unit does not require a neutral then you do not need to install one but the pigtail from the breaker must be connected to the neutral bar. It will function properly in this fashion.

 

[NYHigh]

If the unit does not require a neutral then you do not need to install one but the pigtail from the breaker must be connected to the neutral bar. It will function properly in this fashion.

But am I correct that if it is wired this way, the heater will not be GFCI protected because the load end of the neutral is not being used, therefore a regular 50a breaker will do the same job?

 

[stickboy1375]

There is a ladder, i don't remember if it's metal or not. I'll check again.


I did a search about this and just noticed that someone else wired a pump and a heater like this one and someone mentioned to him that the pump and the heater should turn on and off at the same time. I think i messed up because i ran seperate disconnects and seperate circuits for each. Right now i have the heater fused at 50a and it is on a 60a a/c disconnect and the pump is fused at 20a on a regular weatherproof disconnect? Any suggestions with this setup? Am i asking for trouble?

Most pool heaters I do have a firemans switch, this is a low voltage switch that turns the heater off 10-15 mins before the pump recirc shuts off. You'll also need a timer with a firemans switch, but read the heaters manual and see how they want it wired.

 

[chris kennedy]

But am I correct that if it is wired this way, the heater will not be GFCI protected because the load end of the neutral is not being used, therefore a regular 50a breaker will do the same job?

See page 3 of this link and sleep well. Note the grounded conductor for the breaker is landed, yet no load grounded conductor.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

But am I correct that if it is wired this way, the heater will not be GFCI protected because the load end of the neutral is not being used, therefore a regular 50a breaker will do the same job?

No, you are not correct. The heater is GFCI protected without a neutral but the pigtail from the breaker must be connected to the neutral bar. It works, trust me. :grin:

 

[suemarkp]

There are 2-pole GFCI's that have no neutral. These would work in your application. A double pole GFCI looks for leaks from each ungrounded conductor, and from the neutral if it has one. But the hot-hot-neutral oen is a butter unit to install. Maybe they'll need the neutral some day.

Your heater sounds like a heat pump. I have mine plumbed just like you indicate. When the pump isn't pumping, the heater will shut down because of insufficient water flow. If the pump is pumping, but no heat is needed, then all is fine as the water just goes through the heater without being heated. You can wire these heat pumps to turn the pump on if it is important to the homeowner to have the heater in control. I can't afford that... When my pump is off at night the pool cools down. The next day at noon the pump kicks in, and the heater will always come on. On a warm way, the heater may turn off in a few hours. It is forced off at 8:00PM when the pump turns off.

A huge gas heater may require that water keep going through it to keep it form melting down even when the gas is off. But I'd be surprised if you'd need much water for very long to deal with that -- there can't be that much stored heat in a gas heater, and water will absorb a huge amount of heat.