Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's $52.
This can get old real fast.

Brand is Teledyne ~ Telstar

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:44:09 +0000, jthread wrote:

Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's
$52.
This can get old real fast.

Brand is Teledyne ~ Telstar

What's the malfunction, mechanical or electrical?

on the switch it self i'm not sure but i can bypass the switch. so it's
getting juice, i'm assuming it's mech. but is there a easy way to check?

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:10:31 +0000, jthread wrote:


"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:44:09 +0000, jthread wrote:

Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's
$52.
This can get old real fast.

Brand is Teledyne ~ Telstar

What's the malfunction, mechanical or electrical?

on the switch it self i'm not sure but i can bypass the switch. so it's
getting juice, i'm assuming it's mech. but is there a easy way to check?

One way would be to look at the contact points and see if they are closed
when the water is cold enough to need heat. But not having a picture of
this switch in my head doesn't help me to help you much. Do you have a
part number?

i'll get the part number, and i'll remove the part and get a picture of it.
right now i'm going to take a nap. i'll get back later today or tomorrow

thanks

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:32:35 GMT, "jthread" wrote:


i'll get the part number, and i'll remove the part and get a picture of
it.
right now i'm going to take a nap. i'll get back later today or tomorrow

thanks


On my Pentair gas heater this is a diaphram and a microswitch. I am
pretty sure I could just replace the switch, never had it go bad.
Be sure you get this working and don't just jumper it out. It is an
important safety function to be sure you have water flowing in the
system before you turn on the heat.

i won't. i was just checking to see what the problem was. probably not a
good idea even then!

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:10:31 +0000, jthread wrote:


"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:44:09 +0000, jthread wrote:

Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's
$52.
This can get old real fast.

Brand is Teledyne ~ Telstar

What's the malfunction, mechanical or electrical?

on the switch it self i'm not sure but i can bypass the switch. so it's
getting juice, i'm assuming it's mech. but is there a easy way to check?

One way would be to look at the contact points and see if they are closed
when the water is cold enough to need heat. But not having a picture of
this switch in my head doesn't help me to help you much. Do you have a
part number?

well, it started working so i'm leaving it on. but my heater looks exactly
like this one

http://www.poolcenter.com/parts_heat...rs_telstar.htm

my switch looks just like this one

http://www.lowpricedpoolsupply.com/s...rs-3903bp.html

"jthread" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:32:35 GMT, "jthread" wrote:


i'll get the part number, and i'll remove the part and get a picture of it.
right now i'm going to take a nap. i'll get back later today or tomorrow

thanks


On my Pentair gas heater this is a diaphram and a microswitch. I am
pretty sure I could just replace the switch, never had it go bad.
Be sure you get this working and don't just jumper it out. It is an
important safety function to be sure you have water flowing in the
system before you turn on the heat.

i won't. i was just checking to see what the problem was. probably not a good
idea even then!

If you are going to replace the switch anyway, take it off, take it apart if
possible and look for defects. Something mechanical that is popped out of place,
or corroded switch contacts. Re-assemble it correctly, clean the contacts and
see if it works right.

Thinking more, look first for plugged passages which would prevent pressure from
getting to the actuator.

Bob

"Bob F" wrote in message
. ..

"jthread" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:32:35 GMT, "jthread" wrote:


i'll get the part number, and i'll remove the part and get a picture of
it.
right now i'm going to take a nap. i'll get back later today or tomorrow

thanks


On my Pentair gas heater this is a diaphram and a microswitch. I am
pretty sure I could just replace the switch, never had it go bad.
Be sure you get this working and don't just jumper it out. It is an
important safety function to be sure you have water flowing in the
system before you turn on the heat.

i won't. i was just checking to see what the problem was. probably not a
good idea even then!

If you are going to replace the switch anyway, take it off, take it apart
if possible and look for defects. Something mechanical that is popped out
of place, or corroded switch contacts. Re-assemble it correctly, clean the
contacts and see if it works right.

Thinking more, look first for plugged passages which would prevent
pressure from getting to the actuator.

Bob


yes, that's exactly what i was thinking. it started working again. thanks.

jthread wrote:
Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's $52.
This can get old real fast.

The coiled copper tubing between the header and pressure switch should
be filled with mineral oil -- direct water contact with the diaphragm
can cause it to corrode.

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:59:56 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

well, it started working so i'm leaving it on

What do your pressures look like? It may be working right if your
filter is plugged up or you have some suction throttling.

just checked it pressure was fine. it's also working fine, i'll try
tomorrow. i was trying to turn the spa on so it probably dropped when i
changed the valve for settings. i think it's a combination of pressure and
maybe clogged lines to the switch.

to be continued...


thanks

"jthread" writes:

Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's $52.
This can get old real fast.

No experience with pressure switches other than the fact that I replaced
one in my pool heater when it started leaking.

My experience with pool heaters is that all the parts wear out and it
doesn't take long before you have to replace the whole thing.

I've replaced most of the parts and last year so many major parts were
worn out or rusted out, I had to replace the whole thing. Apparently
the combination of heat, water, and being outdoors all winter is
pretty hard on them.

Never had a $52 repair. All my repairs were way over that.
Make sure to keep the PH near neutral.

"Dan Espen" wrote in message
...
"jthread" writes:

Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's
$52.
This can get old real fast.

No experience with pressure switches other than the fact that I replaced
one in my pool heater when it started leaking.

My experience with pool heaters is that all the parts wear out and it
doesn't take long before you have to replace the whole thing.

I've replaced most of the parts and last year so many major parts were
worn out or rusted out, I had to replace the whole thing. Apparently
the combination of heat, water, and being outdoors all winter is
pretty hard on them.

Never had a $52 repair. All my repairs were way over that.
Make sure to keep the PH near neutral.

thanks, I get my water check reg. The pool place is pretty close by. I think
your right about my heater. it's about 25 y/o. and it's outside uncovered.
the people that lived here before never used it. they thought it was beyond
repair. it only needed a pressure switch. i don't think they used the pool
at all. i found that switch on the internets for $27. still expensive but
quite a difference.

"Bob" wrote in message
...
jthread wrote:
Anyone have experience with pressure switches?

Mine has malfunctioned twice in one year. I just looked it up and it's
$52. This can get old real fast.

The coiled copper tubing between the header and pressure switch should be
filled with mineral oil -- direct water contact with the diaphragm can
cause it to corrode.

makes sense, thanks