Need help quick with heater

we have our annual memorial day weekend get-together coming up, and i'll be in trouble with the wife if i don't get the heater up and running in time...

it's a natural gas minimax heater. had no problems lighting the pilot, but the heater will not fire up. i could sure use some diagnostic help. as i turn the thermostat knob, i'm pretty sure i can hear clicking at some point, although it's hard to say for sure with the pump running 18 inches from my ear when i listen for it.

i've had trouble in the past with spiders blocking the gas jets. if that's the issue, would nothing happen at all? how can i get to them to see/clean? i've done some electrical work on other stuff, so i'm fairly comfortable with a VO meter. how can i check the electrical stuff with the VO to see if it's an electrical issue with a part that i could replace? any help would be tremendously appreciated.

update: the pressure switch and the on/off switch both test good for continuity.

do these things have a fuse in them somewhere? it's not even clear to me that it's getting any power at all. would the pilot light stay lit if there was no electricity getting to the unit?

ps - i know i should just call someone, but there's no way i'll get someone out here before next weekend, which is why i'm desperate.

thanks

Check your heater manufactures manual or web site they usually have a trouble shooting chart to go thru.

It has a standing pilot and it is on, well you know you have gas anyway.

Mine has power coming in and the pressure switch and an external heater temp switch connected to the pool controller. You could try shorting out the wires leading in to the pressure switch just to be sure and make sure you have 120 or maybe 240 feeding the heater itself. They are pretty straight forward. Does it have any indicators on the front? If they are on you should have power. Mine has two small circuit breakers in it on the right side I did trip one once, not sure how, but it was just a push to reset and I was good to go.

i'm not exactly sure where to look for power coming in... i poked around with the volt meter, just pretty much putting the leads on all of the wires into and out of the control module in pairs, and never got any voltage reading at all. let's say that the power switch is on and the pump is running... if there's power getting to the unit, would i get a voltage reading if i put the volt meter leads on the wire in, then the wire out of, the pressure switch?

i guess the question i really need to ask is where i can put the leads to see if there's any juice getting in there at all.

On my heater the power comes in and the first thing it does is runs through a transformer to 24v or 28v to control lines. There was a resetable breaker right at that input that tripped on mine. Oddly the power comes in on the left side, but all the controls are on the upper right side of the heater.

that sounds like a pretty good lead. wish it wasn't dark out! i'll check it out first thing in the AM. i'll report back.

ugh... one of the problems is that i'm not real smart. there's no breaker and no connections to check because it's a millivolt heater: there IS no electrical connection! it runs off a small charge generated by the pilot light. or, in this case, DOESN'T run.

i'm definitely getting charge from the generator: i measure almost a full volt from the wires coming from the generator, and i read on a different site that somewhere in the neighborhood of .5 volt is needed to fire it. i'm going to try and jump all the other switches and such to see if that fires it...

Hey Brock,

I have a Raypak 2100 with the digital display.

The digital dispay on my heater in not working but I'm getting power to the unit.
I know there's a small transformer by the on switch. I noticed you mentioned to docsobek that there was a small breaker on yours.

What is your brand heater? Where exactly was the breaker?

Thanks

I have the Purex/Triton MiniMax 200,000. The power enters on the left middle and crosses over to the far upper right side. My controls are in the middle top.

You said you have a Minimax heater. I also have a Minimax (propane) heater. There is no incoming power on this type of heater. The way it works (at least my Jandy/Laars unit) is the gas pilot stays lit all the time. The pilot heats up a device that creates the small voltage which is needed to allow the gas valve to open. If the pilot light ever goes out or the voltage generator doesn't work the large gas valve will never open and no heat. In addition to the voltage generator safety device you need continuity through the water pressure switch, a fusible link, high temp cutout switch, the on/off switch, and the adjustable thermostat. If you have the type heater I am describing you can test the entire circuit with a Volt-Ohm meter.
Can you provide the specific make and model of the heater?

Sure, it is the Purex/Triton MiniMax Plus 200,000 milivolt high efficiency electronic start. When heat is called for you can hear a rapid clicking, it makes a spark to ignite the gas. I would take a pic for you but my wife has the camera. I know they made all sort of models, some powered vent, some draft vent, some electronic ignition, some standing pilot lights, some with power and some without. Although I am not sure this really helps figure out this problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brock

I have the Purex/Triton MiniMax 200,000. The power enters on the left middle and crosses over to the far upper right side. My controls are in the middle top.

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Thanks. I'm going to start by checking for a breaker, then I'll change the transformer. The transformer is 40.00 vs 400 for the board.

If you can check the output of the transformer first. I would bet somewhere there is a fuse on the input and even likely the output side of the transformer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brock

If you can check the output of the transformer first. I would bet somewhere there is a fuse on the input and even likely the output side of the transformer.

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Will do. Thanks for the advise.

What I can tell you about heaters is that if the fan is ceased, NOTHING will work except the pilot light. Check the exhaust fan to see if it's ceased or stuck (if you have a fan assisted unit).