The service and maintenance of pool heaters

The only way to determine any service and possible maintenance costs of swimming pool heaters is to read the manuals and brochures for the heaters in question.

Peace of mind

Most modern pool heaters require little (if anything) in the way of regular servicing, but every manufacturer is different.

Ensuring that there is a good warranty, paying for an extended warranty, or contracting to an annual service agreement, are ways of reducing, or pre-determining the on-going service and maintenance costs of your swimming pool heater.

As a general guide, swimming pool heaters that are powered by fossil fuels like oil, propane and gas function like conventional boilers or condenser boilers. As such, they require a similar level of servicing (and potential maintenance) as their standard “central heating powering” counterparts.

Heat exchangers and inverters generally require no servicing unless there is a problem and the same is true of solar powered heaters.

Consider the auxiliary components of the pool's heating system

Most swimming pool heaters are made from stainless steel and other none corrosive materials and consequently their lifespan is long.

However, components of a pool heater's system that can require maintenance, cleaning, or checking, include the pipe work that plumbs the heater into the pool and, in the case of a heat exchanger, the pipe work to and from the primary power source.

In the case of boilers, ventilation and flues can be expensive to buy and repair if there is a problem. It is therefore important to ensure that any guarantees or fitter's warranties include not just the heater itself, but the in-flow and out-flow pipes, the flue, and any controllers, separate thermostats or other components of the fitted system.

Most modern pool heaters have no ongoing maintenance costs, but check each manufacturers product literature for their guidance and recommendations.