How To Winterize a Gas Pool Heater
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Winterizing a gas pool heater (all makes and models) comes down to closing the gas lines, removing the drain plugs and evacuating the water completely from the heater. Almost all gas pool heaters are the same though the actual location of the drain ports may differ from model to model. Since a pool heater is usually the most expensive piece of equipment on the equipment pad you absolutely want to take your time with winterizing and make sure you have done it thoroughly and correctly. Here are some of the most important points that you need to make sure you do not miss:
Remove all drain ports - Gas heaters will have between one to three small drain ports or draincocks installed. These will be on the sides of the unit, and occasionally underheath the header (where the water inlet / outlet pipes connect to the heater). Once you have removed all drain ports or plugs you can blow air through the heater by removing one (or both) inlet and outlet water pipes. As shown in the video above I prefer to set up my blower and leave it on for a good five to 10 minutes in order to makes sure all of the water has been evacuated. Replace brass drain plugs after winterizing if your heater uses brass plugs. Heaters using plastic plugs can be left of for the entirety of the winter season.
Close the gas valve(s) - Open the front of the heater access panel and inside the heater you will find a dial valve which is the internal gas valve. Make sure yours is set to "off: for the winter. On the outside of the heater you should also find another gas valve. Commonly, as in the video above, this valve is adjacenet to the heater for serivce. If you do not have one here, trace the gas line back to the gas meter and turn off the gas line valve here.
Turn off power circuit to the heater - Most heaters these days have electrical controls which means there is a circuit that supplies power to the heater. It is important to compeltely turn off this circuit. Even though the heater may not run, having power supplied to it will cause the step-down internal transformer to energize. This will create heat and in the winter season this attracts pests which is certainly something that can cause damage to pool heaters. By turning off the power you minimize how much rodents and other pests will be attracted to your heater.
Most modern heaters do not have a pressure switch that needs to be manually opened and drained. There are however some models of heaters which could have a pressure switch that needs draining. If you want to see an example of these and how to drain them you can check out this older article I have about winterizing pool heaters.
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