Pool heaters and the big bang

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Summer is upon us, and many of us will be inspecting pool and spa heaters again, at which time we could be ourselves vulnerable to flash-ignition, or the big bang. Flash ignition is not likely to kill someone, but it will certainly get their attention, and could scorch their eyebrows and whiskers. For this reason, I always inspect the combustion chamber before I turn the heater on, and then I stand to one side and wait patiently for ignition. Once or twice, I've been startled by the woosh and flash of built-up gas igniting, which typically occurs when spiderwebs occlude the orifices of the burners, and particularly on those burner orrifices immediately adjacent to the glow-coil or pilot.

[Brian E. Kelly]

More often than not Kieth I find the gas off to the heater and disclaim it.

And I have followed your recommendation and always suggest to remove diving boards.

[wforsyth]

Oh my!

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Glad to hear it Brian. Pretty soon everyone will be as paranoid as I've become and we'll all sit around sucking our thumbs. Stay tuned for more litigation horror stories.