I also have a TETCO heatpump that is suddenly resetting on the lowpressure lockout. I do have iron in my water and if possible would like to talk to you about how you have been maintaining your heatpump. Thank you!

A few things: Whenever a tech tells you your heat exchanger is bad, you should always have him show you proof, right then and there. If he can't and does not have a good explanation, I would be suspicious. What is the model number of this unit? Before proceeding you should look into your warranty status. The heat exchanger is usually warranted well beyond the rest of the unit's parts, though it may have required you or the installer to register it to get that extended period. Having said all that, I would not be surprised if the heat exchanger did indeed fail. The type of unit you have is known in our industry as a "gaspack" which is short for gas/electric package unit. Unlike split systems (with the furnace indoors), most of these are designed so that the heat exchanger comes after the cooling coil, meaning it sits in the cold air stream while the A/C is running and rots out quickly compared to a conventional furnace. Hence the rusting you've observed. Overall, if the heat exchanger is indeed bad, yes I would replace the unit. There are some things you can look for when buying a new unit that will help the heat exchanger last longer. Either -Heat exchanger placed before the evaporator coil (York to my knowledge is the only manufacturer that does this, no idea why the rest haven't copied them) or -Stainless steel heat exchanger - far more corrosion resistant (available on many brands) Despite my agreement with the contractor to replace the unit if the HX is indeed bad, I would still like to call attention to a bogus statement they made: >The gentleman from the HVAC company also said that my unit uses an older refrigerant that is no longer sold, so if the AC compressor ever goes out we'll need to replace the unit anyway. Is there truth in this statement? That would be R22 refrigerant. Yes, it is true that as of 2010 manufacturers were no longer allowed to produce units with this refrigerant. Now the industry has switched to R410A. However, R22 compressors are still available as replacement parts, and the R22 refrigerant itself is still being manufactured, although it is far more expensive than before. The manufacture of the actual R22 refrigerant does not need to stop until 2020. Even then, the use of recovered refrigerant will still be allowed for servicing. Bottom line: units with the R22 are still capable of being serviced easily and that in itself should not be a motivator to buy a new unit.

This is our second season that we have opened the pool. The pool installer actually closed it the first year and when we opened last year something water was leaking. Luckily it was still under warranty. The repairman said that that whoever closed the pool, should have removed the drain plug. Last year it was cracked gaskets. Also last year it a drip, this year water is pouring from the back of the heat exchanger on the left side. We did remove the plugs last winter. There was no chlorine left in the chlorinator, but I'm almost afraid to say this, but we may have pour some anti-freeze in the chlorinator. My neighbor was helping us close and she was pouring anti-freeze everywhere last winter. Just how do you winterize a heater? Evidently we are not doing it properly.

In the last 16 years I’ve been repairing and replacing pool heaters in the Houston area, we’ve encountered that issue thousands of times. Your salt is definitely the issue regardless if the heat exchanger is cupronickel or copper. In our environment we have to keep our salt generators at 60 percent chlorine out put regularly and 100 percent 1 day week. Two things salt destroys, Natural Stone and metal. We didn’t have this issue in our Industry until the late 90s when builders installed chemical feeders or salt chlorine generators on every equipment Pad. It’s the same issue with all major brands and not just Hayward. But copper and Cupronickel haven’t changed in the last 20 years, so why is this all of a sudden an issue? Why are heaters from the 80s and even 70s with the same metal alloys lasting this long? It all goes back to our ignorance as an industry? We finally realized the problem in the mid - late 2000s when the only thing that changed was chemical feeders. Even if installed on the discharge side of the heater, every time you empty the pump basket, your causing what’s known as “back pressure” Injecting air in the system causing water to backflow and sit directly inside the heat exchanger. If you have a d.e filter and have ever noticed a bunch of d.e appearing out of nowhere around your main drain, same issue. The solution is simple , an all plastic(impervious to hydrogen gas released from salt cell or extremely corrosive tablets that are 99 percent tricolor) prevents the water from backflowing and rotting out your heater. If a checkvalve is present but is the tradition clear glass jandy checkvalve with a metal spring is used...... no good. Remember salt is good for “us and the environment “ Not good for natural stone that is not polished and or sealed nor any types of Metal. You also need to make sure the heater is properly bonded with an 8-10 guage solid copper wire at the external binding lug. This has nothing to do and is seperate from grounding. This prevents galvanic corrosion in thinner metals by bonding iron rebar in pool structure and all metal in equipment area to a galvanized Steele grounding rod that draws electrons evenly through all metal ( known as the bonding grid) your pool company and Hayward should have informed you of these issues from the original Install which has been common knowledge in our industry since 2011.