You can't go wrong with the MasterTemp or Raypak. Both heaters of choice for me. I have been trained on the LXi and believe me, it is beautiful from a technician standpoint. It has no service record though as it was only introduced in November. Keep in mind, Jandy (Teledyne Laars) has the roots in being a heater company. They retain a lot of those people. Raypak only makes one thing. Heaters. That carries a lot of weight too. The MasterTemp is a proven StaRite Max E Therm in a box. It is the toughest to work on as it is pretty complex and in a tight package. It is the most efficient of the heaters out there at 84% minus the HiE2. If you want small the Pentair is the way to go. It's a bit cheesy on some parts (electric connection, doors, plastic molding, but it's whats inside that matters and it rocks there.

Please bear in mind that many of the builders that frequent this board are busy building. They will probably respond but it will take some time. Many of the people that post here also post at TFP too, myself included. If your pool is already walled, backfilled and decked, the fact that you have a Hayward light niche and sand filter already pretty much makes the continuance of the Hayward equipment for the sake of continuity and integration a simpler path. The additional warranty is a bonus as is the fact that it will likely cost you less. I hope you weren't stung too badly by the PB's actions that lead to his conviction. If the pool has not been decked yet, it may be possible to change the niche but I don't know if the the mounting holes will line up. I have never had to replace a niche. Adding an addition hole for another niche with a steel walled pool might require an replacement wall panel. That will likely cost you a liner too. The additional fixture and niche is what costs, daisy chaining the power is usually pretty simple if the deck boxes and near each other. Without the decking, increasing the pipe sizes is easier, regardless of the pump. Slower moving water = less friction loss which begets lower energy costs and also improves safety, especially at the suction outlets. While the returns will be smaller, especially with eyeball return fittings in place, feeding them with bigger pipes is beneficial. A 2" pipe can move twice the water at a given velocity that a 1.5" pipe can. Slower moving water through the pipes is less energy lost due to friction. WRT to whether the Hayward vs Pentair filter is better, I personally feel that the Pentair Tagelus is a better top mounted sand filter. The parts it's made from are stronger. A simple example the is easy to see is the stand pipe takes the filtered water from the bottom of the sand bed to the multiport. The Hayward uses a much thinner plastic pipe that is known to crack, leaking sand back into the pool. The Pentair uses pressure rated Schedule 40 pipe, a MUCH stronger material that doesn't crack. The Pentair Tagelus 100D, equivalent to the S310T 500 lb. filter, has a slightly larger sand bed. Pentair's multiports, in my experience, tend to last longer before needing attention/servicing. I am not a big fan of the Tri-Star series but that's what Hayward uses for their variable speed pumps. IMHO, a 3/4 HP Super Pump will give you the flow you need for filtering and backwashing. A simple Intermatic timer set(one for the pool pump, one for the pool sweep booster) is all the automation you need. The light is easily turned on and off with a switch. Changing to a LED fixture will not light the pool effectively with only one fixture. There just aren't enough lumens. Adding fixtures is a very expensive proposition. If it's what you want and are prepared to pay for it, great, but taking apart a pool to change a wall panel isn't an easy task. If the deck is poured, you'll lose the deck too. The addition of an automation controller and variable speed pump is an expensive eye candy set of additions that for your pool, are unlikely to be a cost effective, problem solving set of additions that would, in the long run, make repairs more likely and more expensive. Yes, the variable speed pump would save you on energy costs, but I don't think to the tune of the additional initial costs. If you decide against changing the plumbing size, you must remember to set the speeds/ flows down so they don't exceed 75 gallons per minute or you will starve the pump of water. This will cause a condition called cavitation where the impeller of the pump is spinning but not moving as much water as it was designed to a given speed, wasting energy and generating vibration at the shaft, increasing wear and tear on the pump's bearing, seals, and motor shaft that will reduce it's life expectancy. It will also run louder. The communications from Brand A's controller is different than the communications link from Brand B's pump. While Pentair offers the Intellicom II to help with Pentair's variable speed pumps, it cost's the non Easy Touch/Intelli-Touch controllers expensive relays and limits you to 4 speeds. It makes more sense to match the controller and pump manufacturers on a new installation. A two speed pump with any of the the major controllers is not a problem. They are all similar in how they control the pump and how the pump's speeds are selected which allows interoperability between the brands. The controller need to be configured with a two speed relay, both physically and in it's programming. Since you don't have a south facing roof, I think solar will be of very limited use and would be an expensive disappointment. A heat pump with a solar cover is likely to be more effective and offers a more economical way to heat your pool over a gas fired heater. If the pool is too hot, there are versions that can cool the pool too. If the pool has a return port installed already for an auto filler to be connected, the Letro will be fine. It's not something you can just add to an already constructed pool without going through a similar set of efforts needed for adding a niche. Better is a subjective term. WRT which salt cell I think is better designed, I prefer the Intellichlor because it's electronics are on the cell, not in with the power supply. This offers two significant advantages. The first is at replacement cell time, you get new electronics. The second is the heat in a power supply cabinet will shorten the life of the control board of the other brands of cells. Pentair also offers a larger available unit that will last longer than the Hayward. If you go with a gas fired heater, it should be a 400K BTU unit. How the gas company feeds their meter is their problem. Heaters, funaces, stoves, etc... require a substantially lower pressure but consistent volume after the meter to function correctly. In order to supply the volume a pool heater needs at the lower gas pressure a residential device needs, the pipe size needs to increase. The added size adds a steadying buffer for the pressure as other gas appliances turn on and off. The heater's regulator is a 3/4" line. The shorter the length of pipe @ 3/4", the better. A 400K BTU heater needs at least a 1.5" supply run before it's reduced to the 3/4" connection. Long feed lines need 2" pipe to the meter but I don't get the impression you will need that. The person you spoke to at the gas company may have misunderstood you needs. I have never heard of a gas company having to run a separate line/meter to a residential home. I'm not saying it isn't possible, only unlikely that the existing line feeding the existing meter couldn't handle the additional load a gas fired heater would generate. That is normally just a change in the meter. Meters serve two purposes, one is to measure how much gas is used and the other is to regulate the pressure to the customer's plumbing. Given the information you have shared, I suspect that my replies will give you plenty to think about and will save you some money. Think about the wants/needs/haves ratios and the constraints I have mentioned. If my understandings are correct, you will find my suggestions reasonable. Best Of Luck; Scott

I have a Raypak 400k ASME heater. Propane. It is not a Nox model. Copper HX. I tried to buy it local but the local Raypak reseller refused to order me an ASME heater, saying I didn't need it. Well, that might be true. But I wanted it. lol. Because of the troubles I had with the old Pentair, I wanted something a little more durable, and maybe a little bit better built, even if durable in this case was in the eye of the purchaser (me) and not anything tangible. So I ordered it online and swapped it out myself. Paid roughly $1800. Installation was pretty easy to do. It replaced a Pentair minimax 400k unit that was nothing but trouble. I've had the Raypak in now for several years. Maybe five? Pretty user friendly regarding maintenance, all I've really had to do is winterize it and then open it up in the spring. Haven't had to replace any parts. I'm in CT, my season goes from April through November. Pool is 20' by 40', about 20k gallons, liquid chlorine, and I have a Pentair Quad DE filter and a Pentair VS pump. I installed the Quad DE last year and the VS pump this year. I'm thrilled with the pump (saves big money over my old single speed pump). The filter is great, I got the Quad DE 100, which is "oversized" for my pool. But I don't have to clean it at all during the swimming season. Only when I close the pool down in the fall. I use the heater more for the side spa than for the pool.

Hi Scot, I'm in the same boat with almost identical issues. (We bought a new Dolphin M5 this year to replace our Aquabot and LOVE it!) We have been nursing our Laars Lite heater along for several years now, cannot get it to stay lit, it keeps turning off. We have replaced so many parts already. This year we added it to our PSEG Worryfree contract so that at least we are not spending a fortune on service calls. I looked into replacing it last year, but still haven't taken the plunge for a new heater. I'm interesting in seeing the responses that you receive to your question.