Any Ideas on whats wrong with our Pool heater

Question

We have a gas pool heater, and previously we had a leak in it. We got our leak fixed and, now two years later the pool heater keeps on cutting in and out on us. The electric starter will come on and then the fire kicks in, It only last so long before it goes out again and does the same thing all over again. We are wondering if the gas line is clogged, but if you have any sugesstions please help so we can have our heater working thanks.

Answer 1

I have worked with a lot of pool heaters in the past, and this may be cast iron burners. If you have burners made of cast, the orifaces may be clogged, or grown shut. The sensor that is responsible for sensing the main burner may not be able to do it's job, causing the intermittant failures. Other problems may have to do with water speed through the heater. Has anything changed?

Answer 2

My guess would be the pressure switch, it could be bad or you may not be delivering an adequate amount of water pressure to keep it closed. It may be the flame sensor. This is a small metal rod that is attached atop one of the burners, in the flame. You can use a cloth to wipe it off and it may work. Be careful not to confuse it with the igniter, as a  igniter breaks very easily.