Customer Reviews

Hayward H400FDN Universal H-Series Low Nox 400,000-BTU Natural Gas Pool Heater

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We had a Hayward H400FD pool heater professionally installed in May 2010 (in Houston, TX). For the first year (the warranty period), it worked beautifully. It heated up the spa quickly, and could gently warm our 40,000 gallon pool adequately as well. However, in November 2011, the keyboard on the thermostat became unresponsive. The service technician from our local pool shop investigated, and found that at a minimum, that the heater's main board as well as the thermostat keyboard will need to be replaced. The replacement parts will cost at least $600! That's a third of the original cost of the heater! Although this heater heats well, we are not at all happy with the major electrical problems that cropped up as soon as the paltry one-year warranty period ended. Avoid this brand of heater!!

Package arrived on time and in perfect condition. It was extremely easy to install, and works like a charm. I'm glad I went to the 400, as it heats my spa up 30 degrees in about 16 minutes.

Had a Pentair 400,000 BTU heater that made it about 3 years before entering the "fix me every 6 months with a $600 repair" stage. Spoke with a spa guy who told me the particular Pentair I had was a discontinued lemon and that in his opinion I should replace it instead of repair it again. He told me that I could go with Pentair again because the rest of their stuff was a lot better than what I had, but if it was his he'd buy the Hayward. He then quoted me $3,300 to get this exact heater installed. I checked around, and the best I could find was a quote for $2,700. Found it on Amazon, and decided to take a stab at it.

The package arrived on time, in perfect condition. Delivery people took it into my garage, and I took it the rest of the way on a dolly. I'm not the most experienced/mechanical guy but it probably took me 4 hours (excluding two trips to the local big box home store) to pull my old heater out and put this one in. Instructions included are pretty straight forward, everything is clearly marketed, and the heater has the option of hooking it up from either side (elect/gas/water).

I've ran it a few times and it works like a champ. No complaints at all. I would not hesitate to replace my heater again this way.

On a side note; a different reviewer on a smaller heater complained about the noise of the heater. And yes, I find it is louder than my old Pentair (and I can definitely hear it inside the master bath which is probably 20' from the unit), but I would in no way say that it is too loud. It doesn't distract from conversations while in the spa (also about 20' away in a different direction) so I would not let this affect your decision on purchasing the unit.

I really have no major complaints about the unit in any way yet. If I run into any issues with the unit in the future I will update.

We also had a bad experience with the Hayward Model H400FDN. It worked fine for one season but one morning I went out and the paint was all seared off the top of the heater and the entire plastic back end of the heater had melted.

Evidently during the night there had been a gas leak that had caught on fire and burned up the heater. Luckily it didn't start our house on fire.

The heater had been in use for just over one year so it was out of warranty. Our pool installer said the heater was a complete loss and could not be repaired so our only alternative is to buy a new heater.

I would avoid this model pool heater.