Hayward 400,000-BTU Natural Gas Heater

DELIVERY: The folks who delivered it called a day ahead and confirmed the schedule. I asked them to give me a call 30 minutes prior so I didn't have to leave work too early and they said no problem. I received a robocall saying they would be there in a hour. They ended up being there in 30 minutes after all so I almost missed them. The deliveryman took it around to the back of the house and placed it right beside the pad where it would be installed which was much appreciated. It was well packed on a pallet and after the screws attaching it to the pallet were removed, it came off without much effort. I was worried it would be too heavy for just 1 person, but it was able to be 'walked' off the pallet into position. INSTALL: The house we bought last summer used to have a pool heater, but apparently it broke and the previous owner decided to eliminate it instead of replace it. So my install required cutting off the PVC pipes that were installed to reroute the water without the pool heater and run them into the heater and then run the gas line from the existing stub around to the other side of the heater and then run the electric. I have very little experience dealing with PVC. So I researched and talked to the guy at the local plumbing store and finally felt confident. It wasn't tough at all. Just make sure the cuts are square and smooth, then I used a cleaner, a primer and the cement to assemble to pipes. PVC connections are a little forgiving since they are chemically welded. Don't forget to install the threaded rings on the pipes before you glue them to the supplied heater manifold or you will do what I did and have to cut the PVC, install the threaded rings and then use a connector to seal it all back up. It ended up not being as pretty of a job as I would like, but it worked. I have ZERO experience with gas line installs, but this one was very straight forward. I just ran the 3/4" line from the stub and routed it to the gas connector on the heater. I used flexline to go from the end of the black pipe to the connector on the heater. Then I turned on the gas, checked for leaks and deemed it good to go. The electrical ran from an existing junction box through plastic conduit to the connectors on the heater. Once everything was hooked up, it fired up and operated perfectly. PERFORMANCE: Upon initial use, it did give off a smell as others have said. Each subsequent use the smell diminishes. I attribute it to a coating on the heat exchanger vice simple packing oil. Packing oil would have burned off quickly. It's not obnoxious and will probably be gone very soon. It raises my 17,000 gallon pool 3 degrees per hour just as advertised. This is my second pool with a heater. The other was a Jandy Lite 2. The controls are similar, but the Hayward controls are simpler and work well. It does take longer for the Hayward to light off, but it really doesn't make a difference. The Hayward is more compact and would be my choice between the two. The heater will not run unless it detects a minimum volume flow. I have a 2 speed pump and the heater will not operate if the pump is set on its low speed. Sometimes it will continue to operate of the pump switches from high to low though, so it's probably right on the edge. The minimum flow volume required by the heater is adjustable and I may be able to adjust it such that it will run if the pump is on low. I will follow up after I try that. SUMMARY: Straightforward install, compact design, performs as advertised. It has been installed for a little over a month and I'm very happy with the purchase.