Help! Exchanger on Pool Heat Pump Leaking!

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CubGirl

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I have a 4 year old Waterco Titanium 125 Heat Pump for my 20x40 pool. I tried turning it on yesterday and found a leak in one of the components inside. I'm going to call the HVAC guy Monday but I wanted to get an idea what it was so I can talk turkey with him about this.

I did some homework on Pool Heat Pumps.

The HVAC system’s compressor generates heat by compressing refrigerant. To heat the water a heat exchanger is placed in between the compressor and the condenser. The water that is to be heated is circulated though this heat exchanger with the help of a pump whenever the HVAC system is on. Also, I found this nice diagram of a pool HP (below).

I'm pretty sure that the heat exchanger is what's leaking at the compression fitting for the freon pipe on the 1st heat exchanger. There are 2 heat exchangers on this HP. The H2O inlet takes water into the bottom of the first exchanger and it's piped over to the second exchanger. The first exchanger (inlet one) gets freon directly from compressor & pipes it over to 2nd exchanger (outlet one), which is what is leaking. But it's not leaking freon, it's leaking water (at least it looked like water to me) and it's spewing, not just dripping. After leaving the 2nd exchanger, the freon then goes to an expansion valve. I know this is a closed system but I can't see the return freon line from the 2nd exchanger to compressor without taking off the fan.

So I looked at Waterco's troubleshooting guide FOR A DIFFERENT BUT SIMILAR MODEL and here's what it says about leaks & the exchanger:

Hot gas heat exchanger: If the leak is at the compression fittings (Arrow 1) and that the elbows are in brass (Arrow 2). Change the entire heat exchanger. Do not try to repair. Here is the pic they provide, below.

But as I look at my HP, it does not have the brass elbows like in Waterco's pic. It looks like regular copper that has a black compression fitting that connects the freon pipe to the exchanger. Can this be repaired or do I need a whole new exchanger? If it can be repaired, is this an easy fix or difficult one?

Also, I kind of don't want to call the pool company; I think they're just going to call in an HVAC guy, which I could do. Can anyone tell me if my HVAC guy could tackle this. What I mean, is it in scope with normal HVAC stuff?

Thank you... I hope to get several professional replies.
:)
 

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