Finger pointing Pool Heater vs Gas Line Nightmare

[Manny123]

I'm caught up in a nightmare situation with pool heater technician pointing at gas line issue and gas company pointing finger at pool heater. I had a StaRite Max E therm 400K btu heater which stopped working around the time my gas meter got upgraded to 2.5 psi 800 cfh. My pool technician said it was my gas line so I had the gas company come by and measure pressures before and after the regulator and near inlet to my heater which was 8.3 to 8.6 iwc. No significant pressure drop across my 2" line heading from regulator to pool heater (approx 100 ft run). Gas company technician said my pressure was sufficient. Since my gas line seemed to be ok, I no longer had confidence in the first pool heater technician, and decided to get second opinion on the pool heater and had another technician look at it who said it was probably the heater, and I needed a new one. I replaced the heater with a 400k BTU master temp Pentair which is pretty much the same model. Now the heater is still not working and technician is now blaming the gas line. I have a gas company appointment in about a week and trying to figure out what I need him to check. I'm at wits end and feel like I just spend $4K on a new heater that I didn't need. At this point I just want it to work. What exactly do I need for the gas company to check and what pressures do I need to ensure at the inlet. Manual says 4 to 14 iwc, which I seem to have. My pool technician says at least 10 iwc. Appreciate all the help trouble shooting this.

[Denniswiseman]

A thing to note is that there is a difference between a static and working pressure
I would have thought that a 2" supply would have been adequate albiet a 100 ft run is quiet high
Why don't you contact a gas company technician to sort it out, they may be able to increase the pressure to the unit

[Manny123]

Made appointment which is 1 week away.

[Denniswiseman]

Let us know the outcome please

[Manny123]

Gas company technician came, replaced new gas meter, and announced it had to be my gas line running from regulator to the heater, which I thought was unlikely as it was a fairly new line. We decided it was a flow issue since the pressure was fine. We tested it by him measuring the pressure at the water heater while the pool heater fired up. Of course, the pressure at water heater dropped when pool heater tried to fire, confirming that it was flow restricted before the fork to the pool heater and the water heater. This highly suggested the regulator. He took it apart and it had dirt in it. He replaced it and everything worked fine. Happy it's fixed but frustrated I spent 4K on a new pool heater that I did not need. Lesson here is that adequate pressure does not equal adequate flow. I am also a bit frustrated that the gas company technician did not test flow the first time he came out, which would have saved me a good chunk of money.

[Denniswiseman]

Some are better than others but static and working pressure should always be taken