What heater for 90K litre SWG pool - a few summer months only

[Richard_S]

Hi there,

wondered if anyone could recommend what additional heating system would be the best way of getting a couple of extra months of swimming out of our pool?

We have a 90K Litre (24K USG) SWG pool, which during the months of July/Aug can maintain a temperature of 27-28C (82F) purely from the heat of the sun, but May and June are cooler, so although the pool begins to climb from around 19C(66F), to maximise swimming use we need to heat it. The same applies to September when the pool begins to cool down.

We do not have mains gas and run the house on electric and oil.

I was thinking a heat exchanger - and if that's correct, how big a unit and what manufacturer would be a good suggestion?

Many thanks,

R.

 

[Pool Tool]

Sizing Swimming Pool Heaters

Here is a decent tool and there are others out there. All have tools their limitations, but they do give you an idea of what is required. One main question you need to answer is do you want to heat the pool all the time to maintain a minimum temperature or rather heat the pool to use on weekends, holidays, etc. To maintain a consistent temperature the heat pump will work well when it’s warm, but it could struggle in cooler temperatures at beginning/end of season. Conversely, a gas fired heater will raise the temperature of the pool quickly compared to a heat pump and allow for "spot" heating, i.e. on the weekend, based on your swimming schedule. It also works regardless of ambient temps.

You should know, most of the sizing tools calculate size of the heater to make up the heat loss from evaporation based on the surface area of your pool. Note - that loss can be considerably reduced with the use of a cheap solar cover. Pay attention to how many more btu’s are required to raise the temperature of the water even 5 or 10 degrees.

If propane is available in your area, that should be a viable consideration. As for size of the heater, find your minimum btu rate required then buy the largest your can afford. At the end of the day a gas heater twice the size required will heat the pool in half the time. A bigger heater is thought to be slightly more efficient, though pretty much negligible.

I am very happy with my Raypak 406 heater. They come highly recommended on this site. Availability for you could be an issue but worth considering. I hope this helped. Good luck.

 

[Richard_S]

Thanks for your very detailed response. In our case we rent the house out during quite a few weeks of the "summer months" (May, June, July, Aug, Sept) and really needed it to take the edge off the pool temperature for the earlier months. it would be on during May and June and then again in September to maintain the pool at 27C. September is not too much of a problem as the air temperature is still warm, but May and June can be rainy and cool, with the (odd hotter day in the 80s).

Gas is not an option, however delivered, so realistically it's all electric....or we could go to solar...Not sure if that would work particularly well during May and June...

 

[Richard_S]

bump!! Still looking for suggestions - Thanks!

 

[chiefwej]

Solar could work well, but to be effective it has to be coupled with a cover. You must keep the cover on the pool otherwise any heat you gain from the solar will be lost each night. keep the pool covered and you will see a few degrees gained during the day and lose a couple at night, but the loss will be less than the gain, so over time the pool comes up to a nice temp. If you aren't willing or able to keep the pool covered when it's not in use, solar won't do a lot to extend your season, but with a cover and my solar, I can add about a month and a half on each end of my season.

 

[Richard_S]

Thanks for that but sadly not at the house most of the time as it's a rental, so need to heat and forget, as it were, hence the need for a heat pump and suggestions for quiet ones too.