Thinking about heaters

[rbinn]

It felt like a spring day out on the West Coast of Canada today. It got me thinking of the fun we had in our little pool last year.
At the end of my first season I had levelled, installed, hard plumbed, built a deck, added a Hayward skimmer, installed a solar heater and a control for my 9 x 18 pool. The best part was how wonderful and clean the water was! Good season by any standard. This year I would like to add a propane heater to the mix. The pool is only 48" deep so theres not alot of water there. I have access to 2 100lb tanks. I'ved looked at the the 100-160, 000 btu offerings from Hayward, Raypak and a few bigger Pentairs. All im looking foris a head start in the spring and a little bit more in the fall.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Thanks,
Rob

 

[pooldv]

Sounds like a great pool season, congrats! Can't wait for spring!

Raypak gets the best reviews by far on TFP. Everyone seems to love them.

Do you have a solar cover? The best bang for your buck for retaining heat in your pool is with a solar cover to stop overnight heat loss. The thin, cheap ones work about as well and last as long as the thicker ones and are easier to handle.

 

[rbinn]

You bet. I had to join 3 pieces together from the local store to fit but works. I have a local company that will bring in a Raypack and install for me so I have all the warranty. Its just whether or not its worth it?

 

[pooldv]

Hopefully others in the area can better comment about their results with heater usage in your climate.

 

[Frank Raff]

Hello,
I live in Minnesota, north of Minneapolis about 45 minutes. Before you go propane you're going to want to verify if those 2 100 lb's will provide enough pressure, and if so, for how long to operate the heater. When I was looking for my heater, I initially looked at propane instead of Natural Gas. Now my heater is a bit bigger than one your looking at (Rheem 400K), but I was informed I'd need a 500 or larger tank to keep it operational for any length of time. Ultimately, I went Nat. Gas.