Pool Heaters

[laurandavid09]

I am thinking abou having a heater installed. More than likely a gas heater. What are some good ones out there and can it be installed when your pool is full?

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Get the biggest you can (typically a 400K), and the best you can buy (I like the Pentair MasterTemp). Make sure your gas line is sized large enough to supply the gas you need (there is a water column protocol to check if you don't know which pipe size to use). It is easily done even in a full pool (unless your equipment is below elevation and has no check valve!).

Bruce

 

[Davegvg]

The Master temp 400 requires massive amounts of gas- have a load survey done.
It cost me 4K to get a new meter and upsize the run to the back of the yard to make it work, but when its on - the level of heat is near nuclear from it.
Ive had a few issues with mine but its been running fine for about a year now.

I have solar as well and would never own another pool without solar as the baseline for heating, I use the gas to kick the system and heat the spa at night.

Davegvg

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Depending on the location of the equipment in relation to your gas meter/line in your house, it can be a rather pricey situation. Seek out several quotes for installion before you decide to purchase a heater. We were very lucky and our installation was less than $300 in 2001. But I have friends who paid over $1500 for their install. (Just the install-not including the heater itself.)

We like our brand heater, it's been very reliable for us. it's 125k btu's and is probably a bit much for our pool/use.

Good luck!

 

[Hal3]

I'm going to point you back to the thread that includes a link to a downloadable program to help you look at costs. As it turns out the people who run that business are supporters of this board but I am just a regular pool owner surfing for the same information you desire that happenned accross this program. It is really very cool. It will tell you how much it will cost to heat your pool with some precision, it appears. It will also show you that pool covers are BIG money savers. I had one on my last heated pool and they are also a pain to use and possibly dangerous if someone falls "in the pool" and winds up under the cover. Based on the data from this program a heat pump looks like a very big money-saver but they are more expensive to purchase. The program lets you enter your local cost for electricity and gas - propane or natural.

nice-pool-heater-analysis-program-recently-posted-at-aquacal-t17852.html

 

[Guest]

The Master temp 400 requires massive amounts of gas- have a load survey done.
It cost me 4K to get a new meter and upsize the run to the back of the yard to make it work, but when its on - the level of heat is near nuclear from it.
Ive had a few issues with mine but its been running fine for about a year now.

Davegvg

The 400K heater should use roughly the same amount of fuel (just in a quicker time frame!) as a smaller heater, it just happens much faster as the pool/spa heats quicker and maintains heat better than a smaller heater would. Rough rule of thumb in my neck of the woods is that a 400K (I happen to have a StaRite; same as the Pentair but in an earlier period) consumes about $5.00 worth of Natural Gas an hour, based on my gas prices.

Check with your power supplier on the meter. They change (upgrade) the gas meters here for free (they are happy to think you will be buying more gas!). You can use an 1 1/2" line to run to the heater from the meter up to 75', but you need to size up to 2 inch line for greater than 75' runs, and less than 200'. Most applications fall well within those parameters.

I've never sold a smaller heater than the 400K (the 400 is only a couple hundred dollars more than the 250 or 335K units usually) for a pool or pool/spa combo. Bigger is better here, and you'll use the gas to get the temp you want one way or another

Bruce

 

[Davegvg]

The Master temp 400 requires massive amounts of gas- have a load survey done.
It cost me 4K to get a new meter and upsize the run to the back of the yard to make it work, but when its on - the level of heat is near nuclear from it.
Ive had a few issues with mine but its been running fine for about a year now.

Davegvg

The 400K heater should use roughly the same amount of fuel (just in a quicker time frame!) as a smaller heater, it just happens much faster as the pool/spa heats quicker and maintains heat better than a smaller heater would. Rough rule of thumb in my neck of the woods is that a 400K (I happen to have a StaRite; same as the Pentair but in an earlier period) consumes about $5.00 worth of Natural Gas an hour, based on my gas prices.

Check with your power supplier on the meter. They change (upgrade) the gas meters here for free (they are happy to think you will be buying more gas!). You can use an 1 1/2" line to run to the heater from the meter up to 75', but you need to size up to 2 inch line for greater than 75' runs, and less than 200'. Most applications fall well within those parameters.

I've never sold a smaller heater than the 400K (the 400 is only a couple hundred dollars more than the 250 or 335K units usually) for a pool or pool/spa combo. Bigger is better here, and you'll use the gas to get the temp you want one way or another

Bruce

I would say it may actually use a bit less overall because the heating period is not subject to environmental cooling as much ie it doesnt take a full 2 days to heat up, and the missing nights loss doesn't have to be "made up."

Agreed - Its the timeframe that causes the problem. especially if you are using the same gas line to power your home furnace, water heater, and stove top oven etc.

The meter was free, the plumbing, hookup, and line run was not- it was quite expensive, but worth it in my mind.

Once you've had a 400K btu gas heater its hard to live with the performance of anything else.

Dave

 

[baudilus]

My best advice - get install quotes from plumbers before taking any action. Not knowing anything about pools when I built mine, the equipment location couldn't be further from the meters, and I paid over $5k to have the required 2" line installed (just for installation). Electric was pricey as well but nowhere near the gas line cost.

Luckily my meter was already rated for 750,000 BTU and my house with everything on (2 zone heaters, water heater, range, clothes dryer) is at around 200,000 BTU so I had room to spare for the heater.