We put in a 29k gallon concrete IG last year (kind of lagoon shape 41'long by 18' deep and 25' shallow). It's around 750sq ft. The pool is on the east side of the house and from May through the end of Sept gets aobut 8hrs of sun per day. Needless to say, we had an 85+ degree pool last season without a heater or solar cover (south cetnral PA).
This year I am definitely getting a sloar cover, but have been looking into putting in a sloar heater in a position where it would get sun approx 8hrs per day as well. My goal is to start the season earlier and end it a little bit later (last year swam into begining of Oct when the water hit 72).
I am going to build a rack mount for the system as it would maximize the sun exposure. My big question is what system to get? Fafco seems to have a number of models that all have differing BTU ratings as does other makers. I am assuming these all come at different prce points. I gues what I really want to know is the BTU rating really accurate. If it is, then I could could buy less of the quality panels at a higher cost or more of the lower rated panels at a lesser cost?
Need some serious help here as I would really like to get this started in the next couple of weeks. The sooner I can start heating the pool the better!
This year I am definitely getting a sloar cover, but have been looking into putting in a sloar heater in a position where it would get sun approx 8hrs per day as well. My goal is to start the season earlier and end it a little bit later (last year swam into begining of Oct when the water hit 72).
I am going to build a rack mount for the system as it would maximize the sun exposure. My big question is what system to get? Fafco seems to have a number of models that all have differing BTU ratings as does other makers. I am assuming these all come at different prce points. I gues what I really want to know is the BTU rating really accurate. If it is, then I could could buy less of the quality panels at a higher cost or more of the lower rated panels at a lesser cost?
Need some serious help here as I would really like to get this started in the next couple of weeks. The sooner I can start heating the pool the better!