I am new to this forum as my wife and I recently purchased a house in February that has an in-ground pool (approx 25000 gallons) with an elevated spa that spills over into the pool. We have never owned a pool before so the experience is a new one for me. The pool was closed when we settled on the house (in PA) so nothing could be tested. It was professionally closed in the fall and we had the same company come out and open it for us. During that process we discovered that the existing heater was not working.
The heater (like all of the equipment) is a 20 year old oil fired unit. Yes, oil. It draws oil from the same tanks that are used to heat the house. We need to replace the unit and I have been looking at both gas and heat pump units, trying to figure out which will be best. I want something that is really efficient so I was looking at heat pumps. Most of the feedback I get from any of the local pool places is that a heat pump will never heat the spa as hot as I would want and will take a long time just to heat it up, anyways. They have all recommended propane units from 300k-400k BTU in size. None of them seem to have any experience in dealing with heat pumps so I wonder if that is the main reason they steer us away from them. Most negative reviews I see for heat pumps seem to come from people that say that their pool/spa takes too long to get hot. I am looking for someone with practical experience with a pool/spa combination and a heat pump that can give me first hand impressions of their experience with the heat pump. If you have questions for me about out setup, I'll try to answer as best as I can.
The heater (like all of the equipment) is a 20 year old oil fired unit. Yes, oil. It draws oil from the same tanks that are used to heat the house. We need to replace the unit and I have been looking at both gas and heat pump units, trying to figure out which will be best. I want something that is really efficient so I was looking at heat pumps. Most of the feedback I get from any of the local pool places is that a heat pump will never heat the spa as hot as I would want and will take a long time just to heat it up, anyways. They have all recommended propane units from 300k-400k BTU in size. None of them seem to have any experience in dealing with heat pumps so I wonder if that is the main reason they steer us away from them. Most negative reviews I see for heat pumps seem to come from people that say that their pool/spa takes too long to get hot. I am looking for someone with practical experience with a pool/spa combination and a heat pump that can give me first hand impressions of their experience with the heat pump. If you have questions for me about out setup, I'll try to answer as best as I can.