Heat Pump choices

[Ellen M]

Just starting-filed for permit. One unresolved choice is which heat pump to help keep a more overall temp with the auto cover and use the Pentair ETI 400k BTU high efficiency heater (natural gas) when needing a boost. Want to learn more about each of these choices:
a) Pentair UltraTemp Heat Pump 140 b) Gulf Stream HE 150 R-A c) Hydro Royal HR 150, or d) AquaCal Heatwave SuperQuiet SQ 225. Any feedback is helpful.
Thank you, Ellen.

 

[cowboycasey]

Hey there, Most people get one or the other.. You can do the same thing with both but as you noticed a heat pump is designed to run for hours on end and move the temp slowly and the nat gas moves it faster..

I would go with the one that is going to cost less over the next 5 years.. Do you have solar on your roof? if so the heat pump may cost less.. Nat gas may cost less depending on your cost now...

As far as what type heat pump, Auqacal seems to be the best and they also have a Variable Speed version that will save some money but at a lower btu..

HeatWave SuperQuiet® Variable Speed SQ150VS - AquaCal Website 115,000 and 72,000 btu

HeatWave SuperQuiet® SQ225 - AquaCal Website = 143,000 btu

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would reconsider getting the eTi gas heater, it’s extra cost for the titanium heat exchangers is not worth the marginal bump in efficiency. It’s also a much more complicated heater internally with dual heat exchangers. Repair expense costs for the eTi will be a lot higher than a standard MasterTemp. Even the MasterTemp’s with cupronickel heat exchangers and/ or brass headers aren’t worth the extra expense.

If your going to operate your pool with a cover then I would suggest you simply start off with the gas heater and see how it goes. You can have the plumber add some piping stubs for a heat pump and the electrician run the dedicated electrical line for very little extra cost. Then, if you truly want the additional heat source, you can add it later for little more than the cost of the unit and a couple hours of installation labor.

 

[Ellen M]

Hey there, Most people get one or the other.. You can do the same thing with both but as you noticed a heat pump is designed to run for hours on end and move the temp slowly and the nat gas moves it faster..

I would go with the one that is going to cost less over the next 5 years.. Do you have solar on your roof? if so the heat pump may cost less.. Nat gas may cost less depending on your cost now...

As far as what type heat pump, Auqacal seems to be the best and they also have a Variable Speed version that will save some money but at a lower btu..

HeatWave SuperQuiet® Variable Speed SQ150VS - AquaCal Website 115,000 and 72,000 btu

HeatWave SuperQuiet® SQ225 - AquaCal Website = 143,000 btu

Thank you for your detailed input. We will have both electric as well as thermal solar installed before using pool. Local pool supplier confirms her many installs of Aqua Cal HeatWave SuperQuiet® SQ225 effectively heats pools with cover thru Nov in San Diego. We will run heat pump to keep bulk of heat going & add gas as pool needs to reach higher temp & when desire hot spa.

 

[Ellen M]

I would reconsider getting the eTi gas heater, it’s extra cost for the titanium heat exchangers is not worth the marginal bump in efficiency. It’s also a much more complicated heater internally with dual heat exchangers. Repair expense costs for the eTi will be a lot higher than a standard MasterTemp. Even the MasterTemp’s with cupronickel heat exchangers and/ or brass headers aren’t worth the extra expense.

If your going to operate your pool with a cover then I would suggest you simply start off with the gas heater and see how it goes. You can have the plumber add some piping stubs for a heat pump and the electrician run the dedicated electrical line for very little extra cost. Then, if you truly want the additional heat source, you can add it later for little more than the cost of the unit and a couple hours of installation labor.

Thank you. We will be using thermal solar & electric solar to reduce heating costs. Our goal is mid 80's water temp 10 mns of the yr, which appears possible, with the AquaCal SuperQuiet 225 HeatPump combined with the addition of a natural gas heater for the colder months. We noticed you have the MasterTemp. If you were to replace your natural gas heater, what would you replace it with these days?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If you were to replace your natural gas heater, what would you replace it with these days?

Exactly with what I have now, a standard natural gas MasterTemp 400.