Heater/Pool Equipment Location

[bs75758]

Hi Everyone,

We are looking at where to place our pool equipment and could use some advice. Would there be an issue with having the pool heater (Pentair natural gas 400,000 btu) about 50 feet away from the rest of the pool equipment? Our gas meter is on the opposite of the house of where we would prefer the pool equipment to go, but the estimate to run a gas line to that side is quite expensive. The pool itself is ~25,000 gallons and has an attached spa. Thanks!

 

[HermanTX]

If you have your heater 50 ft away then you need to run 50 ft of pvc to the heater then 50 ft of pvc back to the equipment pad so it can go through your chlorination and then to the return pipes. Additionally you may have heat loss to account for.
Have you factored that cost into your equation?

 

[bs75758]

Thanks! Heat loss was the main concern we had. It seems like there could be a lot of heat loss traveling that far, but I wasn't sure if it would be so much that it would effectively make the heater useless or exponentially increase the amount of time it would take to heat the pool.

 

[KevinJH]

I had the same issue and decided to locate the heater next to the gas service due to the expense of the unground gas line. When the water is moving at 20+ gpm the heat loss in the PVC lines is negligible. Consider that solar pool heaters are loops of small diameter lines and not 1.5" or 2"...

 

[bs75758]

I had the same issue and decided to locate the heater next to the gas service due to the expense of the unground gas line. When the water is moving at 20+ gpm the heat loss in the PVC lines is negligible. Consider that solar pool heaters are loops of small diameter lines and not 1.5" or 2"...

Thanks! That's very helpful to know.

 

[kkoepp31]

Is a heat pump totally out of the question? They are quite efficient and even though they are more expensive than a gas heater I'm betting that the gas line installation plus the gas heater is at least a wash compared to going with a heat pump.

 

[bs75758]

Is a heat pump totally out of the question? They are quite efficient and even though they are more expensive than a gas heater I'm betting that the gas line installation plus the gas heater is at least a wash compared to going with a heat pump.

We've already bought the heater and it's been connected to the plumbing. The issue we're having is that we hate where the equipment was placed because it is blocking the view of two windows. The pool builder told us that the equipment would fit between the two windows so we trusted him, but now that it's been installed the filter is blocking the half the view of one window and the heater is blocking half the view of the other window so we're working with the builder to have it all relocated. Fortunately the gas line hasn't been connected or trenched yet, but our preferred spot for the equipment is about 70 feet from the gas meter. One option discussed was to have the heater placed next to the gas meter and the equipment moved to near the opposite side of the house. However, the project manager said having the pool pumps and filter that far away from the heater would result in too much heat loss to adequately heat the spa and pool, but the contractor they are using for plumbing and equipment hookup says that it would be fine to have them that far apart. I have no experience with pool equipment so I have no idea which one is correct.

 

[panic_button]

Code in my area is a gas heater has to be 6' away from a window or door due to the exhaust.

 

[bs75758]

Code in my area is a gas heater has to be 10' away from a window or door due to the exhaust.

Thanks, but I don't think that's a requirement here in Georgia. The city signed off on the plan and have already been out to inspect the progress. The equipment was in the place it is now the last time the inspector came and he didn't say anything about needing to move it. I'll definitely look up the code requirement, though.

 

[HermanTX]

Code in my area is a gas heater has to be 6' away from a window or door due to the exhaust.

In my area it is 4ft but it is related to a window that can be opened (or a door). If the window is just a glass pane (no capability to open it) then the heater can be within the 4ft.

 

[HermanTX]

The pool builder told us that the equipment would fit between the two windows so we trusted him, but now that it's been installed the filter is blocking the half the view of one window and the heater is blocking half the view of the other window so we're working with the builder to have it all relocated.

That's really PPP on behalf of the plumber. Have you considered moving that filter and have the plumbing moved? This is the lack of attention to detail that gets me aggravated by people who don't have to live the end result. A lack in pride of workmanship!!!!!

 

[bs75758]

That's really PPP on behalf of the plumber. Have you considered moving that filter and have the plumbing moved? This is the lack of attention to detail that gets me aggravated by people who don't have to live the end result. A lack in pride of workmanship!!!!!

That's what were working on now. We absolutely want at the very least to have the filter moved because it is the largest piece. We're also concerned with the heater because it is less than a foot from the front of the window. I've been reading the heater manual and it says that the heater should be placed far way from windows that open and doors. The equipment is now blocking two windows in our finished basement and we open them all the time so in addition to blocking the view, we're now concerned with the carbon monoxide that the heater will put off. Up until now we've had a great experience with the builder, so this is frustrating as things were really moving along well.