Pool Heating Solution for Florida ?

[jumbojet8]

Hi Guys,

As winter approaches I am looking at heating solutions for our small 8,000 gallon pool.

We get Tampa Bay, FL sunshine from 11:30AM(ish) on through the day.

Any cost effective solutions ?

Thank you!

(We also have a heated community pool across the street we can use so we have that option as well)

 

[pabeader]

First thing I would do is get a good solar cover. You're going to want it either way, and you might find that it does a good enough job all on it's own.

We will need the dimentions of your pool to be really helpful in this case, because surface area is important.

 

[ps0303]

Well unless you have natural gas at your house you would need to consider a propane heater with a propane tank or a heat pump which is like your AC unit. You also need to decide if you want to keep the pool heated all winter or are you just plan on heating for special occasions and maybe a weekend or so. A gas/propane heater will heat your pool no matter what. A heat pump is less efficient in heating when outside temps are 60 or less.

 

[jumbojet8]

First thing I would do is get a good solar cover. You're going to want it either way, and you might find that it does a good enough job all on it's own.

We will need the dimentions of your pool to be really helpful in this case, because surface area is important.

20' x 9' (estimate) - no poles or anything impeding in the pool area

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Well unless you have natural gas at your house you would need to consider a propane heater with a propane tank or a heat pump which is like your AC unit. You also need to decide if you want to keep the pool heated all winter or are you just plan on heating for special occasions and maybe a weekend or so. A gas/propane heater will heat your pool no matter what. A heat pump is less efficient in heating when outside temps are 60 or less.

Yes, we have natural gas.

 

[pabeader]

very close to my pool! (9X21) must be much deeper though. I'm going to get a 12X24 solar cover and trim it to fit.

 

[jumbojet8]

very close to my pool! (9X21) must be much deeper though. I'm going to get a 12X24 solar cover and trim it to fit.

What brand do you guys recommend ? Can you include a link to a product to consider ?

Thank you.

 

[ps0303]

Yes, we have natural gas.

Get a gas heater then. Natural gas is cheap these days and you can heat the pool rather nicely with it. A 400K unit is what you need.

 

[jumbojet8]

Get a gas heater then. Natural gas is cheap these days and you can heat the pool rather nicely with it. A 400K unit is what you need.

What brand or model do you recommend ? Do you have a link to the product ?

Thanks!

 

[pabeader]

Excuse my question, but why such a big unit? I was thinking more like 200K max. Maybe even 150k. For my pool...

 

[jblizzle]

Bigger the heater, the faster it heats. Depends on how fast you want to heat it and what your supply will handle.

And Raypak are highly recommended by members.

 

[ps0303]

What jbizzle said. I wouldn't go any smaller than a 266K BTU heater, Raypak.

 

[jumbojet8]

Bigger the heater, the faster it heats. Depends on how fast you want to heat it and what your supply will handle.

And Raypak are highly recommended by members.

Thanks, what is the cost of a 400K Raypak?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks, what is the cost of a 400K Raypak?

Before you pull the trigger, you may need to get a plumber's input on how you will supply the NG. Typically you want pool heaters to be on a completely separate run of gas line with a large enough line diameter to feed the heater. If you simply stub the heater off an existing line, the line may not be sufficient to handle the load and you could starve other gas devices on the line, eg, knock out the pilot on a gas water heater.

An additional 400kBTU will probably also require a larger capacity gas meter at the street service connection.

Just some thoughts as I have a 400kBTU/hr Pentair and it needed its own gas line.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ps0303]

Thanks, what is the cost of a 400K Raypak?

I sent you a PM with some info on a guy in your area that can help you out.

 

[jumbojet8]

I sent you a PM with some info on a guy in your area that can help you out.

Thanks bud.

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To summarize my understanding, the proper steps to take for a pool heater are:

1. Buy a solar cover and see how that affects water temp. (and will want in anyway to protect pool?)

2. Consider the investment/cost of installing a 400k Raypak pool heater (using natural gas).

Am I understanding correctly?

 

[pabeader]

Solar cover - Not so much for pool protection as for heat retention. A lot of heat loss is to evaporation, and the cover helps retard that. They are also said to help heat the water to some extent.

 

[tcat]

Solar Cover for sure. I went Heat Pump in Texas. Still at 86 and only takes 3-4 hrs to heat up from night time cool down (which is only 2-3 degrees with cover on). Also having pool at 86 makes it much easier to roll up cover (I have kidney shaped pool with 3 cover sections). I also switched from Propane to Heat pump for heating my house and my bills are lower all year long.

 

[jumbojet8]

Solar Cover for sure. I went Heat Pump in Texas. Still at 86 and only takes 3-4 hrs to heat up from night time cool down (which is only 2-3 degrees with cover on). Also having pool at 86 makes it much easier to roll up cover (I have kidney shaped pool with 3 cover sections). I also switched from Propane to Heat pump for heating my house and my bills are lower all year long.

Thanks guys!

Can you point me to the best brand of Solar Cover to consider for our 20' x 9' pool?

 

[jblizzle]

None seem to last more than a few years, so get the cheapest you can find.

 

[jumbojet8]

None seem to last more than a few years, so get the cheapest you can find.

Thanks, do you have a link to the best way to compare the models available in the marketplace?