Pool Heater Recommendation

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T

tj_shopper

0
Sep 13, 2007
74
Tinley Park, Illinois
Once again, we are having problems with our Hayward H-150 pool heater. We had problems with it last year, had it repaired at $475 and then it stopped working again towards the end of the season. My BIL told me to order a part for it which I did and he replaced it today, but, I'm still getting the same problem. It starts up, then shuts down.

So, we're thinking about replacing this pool heater. We're so tired of having to deal with this thing. Do anyone out there have a good one that they would recommend? We have a 24 feet round above-ground pool. The Hayward that we have now runs on natural gas and I believe it has an electronic igntion.

Thanks.
 
The Pentair Mastertemp is a very reliable, efficient heater for the price.

Lochnivar makes some heaters that are more expensive but are as efficient as you can get for the money. I don't have as much experience with them, but the people I know who have them are big fans.
 
Thanks all for your replies.

My BIL did get our heater going after working on it for a few hours. He replaced some of the wiring and filed down some of the contacts where it was rusted. The heater has been on since and our pool is a nice 82 degrees currently. I am going to turn it off today and hope that when I turn it back on, it will stay on. I guess that would be the deciding point. If it doesn't kick on, then I really do need to run out and get a new one.

When we bought our heater 5 years ago, I knew nothing about heaters or pools for that matter. I took the pool store's suggestion and bought the Hayward H150. It costed us approximately $900 not including installation. I've been searching and am so confused by the different models and types out there. It seems to range anywhere from $500 to the thousands.

Can someone give me an idea as to how many btu's I need for my size pool and what would be a medium size range heater? I'm looking for something not in the cheapest range, but also not a mercedes (if you know what I mean). Thanks!
 
TJ, my Laars is 125,000 BTUs and is more than adequate for our size pool. (It was $800 in 2002.) When I opened in April and we had that forecasted warm weekend that never occurred :roll: :mrgreen: I turned it on Thursday afternoon. Water went from mid 50s to 85 by Saturday afternoon. Shut if off the next day when I realized swimming was not in the cards. :hammer:

I haven't gotten the Nicor bill yet. :shock: :oops: It should come any day, I'll let you know. :lol:

I run my pump on low 24/7, the heater is set to 86 degrees so it kicks on anytime the watertemp drops below that. I keep the solar cover on when the pool is not in use, the heater doesn't come on at all between early July and early August. I'd say it adds about $50 during June, August. We kept the pool heated in September the first year we had it...got the Nicor bill that October and it was $400.... :rant: Now we shut the heater off after Labor Day weekend. :wink:
 
Thanks again all for your replies. I just wanted to update everyone on my heater. It is still working, so I think we'll save our money until next year. It does act up, but it works. For some reason, when we turn down the thermostat to the lower setting, it shuts off. However, when we have it set on high, it works. It was great this weekend. We had my daughter's sweet 16 b-day party and the pool was a nice 88 degrees. It was cool outside so the kids just stayed in the pool.

Thanks again!
 

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The only reasons I choose against a heat pump were the additional upfront cost over $2000 and the amount of time it takes to heat the pool. A gas heater heats quicker for that occasional use. My StaRite 400k btu cost about $4/hr to run but it does 3-4 degrees an hour on a warm day with a solar cover. My pools about 27.5k gallons. I keep my pool at 88degrees
 
i use a heat pump. Gas costs too much. My heating season in Boston is all of May, half of june, late august and all of september.
On a warm day, I can get 2 degrees an hour with the solar cover on. Yesterday morning the pool was 75 degrees. Turned the heat pump up at 8 am, I got it up to 82 by noon. 88 is too warm for me :)
 
88 is perfect for me too, but my girls don't like it over 82 either. I guess the kids don't get cold like me!

On another note: my heater has been (knock on wood) working consistently. So, no need to purchase a new heater this year. I do have to comment that my gas heater heats up the pool very quickly -- that's one of the reasons why I prefer gas. I work in the city Monday through Friday and sometimes when I've had a bad day, I'll just call one of my girls and ask them to check the temp on the pool in the afternoon. If it's below 88, I tell them to turn it on. By the time I get home from work and relax in the pool, it's perfect!
 
Brad S said:
i use a heat pump. Gas costs too much. My heating season in Boston is all of May, half of june, late august and all of september.
On a warm day, I can get 2 degrees an hour with the solar cover on. Yesterday morning the pool was 75 degrees. Turned the heat pump up at 8 am, I got it up to 82 by noon. 88 is too warm for me :)
Click to expand...

Welcome from your neck of the woods! :wave: Alreday dipped in? I'm impressed that you started in May. I opened after Memorial Day and the weather hasn't been pool weather yet, as you know.
How was your CYA level on reopening? Seems like we've had a CYA bacteria flu here - three pools in the area woke up this spring without CYA. Maybe it's because of the Celtics. Dunno.
 
Yea, the weather has been pretty lousy. i live out near worcester and a couple nights ago it was high 30's. We have been in quite a bit though. i opened early becasue i was getting my deck poured (stamped concrete) or so i thought. Long story short, i had to fire the concrete guy and went with pavers instead. I'm waitng on the landscaper to start next week (maybe). the mason go the coping on last week, so that better. The heat pump has really done well so far. This morning it was still at 79.2 degrees at 6:30 am. But i cover it every night with a solar cover too.
Edit to add:

My CYA level was non existent at opening. but, i keep it around 30-40. I have a SWG and i know everyone here says keep it higher for a SWG, but im not sure i agree, so i'll leave it at that. :p
 
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