Need a heater, where to start?

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M

Mcb

0
Jan 3, 2018
82
Chino hills, CA
New pool owner here.

I would like to add a gas heater in the next month or so.

The pool had a heater at one point but it was removed by the prior owners when it failed and never replaced. The gas is plumbed to the correct area. I just need to have one installed.

I'm not really sure where to start my research. I want to be able to heat the pool efficiently as needed and heat up the spa pretty quickly on demand.

The guy that did some repairs said to consider a 400,000 BTU unit. I'm not sure how to figure out how quickly a unit will increase the temp in the pool or spa. I'm also need sure on the technologies to look out for, or the brand / models to consider / avoid.

Where do I begin?
 
MCB,

I added a heater several years ago. After a lot of research I decided on a 260K BTU heater. It allows me to heat the pool about 3 deg per hour. I can heat the spa up to 100 deg in 15-30 min depending on outside temperature and starting temp. Performance is very close to predicted from the calculators online at manufacturers sites. Also, I decided to stay consistent with the brand of my existing controls. This turned out to be a very good choice for my Jandy equipment since it gives me easy access to some of the more advanced control features using my phone. I use the phone as my "remote" and I'm thrilled with this approach. Sometimes we're out eating or meeting friends and we decide to to finish the outing with a dip in the spa or pool. We set it up from the restaurant and the water is perfect when we get home.

The model of heater I chose was the newer high efficiency smaller profile version. This unit had a feature that allows me to easily reverse the outer housing so I could install it with the piping connections on the easiest to connect side closest and then swap the outer housing so the control panel was on the outside. I'm pretty sure all brands have this feature on the more recent model numbers.

One thing you want to check is to be sure your existing gas meter can supply your needs. I checked this with the gas demand predicted from the manufacturers site and then looking up on the gas meter manufacturer. I double checked this by finding a neighbor that had added a heater on his identical gas meter to mine. I suspect this is not usually an issue but I wanted to be certain as the next size up on the meter adds to my monthly meter cost.

If you don't plan to use automation I wouldn't worry about brand consistency. Many people here recommended Raypack and that's what I would have done except for the compatibility with my Jandy automation features. You can get most brands to work on my automation system but things like being able to change the spa and pool mode temp settings are more difficult or not even possible.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
400k will heat your 10k gallons in a big hurry! It does require a lot of gas so as SetSail suggested, make sure your existing gas line can support that volume. For mine, it needed to be heavyed up. To put it in perspective, I have a gas stove, gas water heater, 2 gas fireplaces and 2 gas furnaces and my 400k BTU pool heater requires more gas than all of my existing combined! If your existing line will not support it, I would suggest going with the maximum BTU that your gas line will support. You could have a new line run, but that is usually very expensive.
 
Mcb said:
New pool owner here.

I would like to add a gas heater in the next month or so.

The pool had a heater at one point but it was removed by the prior owners when it failed and never replaced. The gas is plumbed to the correct area. I just need to have one installed.
Click to expand...

The most practical answer will be: the largest one that can be fed by your existing line. Check the outer diameter of the pipe that is already plumbed for the area. That will tell you how much gas can be fed through it and the size of the heater it can support.

A more complex answer will involve answering the following questions:
1. Do you want to keep your pool heated all the time or only on demand?
2. How much above the water's natural temp do you want to keep the pool?
3. Are you planning to extend the season or just keep it warm during normal swimming months?
4. Are you using a solar cover?
 
Mcb said:
How do I determine what the line can handle?
Click to expand...

Add up all of your BTU usage and then compare that with the max total capacity of your gas meter. That will tell you if your meter can manage the usage. Then you need to check the physical pipe that is already run to your heater to see if that will also carry the volume. Keep in mind that if you have a high-pressure port, the line does not need to be as big. In reality, this is a job for a gas plumber and not something you should do on your own.

- - - Updated - - -

Joshii said:
The most practical answer will be: the largest one that can be fed by your existing line. Check the outer diameter of the pipe that is already plumbed for the area. That will tell you how much gas can be fed through it and the size of the heater it can support.

A more complex answer will involve answering the following questions:
1. Do you want to keep your pool heated all the time or only on demand?
2. How much above the water's natural temp do you want to keep the pool?
3. Are you planning to extend the season or just keep it warm during normal swimming months?
4. Are you using a solar cover?
Click to expand...

Not actually correct (see above). The line pressure will determine how much a given diameter line will flow. Higher pressure needs smaller pipe.
 
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