The wife is whining daily now lol... 15x30 12k above ground pool. Any recommendations for an efficient heat pump to look at? Located in WI. Looking to get at least may/sept onto the season when temps are average. Figure I need 70-90k btu depending on how conservative/aggressive I want to be, though different brands say different things. For instance, aquapro says their 50k will handle a pool up to 16k gallons. That seems low but maybe not? We are a little tight on available amperage but should be able to fit it in. I know nothing of the brands. Fibropool looks to be about $1000 cheaper than hayward or pentair and efficiency is right in there. Rheem makes some that might be available in the area. It will be on a timer rather than automation.
Being slowly broken down over buying a heater...
- Thread starter nwardoh
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 55,459
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Confirm that NG is not an option.
How many amps can you wire to the HP at 240V?
Let's see what other folks with AGP and heaters have to say.
How many amps can you wire to the HP at 240V?
Let's see what other folks with AGP and heaters have to say.
Natural gas is definitely not an option and propane is far too expensive to use. I've got 30-35 amps available without doing any upgrades. Looks like most of the 70-80k heat pumps are in the 20amp area.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 55,459
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Those amps are going to be your limit to how much BTU heat you can get.
Whatever HP you get make sure there is someone in your area who can service it and provide warranty support. People have discovered that they cannot find anyone in their area who will service their HP. Many pool companies only know how to service gas heaters and many HVAC companies will not work on pool HPs.
I can service it provided I can get parts. Not much to them. The compressor is a sealed unit. The motherboard is easy to replace. Then it's just plumbing. Propane is $2.60 a gallon right now so basically $25/day to run it 8 hours a day. Electric is $0.14/kw so much much cheaper.
At 30 amps I should be able to get well over 100k btu. The 75k btu are rated for 17-20amps. I've built headroom into that figure as well.
At 30 amps I should be able to get well over 100k btu. The 75k btu are rated for 17-20amps. I've built headroom into that figure as well.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 55,459
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Do you have an EPA section 608 certification and can get the refrigerant and have the gauges and setup to service it?
I would try to get the highest btu. I have 150K btu NG, a pool half your volume and it can struggle on days in May/Sept months here in Ohio climate. It can only raise temps about 2 degrees an hour depending on the ambient temperatures. My friend has a Hayward HP and he wishes he would have bought NG because it can't keep up in those months.
Interesting, that certainly isn't what their marketing material says. Big surprise lol
Here's a thread that might help
Heat Pump Recommendations: Southern WI
Hello all, My wife and I are thinking of adding a heater to our 27ft round above ground pool with a deck surround. I want to say it's probably 4ft deep with a flat bottom (in case there are other depths/bottoms for AGP's). I have read numerous opinions on this and they vary enough to hit the...
www.troublefreepool.com
PoolBrews
Well-known member
- Oct 16, 2019
- 556
- Pool Size
- 6750
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
When getting a heat pump, go with the biggest one available. Currently, that would be around 144K BTU's. If they offered anything bigger, I would jump on it! (I would love a 250K heat pump!)
Larger heat pumps heat faster, are more efficient, and only cost a few $$'s more. Those extra $$'s will be made up in efficiency and the ability to heat your pool to the temp you want. A 50K heater will not heat your pool in the cooler months, no matter what the brochure says.
I have a Hayward, but the AquaCal is currently the most efficient heater on the market. In addition, it's 10dB quieter than any other heater. Unless something better comes out, it will be my next heater when my current one dies.
Larger heat pumps heat faster, are more efficient, and only cost a few $$'s more. Those extra $$'s will be made up in efficiency and the ability to heat your pool to the temp you want. A 50K heater will not heat your pool in the cooler months, no matter what the brochure says.
I have a Hayward, but the AquaCal is currently the most efficient heater on the market. In addition, it's 10dB quieter than any other heater. Unless something better comes out, it will be my next heater when my current one dies.
You need almost 50 amps available for that 140k. That would be great but would definitely require a service upgrade.
This may be a silly question but,
How did you come up with only having 30A "available" ?
I'm asking because I've seen many people assume the wrong things. But I've also seen many know exactly what they were doing.
I have a 50 amp feeding the pool panel. The pump uses 12 and the chlorinator uses a couple. There is also a dehumidifier in my barn running on it. For the rest of the service there is an old air source heat pump cooling the house, 2 fridges, and 1 freezer. There is usually 3-4 laptops running, an imac, 1-2 large LCD televisions, and an assortment of lights(thankfully mostly LED). Our range is also electric.
I mean I could put a larger feed to the panel and squeeze a bit more out probably but it has to be tight. A service upgrade is possible but thats something that has to be inspected and they hard require a licensed electrician to install a main disconnect. Electricians are 6+ months out, the power company is 6 weeks out, and inspectors are 12+ months out(no idea how that works).
I mean I could put a larger feed to the panel and squeeze a bit more out probably but it has to be tight. A service upgrade is possible but thats something that has to be inspected and they hard require a licensed electrician to install a main disconnect. Electricians are 6+ months out, the power company is 6 weeks out, and inspectors are 12+ months out(no idea how that works).
I guess I could gain some back by replacing the pump with a 2 speed which I would likely want to do anyway so the heater can run longer per day. That would gain another 7 back.
If you actually want to consider it I'd look at the actual load on your service and compare it to what you're after.
Obviously you'd need to upgrade the wiring and subpanel near your pool as you said though.
You also want to be cautious with motors as they can draw a lot when starting and may lead to nuisance tripping of breakers. That's why as an example many air conditioners or heat pumps will say something like minimum circuit ampacity 32A but then they recommend a 60A breaker. By the way, if the wire is ONLY servicing the heat pump, in that case I believe you could run 10 gauge wire and use a 60A breaker on it but ONLY in that situation.
This topic causes a ton of arguments...........
My sub panel is rated for 100 amps. I can replace the breaker feeding it with a 60 or 70. The wire was sized for 100amp.