exploring pool heaters

[paulbot]

So the wife is wanting a pool heater to extend our swim times down here in Louisiana. Been reading up on them a bit but it's a little overwhelming. I figured I'd start by seeing how many gallons the pool has. It's kidney shaped, 18' wide 37' long, average depth 5.5'. I get somewhere around 20k gallon.

Looking here people like Raypak over Hayward heaters. Not sure if it is still true, but Raypak at one time offers no support for DIY'ers. But if it's a better unit so be it. I'm thinking a 200k unit would be more than adequate to start our season a month early and end it a month later. Am I on the right track here?

 

[ajw22]

Hayward is no better then Rayapk with DIY support.

Either Raypak or Hayward heaters are fine. Raypak is a simpler design natural draft heater. Hayward is a forced draft design heater that uses a fan blower and has more complex electronics to control the heater. Repairs on the Raypak are simpler and often less expensive then the Hayward heater.

A 200K BTU heater will heat your 20,000 gallon pool about 1 degree an hour. A 400K BTU heater will heat your pool 2 degrees an hour. The gas consumption would be the same. The only difference is the initial acquisition cost to get faster heating.

Using a pool cover will help retain the heat with cold night air temperatures.

 

[paulbot]

Thanks for the explanation. Any type I should avoid with a SWG system? The pump filter SWG is out in the open, I plan to build a little roof for all of it. It gets brutal in the long summers we have.

 

[ajw22]

All modern heaters are salt compatible.

 

[HermanTX]

So the wife is wanting a pool heater to extend our swim times down here in Louisiana. Been reading up on them a bit but it's a little overwhelming. I figured I'd start by seeing how many gallons the pool has. It's kidney shaped, 18' wide 37' long, average depth 5.5'. I get somewhere around 20k gallon.

Looking here people like Raypak over Hayward heaters. Not sure if it is still true, but Raypak at one time offers no support for DIY'ers. But if it's a better unit so be it. I'm thinking a 200k unit would be more than adequate to start our season a month early and end it a month later. Am I on the right track here?

First time I have seen a post from someone in Grosse Tete. I went to school in Lafayette so know the area well.
Go with a 400k BTU. I assume you are on Natural Gas so that will be best to run your heater and heat up your pool quickly. It still will take time with a 20k gallon pool but so much better than the smaller unit.