For those in the northeast that have a heat pump - how good does it work???

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anthonypool89

anthonypool89

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Aug 26, 2016
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Berks County, PA
A friend of mine just got one and claims that - even with our current daytime temps in the 70s and lows of high 40s at night - he has his water at 86 degrees - says he can increase 3 degrees an hour. I'm astounded. I'm struggling to get the water to 79. Pretty sure he has propane. Mine's electric. Is propane much better? My Jandy AE-Ti is rated at 121k BTUs. Not sure what his is. I know I've never gotten anywhere near 3 degrees an hour UNLESS it's already a hot day and I want to go, say, from 85 to 88 or something like that. But once the colder weather comes in, it's a losing battle. For instance, if we stay with temps in the 70s the remainder of the month, I'll probably not see much above 80 degrees anymore. Drops too much at night. Curious as to what experience other here have with theirs....
 
I’m not far from you and have maintained mid-80’s well into Oct depending on the weather. With the current temps if we kept running the heater there’s no doubt we’d see lower to mid-80’s right now but I’d kinda question the 3° increase per hour right now.

That said,
If the heater is oversized and if the pool is covered I’d say it’s plausible.
 
JamesW said:
What is the make and model?
Click to expand...
He has a Jandy JXi400NK 400K BTU...and so a heater, not a heat pump. Undoubtedly more efficient than mine.
Leebo said:
I’d kinda question the 3° increase per hour right now.
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Yeah...sort of think that might be a tad exaggerated. He just told me that he had 86 on Sunday but now is at 76. He has 30k gallons, and so 2.4 times my size. Comparatively, he has more BTUs available per gallon than I do. My 121k BTU x 2.4 = 290,400, whereas he has 400 BTUs. I thought he meant he's holding 86 degrees today. Given we've had temps down in the 40s of late - I was, needless to say, pretty impressed. I think we've all lost several degrees in this area since Sunday.
 
JamesW said:
That model is natural gas.

The best that it can do is 1.34 degrees per hour assuming no heat lost.
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Interesting....he said he figures on using 200 gallons of gas for the season. Didn't know if he meant propane or natural gas. I've never owned anything that uses propane nor have ever used a propane torch and thus profess complete ignorance of all things propane oriented...or natural gas for that matter. My house is oil / HW heat.
 

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Yours will do 1.16 vs. his at 1.34. So, only a slight difference.

Your heat pump will vary depending on air temperature and humidity.

Gas produces the same amount of heat in all conditions.

His might be propane, but the model number is natural gas. Maybe he got the wrong heater or gave you the wrong model number?
 
Thanks James...yeah...who knows. He sent me the model # along with a picture of it - and also one of his gas tank LOL. I just didn't want to mess with propane or gas. Mine went in 12 years ago. Sure missed it last September when a capacitor went out until I got it fixed.
 
Are the pools covered? I am in the process of investigating a
heat pump. The numbers you report create doubts on the
amount of extended season I would get.
-Bigpaws
 
I don't do a solar cover anymore - neither does my friend who recently got the heater. We both went through all that and just got tired of hassling with them. Worst thing ever is when the bubbles on those solar covers start to pop and then take on water - makes the cover really heavy to work with. I found myself not using the pool as often due to always having to take the thing on and off. Not sure why you feel you wouldn't get an extended season. With the heater, my water is warmer (sooner compared to with a solar cover) both after opening in spring and when ready to close in fall.
 
The reason I question the extended season is that
your first post expects less than 80 degree water temp
from this point on. My water temps were above 82 until
Sept. 10. I consider 82 to be on the cold side.
-Bigpaws
 
anthonypool89 said:
He said he has the NK. Here are two pics. Is this 2nd pic a tank of natural gas or propane
Click to expand...
The tank is probably propane. I don't think that they deliver natural gas to residential homes in a tank.

Propane has a boiling point of -44° F (-42° C) at atmospheric pressure, but methane (natural gas), has a boiling point of -260° F (-162° C) at atmospheric pressure.

Propane is pressurized to about 123 psi, whereas natural gas would require about 4,640 psi. So, natural gas won't be in a residential tank. Natural gas can be stored as compressed natural gas at over 3,000 to 3,600 psi or liquefied natural gas by cooling to below -260 degrees Fahrenheit. To store natural gas, you need really high pressure or really low temperature or some combination of both, which is not suitable for home storage and delivery.

Can you show a picture of the label from the heater that shows the model number?

If they really have a NK model and propane, something is not correct.

Maybe it was converted from natural gas to propane?
 
Last edited:
Have them verify the model number from the label. Maybe the seller didn't put the correct model number in the paperwork.

If the label is NK, maybe advise them to contact the installer and ask them about it.
 

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