Our pool remodel was in early 2021. Replaced all the equipment and added some automation. We’re in Houston, Texas with high heat and humidity. Add to that our pool gets full sun. So, started weighing options for chillers/coolers. After seeing the cost to operate heat pumps, we went with the Glacier GPC25 pool cooler. Advertised as much more efficient and more than adequate for our 15K pool. I still feel like a heat pump would cost more than we want to spend cooling our pool.
Things started out a little bumpy. The first unit had continual leakage around the base. PB couldn’t determine if it was a fitting or the base itself. So, replaced the entire unit under warranty in May 2021. My recollection is that my PB had a difficult time communicating with Glacier even then.
After a couple of summers now and pulling data regularly over some July days last year I saw an average temperature drop of 5.38 degrees. This is running the cooler from sundown for 12+ hours over several days. It certainly helps cool the pool down considering without the cooler the pool will run 92-94 mid-summer. However, no where near what I’ve seen others post or even the 10-15 degree drop Glacier mentions on their website. I’m not ‘alarmed’ by the results. I think you have to set your expectations correctly. If your dew points are not dropping below 80F then don’t expect your pool temp to do so. If you have full sun like we do and summer temps often run to 100F, then factor that in.
So, all’s been running like clockwork so to speak. Cooling the pool as much as we can during the summer has made it tolerable and even refreshing to have water temps in the high 80’s when the outdoor temps are running close to 100F.
Then we restarted cooling for the summer this year. We’re three years into service and the warranty is only two years so guess what happened next. Yep, fan motor died. The pump still works, and I did see some posts about replacing the capacitor on top of the fan motor. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky. After searching all over I found two capacitors to try, and neither resulted in a working fan motor. But I would recommend trying that before replacing the motor. It's easy to access, but take the appropriate caution around electricity and capacitors. Do your research.
So, I finally decided to bite the bullet and contact Glacier for a replacement fan motor costing me $450. Placed the order and sent them money, got an email saying order received. And that’s all it continues to say weeks later. Their parts ordering page is pretty vague.
“Your order may take up to 2-3 weeks to ship out depending on stock or during peak season.”
So 2-3 weeks if it's in stock and depending on the season? I waited for an update on my order status online for a few days, then reached out to them via email. Their manager did respond via email saying it would be shipped in 7-10 business days. We hit the 7-10 business day mark and order status still says “received” so I email again. Manager does email back but now I’m told it’ll be another two weeks.
Bottom line on this chiller. Don’t set your expectations too high on performance; be realistic based on your climate. Don’t expect these things to be reliable; there seem to be a lot of posts like mine with failed motors or other issues. Don’t expect anything close to great customer service; their communication is poor at best.
Would I do this again knowing what I know? Hard to say, but I expected more out of their product and company for sure.
Things started out a little bumpy. The first unit had continual leakage around the base. PB couldn’t determine if it was a fitting or the base itself. So, replaced the entire unit under warranty in May 2021. My recollection is that my PB had a difficult time communicating with Glacier even then.
After a couple of summers now and pulling data regularly over some July days last year I saw an average temperature drop of 5.38 degrees. This is running the cooler from sundown for 12+ hours over several days. It certainly helps cool the pool down considering without the cooler the pool will run 92-94 mid-summer. However, no where near what I’ve seen others post or even the 10-15 degree drop Glacier mentions on their website. I’m not ‘alarmed’ by the results. I think you have to set your expectations correctly. If your dew points are not dropping below 80F then don’t expect your pool temp to do so. If you have full sun like we do and summer temps often run to 100F, then factor that in.
So, all’s been running like clockwork so to speak. Cooling the pool as much as we can during the summer has made it tolerable and even refreshing to have water temps in the high 80’s when the outdoor temps are running close to 100F.
Then we restarted cooling for the summer this year. We’re three years into service and the warranty is only two years so guess what happened next. Yep, fan motor died. The pump still works, and I did see some posts about replacing the capacitor on top of the fan motor. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky. After searching all over I found two capacitors to try, and neither resulted in a working fan motor. But I would recommend trying that before replacing the motor. It's easy to access, but take the appropriate caution around electricity and capacitors. Do your research.
So, I finally decided to bite the bullet and contact Glacier for a replacement fan motor costing me $450. Placed the order and sent them money, got an email saying order received. And that’s all it continues to say weeks later. Their parts ordering page is pretty vague.
“Your order may take up to 2-3 weeks to ship out depending on stock or during peak season.”
So 2-3 weeks if it's in stock and depending on the season? I waited for an update on my order status online for a few days, then reached out to them via email. Their manager did respond via email saying it would be shipped in 7-10 business days. We hit the 7-10 business day mark and order status still says “received” so I email again. Manager does email back but now I’m told it’ll be another two weeks.
Bottom line on this chiller. Don’t set your expectations too high on performance; be realistic based on your climate. Don’t expect these things to be reliable; there seem to be a lot of posts like mine with failed motors or other issues. Don’t expect anything close to great customer service; their communication is poor at best.
Would I do this again knowing what I know? Hard to say, but I expected more out of their product and company for sure.
