Heat Pump Doesn’t Seem to Be Working

[Patrickoleary]

Jandy AE-TI 2000 heat pump. ~100k BTU.

Water temp was 74 today. Air temp 77. Turned heater on this morning around 10. Turned off at 5. Pool temp 75. Obviously, a gas heater will heat a lot faster than a heat pump, but this doesn’t appear to be working at all.

Going to call pool heating guy tomorrow. Any other quick checks I can do to verify it’s not working? The service will be done through a warranty company so any other details I can provide are helpful.

Thanks.

 

[anthonypool89]

My Jandy isn't working either. Silly question probably, but is your compressor and fan running? Or does the fan cut out at times?

 

[Patrickoleary]

My Jandy isn't working either. Silly question probably, but is your compressor and fan running? Or does the fan cut out at times?

Mine seems to be running. The water at the return jets are ever so slightly warmer than the pool water.

I’ve got a busted up arm at the moment, so I can’t really do too much digging.

 

[Newdude]

My pentair heat pump did not like mid 70s water. It seemed to struggle to keep up at all and like you said, the return water was warmer but not by much. If the water got to 70 it didnt do a thing. The gas heater shines at warming the pool quickly. Ours are for when the water is moderately warm already.

 

[Patrickoleary]

My pentair heat pump did not like mid 70s water. It seemed to struggle to keep up at all and like you said, the return water was warmer but not by much. If the water got to 70 it didnt do a thing. The gas heater shines at warming the pool quickly. Ours are for when the water is moderately warm already.

Yeah, the mistake I made was not using the pump to keep the temp at 85 when it was there in July.

 

[Patrickoleary]

Yeah, the mistake I made was not using the pump to keep the temp at 85 when it was there in July.

I was hopeful that I’d be able to get it back up to 80, but after running it all day the temp barely budged. And then at night, it would be right back down.

I’d put a solar cover on but it can be a hassle.

 

[ajw22]

You need to run your pump and HP 24/7 if you want to significantly raise your pool temperature.

 

[Patrickoleary]

You need to run your pump and HP 24/7 if you want to significantly raise your pool temperature.

I should have mentioned that last week I ran it for three days straight and it raised two degrees. Air temp was 75 during the day and down to low 60s at night. We do run the pump 24/7 already. The HP, I just have never left it on for an extended period of time (3+days).

I'm debating closing it anyhow because the kids are so busy with school and activities.

 

[Patrickoleary]

What I am getting from the thread though is that this is pretty common. I shouldn't expect a large change in temp unless I run for a significant amount of time, and it's better to run it when the pool water temp is already higher because they are better at maintaining temp than heating significantly quickly.

 

[ajw22]

You are seeing the limits of a HP in your climate.

 

[Newdude]

But Patrick...... your mistake probably saved you $1000 for 6 weeks of not running the pump. You can make a mistake like that at my house anytime you want to stop by.

The cover was key. The two worked awesome together and kept the pool at 80 long past where we felt like swimming.

 

[1poolman1]

Might want to try one of the "liquid" solar covers on the market. Not as good as a true solar blanket, but they work well.

 

[wireform]

Heat pumps don't work well when the ambient air temps are cool. That is where the NG heaters excel.

 

[Patrickoleary]

Heat pumps don't work well when the ambient air temps are cool. That is where the NG heaters excel.

With how we use the pool, seems like NG would be better for us, but maybe another year!