Hello world. New AZ pool owner.

Luts

Member
Sep 11, 2022
7
Buckeye Az
Pool Size
13000
Surface
Vinyl
Hi,
I've had hot tubs for years in MN. Just moved to AZ. Pool maintenance is a lot different. I've tried a maintenance company and it was a terrible experience. Next I'm using Leslie's but it costs money every time go in. I just ordered the test kit and we'll try on my own. Any thoughts on heating the pool as an add on? Suggestions?
Thank you
N
 
Post up some pictures of the equipment pad and what you've got to work with and the suggestion will flow like melted butter on a Phoenix sidewalk ...

Heating options -

1. Solar on the roof (figure $6k)
2. Gas heater ($4k for the heater plus whatever it costs to trench a gas line to the heater)
3. Heatpump (you'll need a dedicated 240V/60A circuit ... or pay for one to be installed)

Solar blankets are cheap, usually too much of pain to deal with, and will only last 2 years at best.
 
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Any suggestion for heating is going to involve first figuring out what your goals are. Are you looking to add a few degrees to the pool because it doesn't get warm enough to your liking for swimming/soaking OR are you trying to keep it usable deep into the shoulder months?

Typically in these parts, water cools off enough in late Sept/Oct to the point of not being enjoyable to swim in. Oct/Nov and Mar/Apr are the "shoulder" months around here. Those are the months where you need to use some form of external heater to make the water warm enough to swim in. And it will cost you noticeable amounts of money to do so. Usually in the hot summer months (late May to Sept), no heater is necessary.

So what are you trying to do?

Also, it would be good if you could add a satellite shot of your property to the post above and list what utilities you have available. Helps to figure out what's possible. If you don't have natural gas, then that eliminates gas heaters, etc, etc.
 
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I’d like to use the pool year round. I know I’m not going to drain it. I have solar on my roof so I could use that time to heat it but am not sure how cold it would get at night. I moved here in April/ May and used the pool then. My wife would set foo in it until June, July
 
I’d like to use the pool year round. I know I’m not going to drain it. I have solar on my roof so I could use that time to heat it but am not sure how cold it would get at night. I moved here in April/ May and used the pool then. My wife would set foo in it until June, July

So you are quite right, we do not winterize pools here in AZ. We certainly do not drain them. Most pools remain "open" in the winter but by "open" it's really just the pump running on a very light schedule and minimal chlorination and pH control.

You can't (easily or economically) use a pool all year round here. Sorry, the water gets too cold and if you tried to heat it you will wreck the heater in short order. Heatpumps are not efficient at all when the air temps are below 50F and that is especially true around here because the humidity is so low. There simply isn't enough heat energy to extract out of the cold, dry air. Likewise, gas heaters cannot be run when the water temps are below 60F and the air temps are very low. The combustion condensate that would be created by the heater would be so corrosive that the heat exchanger would rot out quickly. Not to mention, the cost of gas to constantly heat a mass of water that large to any swimmable temperature would be outrageous even in this part of the country where gas is cheap. Solar wouldn't work either as the system would radiate heat away more so than absorb it.

Realistically, the best you can do around here is start heating a pool in March and keep it going through October, maybe mid-November. But in that scenario, the only heat source that makes sense to use is rooftop solar heating. In order to do that, you'll need to be able to run pipes from your equipment pad up to your roof on a south-facing exposure to get the maximum benefit. You can use a gas heater in lieu of solar OR in combination with solar. You'll also need an automation controller to automate the valves in the solar loop so that they open and close when the roof top temperatures are right. People try to manually do that and inevitably leave the solar running too long or at the wrong time and cause all sorts of trouble.

Most importantly, none of this will work efficiently unless the pool is covered in the overnight hours. A roof top solar system can certainly add several degrees to the pool over the course of a day. but, if left uncovered, all the heat will be gone by the morning. Evaporative cooling is greatest in these parts because the dew point temperatures are always super-low (often 20-30 degrees below the day time temps). Water evaporates like crazy around here and if you don't control it, all the heating will do is cause the pool to lose water to evaporation which you will have to make up with fill water.

Anyway, hopefully that gives you something to think about. Anything you do is going to cost significant investment. The pictures don't show the entire property but it looks like the equipment pad is pretty far away from the house and the backyard looks well finished. That being the case, adding any new services will involve lots of digging.

Good luck.
 
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