Inline water heater for spa-only?

[op999]

I did forget to mention that I am hooked up to city gas lines.

So, doing my homework, I'm now looking to NG.

Also, any thoughts of using a tankless water heater for the spa only?

If I had it my way, I'd just go out and get a separate hot tub. But, I figured, the current one is already there, so...might as well make the best (hopefully not the worst!) of it

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

The tankless systems I think you are asking about are for household plumbing and indoor use. They won't be able to provide the flow volume you need. A pool heater is tankless but handles substantially more volume, and usually has a much higher BTU rating and is meant to be outdoors.

Using an undersized heater will not save money in energy costs. It will just run a lot longer and make you wait to get to temp. Waiting sucks. When I want to soak, I don't want to wait an hour or two. The 15 minutes for the attached spa to rise from 80 something to 100 degrees is bearable.

Attached spas are convenient in terms of maintenance and socializing.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ

 

[mitch08]

I'm not intending to be mean or silly. If the pool/spa system causes so many problems, issues, and financial costs if one wants to use it as a "real" spa, why do builders and/or owners continue to do this combination? Are owners lead to believe by PBs that they will have a heated spa to enjoy whenever they want? I just don't understand. :?

gg=alice

I don't know why I am only seeing this 2 months after the fact. :lol: I visit this website every day...

I would not give up my spillover spa for anything. It has it's advantages and disadvantages I guess.

On the pro side:

You never have to worry about water chemistry. It is always fresh water. (Assuming your pool is clean. LOL)
They are much better looking IMO, because of how they are integrated into the landscaping and stonework of the pool area.
When they are raised up a bit, and you sit in them and look at the pool, it feels like you are at a vacation paradise
They are fairly cheap to add to an existing pool and even more cost effective to build in while building a pool.
A gas pool heater that heats a pool 1 degree an hour can usually heat a spa 1 degree a minute. So heat times dont take too long.

On the con side:

They aren't very theraputic at all compared to stand alone hot tubs / spas... Stand alones are absolutely amazing!!!
If you live in the NorthEast like I do, you need to close the spa when you close the pool. A lot of people love using their hot tubs in the winter.
They are a bit more expensive to keep heated and you can't keep them heated all the time.
If there is a plumbing problem the surround sometimes needs to be dug up to get to the pipes.

Anyway, all the being said, I think both are amazing
I never have a problem with keeping the spa heated because the temperature in the summer never gets below 75 - 80 degrees. Usually higher.
So it only takes about 25 minutes or so to bring it to 104. I can live with that. If Im having a party, I make sure my pool is heated properly (85 or higher) and then just leave the spa on all day long. The only downside to this is any leaves that blow in will not be pushed to the skimmer by the jets since the jets in the pool will be off.

For arguments sake, I know a few people with stand alone hot tubs. They love them, and they seem great. But they are always fussing with the water quality and they don't normally keep them at temp. They turn it on a bit before they get in to heat it up.

 

[JasonLion]

Adding an in-ground spa to an in-ground pool build costs very little extra, compared to the huge amount of money the pool costs in the first place. From a marketing point of view it is an easy sell, most people given the option add on the spa.

Spill-over spas don't generally add too much extra effort to maintaining the pool. As long as they are run in spa mode for fairly short periods (ie under an hour) and are run in spillover mode for at least a few hours every day they tend to be easy to use and maintain. There can be problems, certainly far more than with a pool alone, but most people don't run into those problems and are happy they got the spa.

It is completely possible to run a stand alone, usually covered, spa with chlorine. The cover won't last as long as it would on a bromine spa, but as long as the chemistry is maintained correctly it will still last a good long time. Chlorine does "evaporate" much more quickly at spa temperatures, so bromine is generally a better choice for a stand alone usually covered spa, but chlorine is workable.

 

[lborne]

When we were talking to the PB about the built in spa we went with a single pump design. However, we were given the option of a separate pump so that the spa jets could be run while the pool could also be circulated.

Another thing the PB said was that since my (and most all I assume) spa and pool plumbing are separate, I could easily add a separate pump and small filter for the spa only and keep it clean and heated without having it in spillover mode.

 

[op999]

Hi Mitch -- so what type of setup do you have? I've been considering going to power. Running a gas line is too costly, and I will only use the hot tub on colder nights, which are not many in Florida)!

 

[mitch08]

Hi Mitch -- so what type of setup do you have? I've been considering going to power. Running a gas line is too costly, and I will only use the hot tub on colder nights, which are not many in Florida)!

I have a natural gas heater. Its the same heater that heats the pool connected to the spill over spa.

My neighbor had his pool guy do the gas for him. Ran it to a heater and to a bbq Worked out great and he saved a fortune.