Looking for Heater Guidance

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ukchris

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Jul 7, 2017
39
NH
Hello! We live in New Hampshire, new to pool ownership (end of our first year) and would like to ask for some guidance on pool heaters. Our pool is 20' x 40', I believe around 40,000 gallons, in ground vinyl. It is essentially new I guess, an existing derelict pool was fixed up, new liner etc, we have a Haywood filter.

We are looking in to options to heat the pool, it seems to average around 72 degrees when its warm, we'd like to be able to warm it up at times in the summer but also to extend the season. The pool is a way from the house, there is electricity run to it for the filter, I believe it is a 10k breaker, from what I can see there are two cables run underground (yellow 20a Nomex I think). We have propane rather than natural gas but the underground tank is a fair distance away (probably 150').

This is the first home I have had with propane rather than natural gas - it's fair to say it was a shock how expensive it is.

From my research I gather the options are a propane heater, an electric heat pump or solar. I have been quoted $2,000 for a propane heater (plus tank, installation etc), $5,400 for an electric heat pump (plus installation & electrical), none of the pool places around here seem to do solar.

So, clearly a propane setup would be cheaper in initial cost but we want to better understand heating time and running costs. It's likely we'd heat the pool up at weekends rather than use it daily, we also use a solar blanket to try to minimize evaporation and retain heat.

Is anyone in a similar situation in a similar climate? If the pool is at standing temperature I'd also like to get an idea of how long it would take to heat up to (I guess) around 85 degrees.

Any advice would be most welcome on propane vs. electric and whether solar is a realistic option for us.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Chris.
 
First thing to know is that if you plan on "spot heating" for weekends, gas is the only way to do it right or you will be heating 3-4 days in advance with a heat pump. I would not believe solar is an option in NH and just by your comment that pool places don't offer tells you something there.

Just because your propane tank is 150' away, I don't see why you would need another tank. You should be able to tap off the existing tank with no issues. Yes the cost of propane is probably high in your area but if you are only heating now and then, it won't be as bad as heating all the time.

I would invest in a 400K BTU propane hater for the pool, Raypak is recommended highly here, and that will let you heat your pool for weekends, special occasions, and to extend your swimming season. Invest in a solar blanket so when you heat your pool and it gets cool at night, you won't lose much of your investment. Yes you will have recovery time in the morning but again, with gas that recover time is less. You will get close to 1.5-2 degrees an hour with a 400K BTU gas heater. Keeping a solar blanket on also while heating helps. Also, you will burn about 3.5 gallons of fuel per hour when heating.

Consider your temps and that a heat pump relies on warm weather for efficient heating. A heat pump will get you about half a degree an hour if it's nice and warm outside.
 
You can do solar yourself but you need a high roof space near the pool to do it on that has good sun exposure all day long. Also, for solar to be worthwhile, the area of the solar panels needs to be at least the same as the pool surface area. There are many folks here on TFP that have done their own solar installations and they can advise you on design considerations if you choose to go down that path.

One question - solar cover, do you use one? No matter what heating source you choose, a solar cover (bubble cover) is critical to pool heating and heat retention. Where you live, the majority of the heat loss is overnight from evaporative cooling. Whenever air temps go below water temps, the evaporation of water from your pool surface will completely remove any heat added throughout the day.
 
Thank you both for your advice, as suggested I am leaning away from electric toward propane, just a little wary of the running costs.

I do use a solar cover, try to do so at all times but I'm currently looking at a reel (DIY or otherwise) to make it a one person job, it often ends up heaped at the end of the pool deck.

I suspect solar is intriguing but may not be suitable for New Hampshire, I have a barn along side the pool or a large grass area beyond it where the sun would be reasonable but I do wonder if out of season I'd get enough sun to really make a difference?
 
If you Google "solar pool heating calculator" you can get a bunch of links to various sites that calculate the number of panels needed for a specific setup. You could potentially turn your 2 month swimming season into a 4 month season. Solar, on average, can add about a month on each end of your swim season if it's properly designed and used.
 
I have a natural gas heater.... it is sized for a larger pool than what I have. It will heat 2 degrees an hr. I have it set for 82 deg. With a sunny day it will get to 85-86 easily. On cold nights around 60deg (with solar blanket) the heater will kick on when the filter comes on at 10am, and heater won't run more than 20- 30 min at most. With a night of 70 deg. heater won't come on. Hope this helps with an idea of run times.... I do live south of you, Cleveland Ohio area. Today the air temp was 75 deg. sunny and a bit of a breeze. Pool temp 85 deg...... water was great for a swim.
 
Perpetual summer said:
I have a natural gas heater.... it is sized for a larger pool than what I have. It will heat 2 degrees an hr. I have it set for 82 deg. With a sunny day it will get to 85-86 easily. On cold nights around 60deg (with solar blanket) the heater will kick on when the filter comes on at 10am, and heater won't run more than 20- 30 min at most. With a night of 70 deg. heater won't come on. Hope this helps with an idea of run times.... I do live south of you, Cleveland Ohio area. Today the air temp was 75 deg. sunny and a bit of a breeze. Pool temp 85 deg...... water was great for a swim.
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Please help make sure I understand, the heater gets you 2 degrees an hour but only runs for 20-30 minutes? I'm a little confused between the temperatures you mention, am I correct that you're saying the ambient temperature drops to 60 degrees at night but the blanket must be keeping the pool temp higher such that it only takes half an hour to boost it back up in to the 80's?

I'm hearing I should expect to burn 4 gallons of propane per hour, at around $2.50/gallon then i'd $10 to get a 2 degree, clearly retention (the blanket) is pretty crucial?
 
The blanket is very necessary to hold heated water against cold air. With night time temps in upper 50s lower 60s pool will lose all temps it gained during day even with solar blanket on. Then when filter starts at 10am heater will bring it up to set temp of 82. Runs maybe 1/2hr to 45 minutes if air temp drops into 50s. Solar blanket also retains water level because warm water with evaporate much more during a cool night. So if your going to heat a pool a blanket is necessary to help retain heat and stop evaporation. So I guess I gain 4 to 5 degrees a day and can lose all what I gained plus a degree or so at night. (When it gets cool )
 
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