Loosing my mind deciding on heat

[Lineman7]

OK, so we have everything narrowed down on the pool build. Got our upgrades decided on and size all established. Last piece of the puzzle is heat. Our pool is going to be 18x29 free form 14,715gals, 436 surface area. I think the key part is where we area located. We live in West Texas. Close to the Lubbock area.

I have wen't from solar to propane, back to solar and then I did some reading on a heat pump. I was dead set on one of those. Then did some more reading on them not working well in low humidity. Which, we have. Seems the best setup is a dual system. Heat pump and solar or propane and heat pump. I don't really wanna spend the money for a dual system. I see where a solar blanket is gonna be a must.

I was reading on a website that was calling for Texas swim season to be April 1st- Oct 1st. I can see that. I'm curious what real world numbers are from people that have pools here in Texas.

Right now, I'm leaning towards a 400,000 BTU propane heater and maybe some temporary solar heaters laid out with a manhole pump to circulate when just a little help is needed(redneck, i know).

Any advice would be great.

 

[ajw22]

A 400K BTU gas heater is the most effective you can have. Running on propane can get expensive though.

A pool cover will help you retain the heat you buy.