Pool Heater not heating pool enough - undersized?

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J

jb

0
Jul 2, 2011
103
North Texas
Hi Guys. I think my pool shows in my sig but if not 45,000 gal. Appx 1000 sq feet surface area. Have Raypak 400000btu heater running continuously is heating pool about 30 degrees over ambient air ~ so 45 outside, pool is maxed at 75. To be clear its been running for several days and is still running continuously but won't go over 75 (it is set on 90) it doesn't turn off but wont heat any higher. Does this sound about right for that size heater and pool? I would like to get it warmer like 85 or 90. What options do I have? I am only looking to heat my pool once or twice during the winter for a few days each time - not keep it warm all winter. It's an awkward shape pool would rather not mess with a cover and for the few days its warm would rather not have to cover off and cover on each time we use it. Thanks in advance for any ideas. JB
 
Sounds about right off the top of my head.

It is all about BTUs. Add a second heater or larger commercial heater if you have the fuel for it and can get it plumbed in.
 
If you don’t have a cover any heater will struggle to maintain temp. We have an over sized heat pump. We heat the pool all year round and with the cover on it runs very little to maintain temp. With the cover off, even in summer, it will run significantly more often, especially at night. Without a cover you’re loosing all your heat to the atmosphere. Covers are cheap. I would get one, cut it to size best you can and see how you go.
 
ajw22 said:
Sounds about right off the top of my head.

It is all about BTUs. Add a second heater or larger commercial heater if you have the fuel for it and can get it plumbed in.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll ask my pool guy about it next week. Given that choice, I'd prob ad a second heater so as to use the Raypak I have now for the spa for which it has been quite efficient and just fire up the 2nd when heating the pool. My guess would be a larger 600000k or equivalent commercial heater might be overkill and not as efficient for more simple things like spa only?

JamesW said:
If the heater is firing continuously, it's probably doing the best that it can.

How much evaporation are you getting?
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It's rained a lot the last week so I cant really say. I havn't had to ad any water anyway. And the rain event did drop the temp a few degrees, but then heating resumed.

riley00dog said:
If you don’t have a cover any heater will struggle to maintain temp. We have an over sized heat pump. We heat the pool all year round and with the cover on it runs very little to maintain temp. With the cover off, even in summer, it will run significantly more often, especially at night. Without a cover you’re loosing all your heat to the atmosphere. Covers are cheap. I would get one, cut it to size best you can and see how you go.
Click to expand...

Yeah I hear you I know the covers make a lot of sense for heating on a regular basis, but I just want to heat the pool for a few days out of the year as a novelty almost. We get almost 6 months of swim time here as it is without heating. The other cool months I actually enjoy looking at the water rather than a cover even if I had one for heating, I didn't want to get into the cover on cover off routine just to swim for 20 minutes... plus where do I store that thing for the rest of the year I already have too much junk lol
 
A 45k gallon pool with a 400k btu heater is asking a lot to bring it to 80+ from 45. Usually these residential heaters are just designed to extend swimming season not heat up to scorching temps in dead of winter. Am I right to say that?

75 dg ain’t that bad—though I too only will dive into a 85 dg pool ;)

I’ve always been grateful for my current pool having in floor (cleaning) return lines for heating and amazes me how quickly I can heat my pool with that system. Perhaps ensuring suction is focused more from the main drain (heat rises ;)
So adjusting your valve shares less from the skimmer(s).
 
Hmmm that is interesting about using main drain vs skimmer for source water as there could easily be a few degrees different in temperature since the drain is 9' under. Im not up on my thermodynamics, but will having colder water (from the main drain in this example) run thru the heater produce more heat or not?
 
Well, I just turned it to suction from slimmers only to see what happens. Seems logical it would stop circulating the coldest water in the pool at least (bottom of deep end). Hopefully it will get it at least warm enough to jump in tonight. May not be entirely scientific since there was a nice 20 degree spike in outside weather today. Ill report back...
 
It’s a sound plan for just good circulation to focus more suction from the main drain. I think you’ll see a difference to not skim at all if your goal is heating.

You want more suction from your main drain where the cooler water gets a chance to run through the heater. I don’t know where your return line is, but like many it’s only going to be a couple feet below water line. If suction is mostly from skimmer, only the top layer of water will be running through the filter/heater. If suction is primarily coming from the skimmer, you’ll notice chemical usage will be higher also.

Good luck!
 
We heat our 44k gallon pool over the 2 week winter break here in Vegas. We heat it to 97* A cover is an absolute necessity to do so. You will lose all of the day’s heating progress to evaporation without. We accomplish this with a 400k BTU Hayward heater from a starting temperature of about 45 in 3 days time running continuously with the filter on high, pulling from the main drain and vacuum and back to the pool through the returns rather than the cleaners which are higher on our wet deck and steps. All of these tricks, if you will, we learned from another member here who does the same in Canada. I’m not sure I can find the post or if I can somehow link it, but I will try. We will be in the pool celebrating NYE with friends tonight. IMG_6987.jpg
 

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The pool temperature going up may or may not be so. Because you are only pulling water from the top where the heat will naturally rise it’s not the best indicator of the true temperature. The fact that the heat rises is also the reason that a cover is a must to trap the heat loss from evaporation. I pull only from the bottom while heating and return as low in the pool as possible, which for us is the returns halfway down the shell since our cleaners are only in areas the vacuum can’t reach like the stairs benches and wet deck. With the suction coming mostly from the main drain it keeps the heat cycling downward rather than up as well.

Our first cover we went with clear, but I want to see blue even on the occasion the pool is covered so when we needed to replace them this year we went with blue covers. The color is really a non factor in heating even from the sun since it’s real use is to prevent the heat gains from evaporation.

Amazon.com : Harris 20 ft x 40 ft Rectangle Solar Cover - Blue - 12 Mil : Garden Outdoor
 
The only pictures I have of the pool covered are from the clear covers while the patio cover was being built so excuse the mess and dirt piles. The cover does not need to be cut perfectly. In fact, I like it to be a little short of the walls in some places to be able to pour in chlorine and acid as needed. IMG_5596.jpgIMG_5597.jpg
 
Just found this in a text while doing something totally unrelated. You can see the difference in the appearance between the blue and clear covers. Most people probably wouldn’t care, but I like to see blue when I look out.
2b4715dd0b1f324562ea463e2d0a50d1.jpg
 
Thanks so much for that. Agree, blue does look better. Do you use a reel to store your cover? WHat doe you do with it in the summer? We have a problem with rodents in our town and I'd hate to leave that in our pool shed... It is tempting for sure - would LOVE to get our pool up in the 90s with just a 3 day burn and it sounds like we have similar size pools.

- - - Updated - - -

btw we bought those same faux wicker loungers reasonably priced and really comfy aren't they?
 
We don’t use a reel. We just Phil them up onto the patio then fold them over and roll like a sleeping bag. When they won’t be used for a while we put them in the garage. Otherwise, they just sit under the patio cover.

Costco is the best for all things. We’ve really enjoyed those chairs. I wouldn’t mind getting some lounge cushions. I haven’t because I keep thinking I’ll need to replace them soon, but it’s been 3 years and they are still perfect even though we leave them out year round.
 
On Nat gas it is 1 therm per 100k btu per hour.

In Texas it is $1/therm.

So $1/therm*4 therm/hr *24 hr/day*30 day/mo=$2880/mo.

Propane, even in bulk, is typically quite a bit more expensive. $2.50/gal in Texas - that would be $7200/mo if running 24/7!
 

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