Pool Heater Questions

new2pools · Apr 30, 2008

Okay, so we didn't get to enjoy our pool as much as I'd like to have last summer. It was just too cold for me alot of the time! We have woods behind and beside us so we get about 6 hours of full sun a day on the pool. Not enough to keep it nice and toasty. I can't remember what I thought was a good temp now, 84? Anyway. Seems 5-7 degrees would of made all the difference.
We didn't even swim in the pool after early Aug. (we live on the coast of VA, so it's not like I'm up north in the colder weather or anything. :roll:

)

So, Solar Panels, one option. But is it really? If I don't have enough sun to heat the pool how well will those work?
Option 2, Heat Pump.$$

Solar panels are a pain, they take up alot of space and I don't have the sun...or do I?

Any help is appreciated!
We'd love to be able to use our pool and REALLY enjoy more than one month of the summer. (July, btw)
I mean, we are already having 80+ degree weather here on some days but we know we won't use the pool until mid June at the earliest probably.

sevver · Apr 30, 2008

I got my pool heater off of Ebay for around $600 shipped if memory serves me correctly. It is 100,000BTU, and serves me just fine. It is a Hayward, and I got it for about half the price as from a store.

new2pools · Apr 30, 2008

Okay, so I looked.
Do you have the one that is fueled by propane?? That one is 600.00. HOw much propane do you go through?
Can you turn it off when you don't need or want it?

Natural gas is not an option....ours would have to be electric or propane, I suppose.

sevver · Apr 30, 2008

Mine is actually natural gas, not sure on the propane one. When I don't want to use mine, all I have to do is turn the rheostat down to nothing, this produces no heat. It has an electronic ignition, so it does not burn gas when not in use. In the winter I simply turn a butterfly valve off just in case.

randytsuch · Apr 30, 2008

Another option is a solar cover. You lose a lot of heat at night due to evaporation. Solar cover stops that lose, plus it heats the pool more for the time you do get sun. If I leave my cover off for one night, pool is at least 5 degrees colder by the next morning.

My pool is covered, gets morning sun, but my house starts shading my pool by around 2 pm, by 4 it is out of the sun completely, give or take. With a cover, and with the pump running when the sun is out, my pool is in the high 80's/low nineties in the summer time, without the heater. I am using the heater now, but hopefully can stop in a month or less, and won't need again until maybe sept.

Randy

kirbinster · May 1, 2008

It costs roughly 5 times as much to heat a pool without a solar cover on when not in use than one with a solar cover. I would not even consider heating the pool if I did not use a solar cover. If the roof on your house gets sun then solar would be cheapest bet as far as life-cycle costing. A heat pump would be the second cheapest.

new2pools · May 2, 2008

Are you saying put the solar panels onthe roof?

If so, it doesn't get a ton either. We have two large (LARGE) oak trees in the direct front of our house and no trees in the back (cut 6 trees down in and around our yard, left the 2 in front) But with those and our neighbors trees the roof is pretty shaded too. We do have a screened in porch roof that gets maybe an hour or so more then the pool probably though.

Are solar covers a pain to put on and remove every day? Seems so. Options?

JCJR · May 2, 2008

I used this website http://www.flasolar.com/pool_main.php
when researching pool heating as well as TFP.

4deg in pool temp makes a big difference and I recommend at a minimum having a solar blanket. It also saves on chemicals when pool is covered and not in use. Regardless which heating system a pool cover is a must unless you have deep pockets.($$$$)

Craig · May 2, 2008

I have to agree with previous posts, the solar cover is a great option for additional heat and reduced chemical costs. I also have a Hayward natural gas heater and was warned by everyone "wait until you get you gas bill" however it was only an additional $60 for a 2 month period. I attribute the minimal increase due to the solar cover. DISCLAIMER - I live in NY and rates are obviously different depending on where you live.

I have a solar cover reel to make removal easier and I believe that is a worth while investment as well. Unfortunately the cheapest I found last year was ~$150 for an inground. My wife uses the pool when I am at work (Dang Board of Ed employees!) and if it weren't for the reel, she wouldn't use the pool until I came home. My point is the reel makes it easy enough for a 5 foot woman to handle. On a different note and to her credit, she can probably kick my Rear!