Hello, friendly TFP folks! I am new here but have been doing a LOT of searching through your forums. I've read a lot of great stuff, but need some help with some very specific circumstances.
I want a swimspa. I can't afford a swimspa. I will get a swimspa one day (in a few years- I promised myself that I would not buy one until all student loans and credit cards are completely paid off).
But come on, I want to swim, and I don't want to do it with gross other-people's-bandaids and people who don't shower before getting in the pool.
So I bought an iPool. For those unfamiliar, this is a rectangular frame style pool similar to an Intex (but thicker material), about 7x10 feet with 1500 gallons of water. I currently have it set up right beside my floating deck and about 4 feet from my screened in porch. It looks lovely. I have an umbrella for it, a solar cover, a sand and salt combo (Intex). Just lovely. However... it's been unseasonably cool here in Virginia and it's too darn cold to use (currently 70 degrees- admittedly, I took the solar cover off and forgot to put it back on for about a week). I also have but am not currently using: a spare filter/pump (2500 gph normal Intex/filter), custom insulation to go on the outside of the pool (yes, I need to put that on), and an 11kW 60amp electric spa heater (Hayward). The heater is not hooked up but there is a 220v outlet on the porch (about 15 feet away from where the pump resides). I'm very cold natured (I would ideally want it about 84/85 degrees) but I'm very scared of my power bills once I hook the heater up. My friends with a swimspa nearby say they spend about $50 a month on their power so I imagine mine would be exponentially more due to significantly less insulation.
My initial plan was to put the pool on the porch (cement floor) and put up plastic for a greenhouse effect during cold weather. However, it would be... a very tight feet. The outlet would be about 5 feet away (a no go, I hear) so it would have to be moved, but more importantly, I would need to scrunch in the legs of the frame about 4 inches on each side for it to fit. Even with that, I'm concerned that the walls of the pool would push against the walls of the porch (brick) and potentially do damage to one or the other.
Alternatively- I could leave it where it is (outside, just off the screened porch). It will have the custom insulation (r value 6.7). I would also be fine to build some sort of wind screen (likely using cedar fence panels) and/or a plastic dome of some sort with vinyl and pvc pipes (there is already a structure for the harness that extends roughly 4 feet above the pool that is pretty solid). I also happen to have a 10x12 gazebo that I bought for another purpose but changed my mind after disposing of the box (doh), so that's just sitting in my shed. The pool could fit under there and it has curtains (both heavy fabric and mosquito netting), but I worry about whether that will ultimately be a negative due to blocking sunlight. There will definitely be something over it or around it one way or the other because I just can't see swimming hard and inhaling 20 degree air without dying of an asthma attack.
Thoughts on whether it would be more heat efficient to leave where it is or move to the porch (where it will be beside my heated, brick house)? Or any ideas on how to increase efficiency? Or reassurances that my fears of hundreds of dollars in electric bills are overly anxious? Or, if you see a glaring problem that I've overlooked, please feel free to point that out as well.
Also- what is the deal for a heater when the outlet is about 15 feet away from the pool? Will I need to move it or what? I honestly do not understand how the wiring works... I know the heater should be directly wired in, but it also needs to be some distances from the pool, but it also has to be close enough that water can pipe through, but my hoses are only like 6ft long so...help. I've had two electricians come out to give me quotes when I thought it would be on the porch and they were less than helpful. I am fairly smart but sadly have zero foundation in electricity.
Thank you!!
I want a swimspa. I can't afford a swimspa. I will get a swimspa one day (in a few years- I promised myself that I would not buy one until all student loans and credit cards are completely paid off).
But come on, I want to swim, and I don't want to do it with gross other-people's-bandaids and people who don't shower before getting in the pool.
So I bought an iPool. For those unfamiliar, this is a rectangular frame style pool similar to an Intex (but thicker material), about 7x10 feet with 1500 gallons of water. I currently have it set up right beside my floating deck and about 4 feet from my screened in porch. It looks lovely. I have an umbrella for it, a solar cover, a sand and salt combo (Intex). Just lovely. However... it's been unseasonably cool here in Virginia and it's too darn cold to use (currently 70 degrees- admittedly, I took the solar cover off and forgot to put it back on for about a week). I also have but am not currently using: a spare filter/pump (2500 gph normal Intex/filter), custom insulation to go on the outside of the pool (yes, I need to put that on), and an 11kW 60amp electric spa heater (Hayward). The heater is not hooked up but there is a 220v outlet on the porch (about 15 feet away from where the pump resides). I'm very cold natured (I would ideally want it about 84/85 degrees) but I'm very scared of my power bills once I hook the heater up. My friends with a swimspa nearby say they spend about $50 a month on their power so I imagine mine would be exponentially more due to significantly less insulation.
My initial plan was to put the pool on the porch (cement floor) and put up plastic for a greenhouse effect during cold weather. However, it would be... a very tight feet. The outlet would be about 5 feet away (a no go, I hear) so it would have to be moved, but more importantly, I would need to scrunch in the legs of the frame about 4 inches on each side for it to fit. Even with that, I'm concerned that the walls of the pool would push against the walls of the porch (brick) and potentially do damage to one or the other.
Alternatively- I could leave it where it is (outside, just off the screened porch). It will have the custom insulation (r value 6.7). I would also be fine to build some sort of wind screen (likely using cedar fence panels) and/or a plastic dome of some sort with vinyl and pvc pipes (there is already a structure for the harness that extends roughly 4 feet above the pool that is pretty solid). I also happen to have a 10x12 gazebo that I bought for another purpose but changed my mind after disposing of the box (doh), so that's just sitting in my shed. The pool could fit under there and it has curtains (both heavy fabric and mosquito netting), but I worry about whether that will ultimately be a negative due to blocking sunlight. There will definitely be something over it or around it one way or the other because I just can't see swimming hard and inhaling 20 degree air without dying of an asthma attack.
Thoughts on whether it would be more heat efficient to leave where it is or move to the porch (where it will be beside my heated, brick house)? Or any ideas on how to increase efficiency? Or reassurances that my fears of hundreds of dollars in electric bills are overly anxious? Or, if you see a glaring problem that I've overlooked, please feel free to point that out as well.
Also- what is the deal for a heater when the outlet is about 15 feet away from the pool? Will I need to move it or what? I honestly do not understand how the wiring works... I know the heater should be directly wired in, but it also needs to be some distances from the pool, but it also has to be close enough that water can pipe through, but my hoses are only like 6ft long so...help. I've had two electricians come out to give me quotes when I thought it would be on the porch and they were less than helpful. I am fairly smart but sadly have zero foundation in electricity.
Thank you!!
