Small heat pump instead of solar cover???

[BasicTek]

Hi all,

After 2 seasons with a solar cover I have decided I hate using a solar cover, it works but it's a pain to manage, and they don't last.

While I'm sure it won't save me money I was wondering any thoughts on getting a small 50K Hayward (or other) heat pump. It's rated for a pool my size, and combined with FL climate and my solar I would imagine I could get the pool the temps I want without even having to run it all the time. If the daytime temp is 80ish and sunny, nighttime over 60 the solar alone can pretty much get me what I need, if it's much colder I wouldn't swim anyway. I see many people with gas heaters combined with solar but I haven't seen too many with a heat pump. Also Leslies has a special with free installs If I pay their $700 over ebay price, what does it generally cost to get these installed? I'd hope my current pad would have enough juice to run it.

 

[Brentr]

Tim a heat pump is always a nice addition to any pool. You stated that you don't like using a solar cover however it would be one of the best investments to help keep heat in your pool. If money is no object I would suggest getting the largest heat pump available as you would be able to heat up your pool much faster. Installing a heat pump is quite simple and I would attempt to do ( I would probably get an electrician to do the electrical part, I would recommend 100amp service to your sub panel but you can get away with 60 amp service.). I self installed my heat pump so I do not know what it would cost . I also see some very good deals at pinch a penny and leslies on used heat pumps. If you want to take a chance you could look at CL. Lastly you can look into a manual/auto pool cover which would ease the pain somewhat. Hope this helps BTW I have solar and a heat pump.

 

[BasicTek]

I have looked into auto covers and certainly in the future but nothing close to 2K more like 6-8 I think. I have the following jobs I want to do to my pool in the next couple years, and they are all waiting on the funds $$$$$

1) refinish and re-tile pool surface with something fairly high end approx 5-6K
2) invest in a hot tub including placement, and electrical 10K ish
3) install pavers and better drainage over my current cool deck look alike 6K
4) install auto cover 6-8K

I was thinking I could get a small heat pump in between for 2Kish a 2K job I can spring for without much thought, but all those above will require much more planning. I'm not sure if I have enough electrical for that small hayward and certainly I don't have enough for a larger unit nor the initial cost as bigger units with install would quickly rise upwards of 3K...

Anyway I just saw that hayward on a leslies sale and it peaked my imagination, I searched it finding the vminnovations deal on ebay being pretty good. We'll see I have to find out more about my current electrical I think.

 

[Brentr]

Agree on the sub panel. You can purchase all the materials from HD or Lowes and then look for an electrician to do the install. The most expensive item is the wire depending on size and length. For 100amp 3-3-3-5 copper, for 60amp 6-6-6-10 copper ( double check on this). Sub panels are cheap $30 - $50 and dont' forget breakers. My sub panel is GE and it is expandable up to 16 breakers using the mini breakers. This is my sub panel https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-PowerMark-Gold-125-Amp-8-Space-16-Circuit-Outdoor-Main-Lug-Circuit-Breaker-Panel-TLM812RCUP/202046230 Hope this helps

 

[BasicTek]

ya, maybe I could get two panels done at the same time (1 by the equipment for the heat pump) and one nearby in the patio for what will hopefully be a hot tub someday... I'll look into it, thanks for the info on materials.

 

[pooldv]

I added the 50k Hayward heat pump a year and half ago or so and it is great! It has added a ton to our swim season. More about it in my pool thread, link in sig.

 

[dmcconnell68]

I just added the Hayward HP50TA heat pump to my pool, and it does a good job of getting the temp up to something comfortable (86-89) . I have a 30amp service to the pool equipment, which runs the heat pump, vsp, blower, lights, Omnilogic panel, etc with no problems. I would have gone bigger, but when they installed the pool, the electrician only ran 1/2 conduit, so unable to get larger wire through it. I had an electrician come out and check the amp draw and with everything running, it was under 30amp. He also wired up the Omnilogic sub-panel, heater and moved the other equipment to it. It's been running for a month or so with no issues.

As for the solar cover, maybe it's just me, but even with it on, I still get a lot of heat loss at night, like 10-15 degrees. Daytime temps are 85ish, nighttime may go down into the 50's, plus my back yard gets a lot of wind sometimes.

 

[BasicTek]

ok now I really want the heat pump lol, I'll find a way, Thanks everyone!