which heat pump would be best? what should I look for?

[alisonquilts]

As the days grow shorter and the sun hits my pool less and less, my thoughts have turned to buying a heater. Solar won't work in our situation, and gas and electric resistance are too expensive to operate, so I think a heat pump is our best option. I would love to hear any opinions (good or bad) people have about their heat pumps. My pool is saltwater, so would a heat pump with titanium exchanger be necessary? Or is that just a gimmick? Does "more expensive" mean "better" in heat pumps? Do you need to service them regularly, like my house heat pump, or are they pretty low maintenance and trouble free?

Thanks for your help.
Alison

[ImpalaRob]

As far as I'm concerned a heat pump is useless, unless of course your going to run it 24/7 to maintain a temp, which means your running your filter 24/7.

My sister has a gas heater.......... she can heat her pool pretty quickly........ though I cant tell you how much that costs her.

At this point, I only use my heat pump when my wife goes into the pool so that she feels the warm water coming into the pool. The heat pump I have is aqua comfort.

[PoolDoc]

As far as I'm concerned a heat pump is useless, unless of course your going to run it 24/7 to maintain a temp, which means your running your filter 24/7.

I hadn't thought about that . . . but you would need long pump run times. Probably if you install a heat pump, you also ought to install a 2 speed pump, so you can run 24/7 economically.

[alisonquilts]

We currently run the pump (and therefore the chlorine generator) all day and then turn it off at night. Night is also when we put the solar lily pads back on (if we've been swimming and have taken them off in the first place!). Because we live in North Carolina in a pretty moderate climate I was hoping we could extend our swim season by a couple or three months. It would be different for ImpalaRob, since he's in NY, wouldn't it?

That is a good point about the 2 speed pump - I have been thinking about swapping out for a while, just because it seemed more energy friendly. I'll factor that into the budget..

Does anyone else have an opinion about the efficacy of heat pumps? My house heat pump certainly doesn't run 24/7, and it keeps the house (mostly) comfortable.

Alison

[PoolDoc]

Remember that heat pumps are season extenders, not year round pool heaters, except for S. Calif and Florida south of Tampa.

You won't be swimming in North Carolina November - March with a heat pump

[alisonquilts]

No, I gave up on year round swimming pretty early! I am just hoping to be able to swim into early October - right now because of the sun's angle our temperature has already dropped to 80F (from 94F just two weeks ago!!) 'Course, I was lazy and hadn't put the lily pads back on, or got the HeatSavr fish in, but in previous years when I did do all the right things it was still too cold by early September to swim regularly, even when the daytime air temp was sweltering.

I was picturing turning on the heat pump in early April, off for late May through mid August, then back on September through October. The manufacturers' information makes this sound eminently reasonable...I just wondered about real life experience.

Alison

[PoolDoc]

I am just hoping to be able to swim into early October . . . . I was picturing turning on the heat pump in early April, off for late May through mid August, then back on September through October.

That's a reasonable goal, IF the heat pump is sized well, and IF you use a solar blanket, and IF the weather cooperates. I think Winston-Salem is colder than Chattanooga, but I'm not sure how much.

[RandyM1911]

I have an Aqua Comfort 125 heat pump that was installed when my pool was built in 2007. This is my first pool so my experience is rather limited. The pool is 18' x 36' and roughly 24K gallons (so I'm told).

The heat pump is not an "on demand" type unit as is a gas or electric resistance heater and the temp rise is quite gradual. Depending on the temp of the pool water and the air temp, the heated water entering the pool will be noticeably warmer than the surrounding water, although far from "hot." The warmer the ambient air temp, the more efficient the heat pump will be.

The first season we had the pool built I wanted to do exactly what you stated re: extending the season. My pool is salt as well but I rarely run the pump for more than 8 hours/day. That first season I probably ran the pump and heater for 12 hours/day from mid-September and into mid-October to keep the temps up so we could continue to use the pool. My electric bill for that month was ridiculous. Maybe it would have been smarter to just run the thing 24/7 to maintain the temp rather than force the heater to work overtime to bring the temp back up every time it ran but I don't know for sure. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in.

These days I generally set the heater at about 75F at the start of the season just to make sure if there is a cold spell the water doesn't get frigid. Otherwise I only run the heater when my wife feels like it needs a "shot" of heat or when we are planning to have guests. I know this isn't the smartest way to use this type of heater but in my experience it's been an expensive piece of equipment to operate so I use it as little as possible. At the height of the season the pool temps will normally be in the high 80's so there is little reason to add heat anyway.

As far as extending the season; we've pretty much given up on that ideal. Once labor day passes here in the central NJ coastal area the air temps aren't exactly scorching and nobody uses the pool anyway. Sad to say but we generally close the pool by mid-September.

Not to ramble on but one final note: Last season when we opened the pool a couple weeks before Memorial Day the heater had an error code on the digital display. I opened up the unit and found that a colony of ants had taken up residence inside the compartment where the electronics are housed. I chased them out and cleaned up everything as best I could, being careful not to mess with any of the circuit boards or get anything wet. Not sure if the ants had anything to do with it or not but I wound up with a $300 repair bill and a new board & relay of some sort. Not a happy guy after only 4 years of ownership and very little use.

Anyway, I hope you have greater success than I have had if you decide to go this route. The heat pump works well enough in most circumstances but I'm not sure it's the right piece of equipment here in the North East. BTW, the internal piping is stainless steel not some exotic material and (so far) I have seen no issue with the plumbing.

All the Best,
Randy

[ImpalaRob]

That first season I probably ran the pump and heater for 12 hours/day from mid-September and into mid-October to keep the temps up so we could continue to use the pool. Randy

I hear ya! I tried all sorts of things....... till I finally gave up and told my wife and kids "Listen, if you think the Long Island Sound is warmer, lets go swim there!$!$

When this thing goes Kaput........ I'll swap over to Gas.

-Rob

[RandyM1911]

I hear you loud and clear. Although we have natural gas in the house, with all the hardscaping that's been done outside since the pool was built it would be impractical for me to run a gas line out to the heater location. I'm stuck with the heat pump for now and into the foreseeable future... I will simply continue to use it judiciously.

R-