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