Tankless heaters

[chip85]

I am shopping for a heater for my 18x36 IG pool and wondered if anyone has experience or information on tankless heaters? Comparisons on cost and performance with conventional pool heaters?

thanks

[mas985]

A conventional pool heater is a form of tankless heater but at a much higher BTU rating than one for the home. The home versions are simply smaller units and thus cost less but would take much longer to heat a pool.

[cleancloths]

Don't think you want to put swimming pool water in a normal water heater, the chlorine would do a job on it. Also, as said above they are too small.

They are typically designed to pass a max of about 3 gpm.

[chip85]

Well, that certainly is not the impression I got from this website ...http://www.tanklessheaters.com/

Just thought maybe someone here had one or knew of someone that did.

[beary]

Well, that is certainly interesting. Common pool heaters are also tankless, but these heaters look more like the house tankless heaters that are becoming more popular. They are much smaller. I am curious to their performance ability because they appear cheaper to buy, install and run. They do require a lot of electric power is you decide on electric.

Beary

[chip85]

I guess I should have clarified in my original post that "tankless" was a brand name ....should have been "Tankless".

[cleancloths]

Interesting that they are marketing this for pools. I guess they can handle the throughput then, but it looks like copper piping which is not great for chlorinated water. Also the temperature rise is very little, less output than my heatpump - and heatpumps are sized at a fraction of normal heaters. The other thing, you need you head examined to try to heat your pool with electric resistance heating. Sure these things are cheap, but you heating bill will run in the thousands of dollars rather than in the hundreds. Electric resistance heating is the most expensive way to heat.

Look at it this way, I use an electric heatpump that has a COP of 5.9, what that means is that for each unit of electricity I put in I get 5.9 units of heat equivalent out. These things have a COP of 1.0, so it will cost you about 6 times more to heat your pool with one of these things than with a heatpump. Sure makes the choice very easy - buy a heatpump if you want to use electricity to heat.

[GHM]

but it looks like copper piping which is not great for chlorinated water. .

Well, Looks like I may have a problem then...
My pool is plumbed completely with 3" copper piping. So far it has been working fine for the last 60 years and I don't see any deteriation. Now that I think about it all my home water supply lines are copper and my municipal water has 2-3ppm chlorine added.

[cleancloths]

Copper might be fine for 1-2ppm cl2, but it sure is not good at 10-15+ ppm like when you shock the pool. With the price of copper today you should rip out all that piping and replace it with PVC and sell the copper on the open market. I went to Lowes today to get some copper pipe and it was more than double what I paid a year ago.

[GHM]

Copper might be fine for 1-2ppm cl2, but it sure is not good at 10-15+ ppm like when you shock the pool. With the price of copper today you should rip out all that piping and replace it with PVC and sell the copper on the open market. I went to Lowes today to get some copper pipe and it was more than double what I paid a year ago.

My pool has had "60 years" of heavy shocking and clorine abuse, along with harsh Canadian cold and hot climate, and I've never had a single leak or problem.
Agreed at todays price for copper, I could not afford to plumb a pool with it, but next to stainless steel, copper is the "BEST", most durable, longest lasting, material for pool plumbing that money can buy.
Ripping it out as you suggested is a rediculous option as I would then have to pay to replace a perfect deck and then install crappy plastic which deteriates and leaks. I'd rather leave it and enjoy the comfort of having a plumbing system that will outlive me!