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

[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-