Salt water pool heating recommendation ?

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lukasny

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May 30, 2017
32
New York
I would like to add some kind of heating option to our 12 x25 above ground salt water swimming pool.
From what I have seen most people recommend heat pumps since they last longer but I believe my only option is natural gas heater since we only have 100 amps going to our house. Most of that power is used and of what i have read heat pumps need 40 amps breakers and high amps to run. I have few questions maybe you can help me decide or point me in right direction.

1. If I'm wrong about heat pumps required power can you tell me what will be specs to run it for my pool and what brand would be recommended?

2. What are recommenced natural gas heaters for my pool ( brand and size ) especially that it is salt water pool

Thank you and I appreciate your help
 
Welcome to TFP!

If you get a gas heater then everyone here who know heaters recommends the Raypak gas heaters. The 266k btu and 400k btu are the most popular sizes. Bigger heats faster if your gas service can supply enough gas.

You are correct that the larger heat pumps need 40-60 amp breakers. There are smaller heat pumps that use a 20a breaker and draw <12 amps like my HP50HA, heat pump.

You can also look into solar panels if you have some south facing sunny roof or yard space available.

Whichever heat source you choose you will want to use a solar cover to keep the heat in the pool overnight. Most heat is lost from pools overnight through evaporative heat loss. A cheap 8 mil solar cover will slow that heat loss a LOT.

We have solar panels, a small heat pump and a solar cover. It is nice to have different heating options for different weather. We like our water 86-89 degrees and we've been swimming since March 13th this spring. There are pics of all of that in my pool thread, link in sig.
 
Thank you for you reply pooldv
I noticed that in other posts you recommend Raypak over any other brand but for some reason wherever I look they dont have good reviews (example amazon). Which model from Raypak would you say is the most reliable ? Original I was looking into Hayward H250FDN I know overall gas heater have weak reviews but it seems like this is my only option. HP50HA is only 50k btus - would that be enough ?
 
Did you ever decide on a model of Raypak? I to have been considering a Raypak for my SW pool.

lukasny said:
Thank you for you reply pooldv
I noticed that in other posts you recommend Raypak over any other brand but for some reason wherever I look they dont have good reviews (example amazon). Which model from Raypak would you say is the most reliable ? Original I was looking into Hayward H250FDN I know overall gas heater have weak reviews but it seems like this is my only option. HP50HA is only 50k btus - would that be enough ?
Click to expand...
 
I wouldn't give too much weight to the amazon reviews on Raypak heaters. Lots of folks on TFP have them and they work great. They are all reliable and they are definitely recommended over Hayward gas heaters. The 266k btu and 400k btu models are most common.

Heating a pool from temp A to temp B costs the same amount of money and takes the same amount of energy. A bigger heater just does it faster. So, it will take a 50k btu heater twice as long to heat a pool to 85 as it takes a 100k btu heater. But, it costs the same money.

If you intend to use an 8 mil solar cover and maintain a constant temp then the 50k btu heat pump,will work fine. If you want to only heat on the weekend or occasionally then you might want a gas heater to heat it up more quickly. A heat pump is more efficient and cost effective than a gas heater for doing the same task. 50k btu heat pump puts 1 degree in my 20k gal pool every 3 hours.
 
RoxxW said:
Did you ever decide on a model of Raypak? I to have been considering a Raypak for my SW pool.
Click to expand...

Yea, I decided to go with PR266AENX - Raypak Heater 266000 BTU NG EE (cupro-nickel) - 014939

- - - Updated - - -

Pooldv

Do you know if usually people need gas line upgrades ( or meter ) with Raypak Heater 266000 BTU NG EE (cupro-nickel) - 014939 ? Also should i run 1 1/2 gas line to heater ?
 
Every house and gas service is different. You need a gas pro to figure out your gas service supply capacity and current demand to see if it can handle the additional demand. I don't know what the rules are for gas line service pipe sizes.
 
I did most of my research and bought my panels from Solar Direct. It is a good option if you can install about the same number of square feet of panels as your pool on a south or southwest facing roof.
 

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pooldv said:
I did most of my research and bought my panels from Solar Direct. It is a good option if you can install about the same number of square feet of panels as your pool on a south or southwest facing roof.
Click to expand...

are those thermal panels ?
NY doesnt have too many warm months - are those thermal panels only increase temp when it's warm outside or do they use solar power too ?
 
I had solar panels on a previous home/pool. When water reached a certain low temp (adjustable), a valve opened and directed water to the panels on the roof, then back to the pool. When high temp was reached, valve closed returning to regular water circulation. Water trapped in solar panels got real warm!!
The water entered the panels at the top, and swirled in the many tubes to the bottom, to return to pool. The theory was in addition to the sun beating down in the panels, the swirling action created friction, and therefore more heat. Key word there is theory.

Only power used (electricity) was to monitor water temp, and open and close the valve.
 
lukasny said:
are those thermal panels ?
NY doesnt have too many warm months - are those thermal panels only increase temp when it's warm outside or do they use solar power too ?
Click to expand...

The water is pumped through the panels and they capture solar heat. The solar temp is much higher than the air temp, when the sun is shining it isn't uncommon for the air temp to be 80-85 and the solar temp to be 110-120.
 
pooldv said:
The water is pumped through the panels and they capture solar heat. The solar temp is much higher than the air temp, when the sun is shining it isn't uncommon for the air temp to be 80-85 and the solar temp to be 110-120.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct on air and solar temps being different. Official temperature is taken 6-8 feet in the shade. I have a thermometer on my back fence where the sun hits it directly. Always way higher than official temps when sun is out.
 
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