[Topspinmo]

Why would you need pool heater in Florida. O you want hot tub.

[PoolBrews]

With no pool heater this time of year the pool will drop to mid to high 70's overnight - not my idea of good swimming temp. I like my pool temp at 88 - and you need a heater this time of year to get it there.

[wine5465]

I have three rentals with pools. Spa Kingdom was a bit cheaper to get the parts zI needed. David even fixed an electrproblem at mo charge. On another, the pump kept shutting off tripping the breaker. Again zeroed in on the problem right away. I always ask for him.

[starflyte1]

Thank you ! I will definitely check out the suggested website.


The heat pump that I have now requires that I manually set the pool pump to continually run when heat pump is on. Previous pool heater and pool pump worked together to start automatically .

I am happy that the pool heater seem to be working properly now, so have time to spend choosing the next one to buy.

Originally Posted by lrvalley

Older pools came with single speed pumps and two speed pumps. The single speed pumps run at 100% all the time. They use a ton of electricity and are noisy the entire time they run.

Two speed pumps have a high speed and low speed. High speed is typically used during priming and when a heater is running. Both gas and electric heaters require a minimum flow rate to kick on and heat - usually around 75%-85% of your pumps full speed. A two speed pump can only run at 100% and whatever it was designed to run at for low speed.

When running a VSP (Variable Speed Pump - most new pools should have one) the electricity savings if used properly can be tremendous - easily paying for the increased cost of the pump in a short time. Below is a chart showing the pricing if a 1.65hp VSP were run for 24x7 for a month using current SECO rates:

RPM % Watts Hours Daily Watts Monthly Kw $$/Kw $$/Month
600 17% 22 24 528 15,840 15.8 $0.12 $1.90
800 23% 41 24 984 29,520 29.5 $0.12 $3.54
1200 35% 112 24 2,688 80,640 80.6 $0.12 $9.68
1400 41% 168 24 4,032 120,960 121.0 $0.12 $14.52
1800 52% 332 24 7,968 239,040 239.0 $0.12 $28.68
2000 58% 445 24 10,680 320,400 320.4 $0.12 $38.45
2200 64% 585 24 14,040 421,200 421.2 $0.12 $50.54
2600 75% 959 24 23,016 690,480 690.5 $0.12 $82.86
2800 81% 1,197 24 28,728 861,840 861.8 $0.12 $103.42
3200 93% 1,800 24 43,200 1,296,000 1,296.0 $0.12 $155.52
3400 99% 2,214 24 53,136 1,594,080 1,594.1 $0.12 $191.29
3450 100% 2,315 24 55,560 1,666,800 1,666.8 $0.12 $200.02

As you can see, even running the pump at 80% save 50% in costs. Running the pump at 40% saves 93% in costs.

My pool is fully automated, so it always runs at 40% unless the heater is needed. Without the heater, my pool costs less than $20/month to run. With the heater, it is typically $30-$40/month to run as the only time I'm drawing a lot of electricity is when the pool is actually running.

Another advantage is that I can keep the pump running 24x7 for very little cost, my salt cell keeps the chlorine levels in the pool very steady - no ups and downs from only running 8-10 hours a day. This results in a far clearer pool and considerably less in chemical costs.

Hope this helps! If you're looking to learn more check out TroubleFreePool online - the site has a ton of great pool info!

[PoolBrews]

Generally, if the VSP pump and heater are from the same manufacturer (Hayward, Pentair, Jandy), they can be setup to work in concert together. There is a minimal amount of smarts/automation built into the VSP pump.

If you have full automation (Hayward OmniLogic, Pentair Intellicenter, Jandy Aqualink), then you can mix and match brands as long as they are supported by your automation.

If you have an SWG (Salt Water Generator), then you need to have the SWG and automation panel be from the same manufacturer.