Pool Heaters

[soonerinatlanta]

I bought a house in May that has a great pool. My family spent pretty much the entire summer in the pool.

The pool heater was broken when we bought the house. When I had the house inspected, the pool inspector recommended buying a new pool heater rather than replacing the existing one. The previous owner put a lot of work into the house and added a lot of great features so I'm wondering if there was a reason why he never had the pool heater repaired. I've heard that pool heaters break down quite often and are expensive to run. My pool is enormous. 40K gallons. so it'll probably cost more to run than the average pool. The water temperature stays comfortable in the summer since there aren't any trees shading it for the most part, and it receives sun from the south. However, I'm going through pool withdrawl and would like to be able to use it in April, May, Sept and Oct.

Does anyone have any experience with the cost of maintaining and operating pool heaters? Any models you can recommend? What kind of energy costs can I expect?

 

[Bernard]

If cost is an issue look into solar water heating. A solar system will pay for itself vs electric or gas water heating. The only neg may be aesthetics, which may or not be an issue depending on your property configuration and personal taste.

Bernard

 

[soonerinatlanta]

I live in a neighborhood that probably wouldn't allow for solar panels. I have tossed that idea around a bit.

I have a hot tub with a smaller heater that is powered via gas. The existing pool heater has a gas line so I think gas is my first choice.

 

[LH-Pools]

You might try a solar blanket. It is like bubble wrap but heaveir. you get one a little larger than your pool and cut it to fit inside your tile line. It will help rase your water temp and hold your water temp longer. You will get a couple extra weeks of swimming. It is not a cover to keep leaves out of your pool.