We hope to install a natural gas pool heater this year. The last couple of years the water just has not heated up to a comfortable temp. and in order to get more use out of the pool we figured this is where our tax return $'s should go. Does anyone have any experience with a particular model? I have been researching and as usual have come up with good and bad reviews on different models. I'm just looking for your experiences. Our pool is 21' above ground and we are in northern CT. TIA

We had one for our 21 foot above ground pool. We used it one summer and then sold, sorry don't remember what brand it was. The reason we got rid of ours was because our gas bill was way to high for me. It was costing around $175-200 per month to heat out pool. I'm used to having a $20 gas bill in the summer months. We are considering getting solar panels to heat it this summer.

the ils had a solar cover for their pool for ages, at least 20 years (an old concrete in ground pool) - it worked wonders for heating up the pool in NE PA where sometimes summers are short and cold, and it was much less expensive than a traditional pool heater

We currently use a solar cover and it does a pretty good job keeping the water a comfortable temperature. I'd just like the solar panels to help a bit more.

we have a Hayward Heat Pump for our inground -- the model etc depends on the size of your pool

We have a Hayward natural gas heater for our inground pool. Our pool is 12' x 24' and 5-1/2' deep, so not a huge pool. It costs about $25 dollars a day to heat the pool to swim in the winter, that is using a solar blanket (the blue type with bubbles) also to keep the heat in, when not actually swimming in it. The solar blanket will heat the water by itself about 10 degrees. So we might heat it for a weekend or heat it for the Thanksgiving holidays or Christmas holidays or something where you know you will be using it for several days in a row and not just one day, as it takes about 24 hours just to heat up initially to get warm enough to swim in.

Are you wanting it for summer use? If so, a solar blanket heat the water about 10 degrees and only costs about $100, less if your pool is smaller, they look like blue bubble wrap and it just lays directly on top of the water.

I guess I should add, that is to heat the water to 90 degrees which is what we heat it to when we swim when it's cold out, if it's summer and you just wanted to take some chill out of the water you probably wouldn't need the water that hot, I'm talking about swimming in 30 degree weather, I want to be comfortable. If it's really cold out, steam is coming off the water.

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We looked into a gas heater for our inground pool. The prices of the heater were not so bad; however the quotes we got to run the gas line from the house to the pool were really high. We really couldn't justify the total cost . a A friend of ours who got rid of their above ground pool have us their solar heater- it is a black plastic pad about 8 feet long that we lay on the cement behind the pool. It hooks up one of the output valves from the filter. The water runs through the pad and back into the pool. We found that along with a solar cover really help keep the pool temp up- of course you need the sun to cooperate.

We do use a solar cover and two of those black strip type solar heaters. Our pool didn't make it past 80 except for 4 days last summer. Most of the summer it was 78. I take the solar cover off in the morning because I found it made algae grow if it was left on for any length of time so it's really not a "solar" heater. It is used mainly to keep the heat in at night. We run the filter all day and it goes thru the black strip heater. I'm leaning toward a Raypak 130,000 btu.
Does anyone have any experience with this brand?
Thanks for your advice so far.

my dh is an engineer, does his due diligence on all major purchases and would not buy a raypak -- hayward was the name to go with

So will you be running the heater constantly? That's what it will take to keep the pool warm all the time. As soon as you turn the heat off, the water cools in just a matter of hours. Depending on how much water you are trying to heat will depend on how long it takes to heat the pool, it's not instant, it takes time. Our pool holds 12,000 gallons, it takes 24 hours to heat to 90 degrees and thats with the solar blanket floating on top of the water keeping the heat in (there is no air between like with a solar cover) , without the blanket it takes 3 days to heat.

I am not trying to discourage you, but be sure to think this through before you purchase, as it is a big purchase and it is expensive to run. Our heater was $2000, not including the gas line installation, we had the heater put in when we had the pool built, almost 6 years ago, so the prices are probably higher now. I don't remember how much it cost to run a gas line, it wasn't too much, it only had to run about 10 feet or so, from the house furnace to the outside pool heater.

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I don't know what conditions you are heating your pool in, but I disagree.

With the heat pump in the summer months it takes 24 hours to get the temperature up to 90 in our 50,000 gallon pool -- thats all -- no solar cover required, as long as it remains warm out the water will remain warm. Once it reaches the desired temperature it shuts itself off -- there is a temperature control on the heater so it doesn't run constantly if you have it set to 90 and the temperature drops to 88 (or whatever you set it to) it will kick back on, but it's not running constantly.

I don't want to discount the benefits of a solar cover keeping the heat in at night while it's not in use, but 3 days to heat the water without a solar cover -- we haven't experienced it and last year was a really chilly NY summer.

Once you've invested all that money into pool, if you can afford it a pool heater is a small investment to get more enjoyment out of it.

We have an inground pool and use a Rheam heat pump. It costs us about $60 more a month on our electric bill. Where we live (TX), gas is WAY more expensive than that so a gas heater was never an option. In the spring when the nights are still cold, it takes 3 or 4 days to heat to 88-90. In the summer, it only takes one day and we don't have a cover. We LOVE our heat pump and would not have near as much swim time without it. Our pool was built into rock so the ground never warms it up without a heater.

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I was talking about the winter, we don't heat it in the summer, the water is 90 in the summer on it's own without any help . It all depends on what the outside temp is to start with, how cold it gets at night where you are, all makes a difference as to how long it will take to heat. I was talking about swimming in 30 degree weather in the winter. We do not heat the pool in the summer, so no it wouldn't take as long to heat if the water was warmer to start with. In the winter our water temp averages about 60 degrees unless it's in the teens. I guess I wasn't clear with the meaning of "constantly" the heater is turned on all the time is what I meant, it is temp controlled just like your CHA and goes off and on, but it's turned on all the time until you turn it off. Where we live the water temp drops back to 60 (but never as cold as the actual air temp) within about 5-6 hours after the heater is turned off (in winter). In summer it is in the 88-90 range at night which it does drop to the outside temps. It's usually 100 for the daytime air temp.

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Considering she's in CT I'd doubt she'd be heating her pool all winter, probably not most of the spring or fall either -- if she's anything like us we open sometime toward the end of May (usually Memorial day weekend) heat it as needed June, July and August and close it by mid September.

We open on Mother's Day and depending on the weather outlook close around the end of September. One year we didn't close it early Oct. and were still swimming on the weekends. We all love our pool which is why we are leaning towards heating it. It's not the initial cost that scares us, but the cost of the monthly gas bills. We still cannot make a decision on the brand. I need to get more than a couple of years out of this investment. Thanks everyone for your input.

I hope you find something that fits your needs! We keep our pool open year round.

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