Swimming Pool Heater Sizing
Pool Heater SizingAll of the swimming pool heaters from the small 100 (100,000 btu) unit to the largest 405's (405,000 btu's of gas usage per hour) will heat your pool. The smaller heaters are slower to heat, and will operate more often to keep up with the output of larger heaters. Larger heaters are a small bit more efficient than the smaller pool heater units. Use of a pool cover to retain heat and installing fences or other wind* obstructions can reduce demands on the pool heater.
Facts about pool heating from Teledyne Laars
Laars/ Jandy FAQConsidering today’s high fuel costs, does it make sense for me to heat my pool?The answer is yes, if you want to enjoy comfortable swimming at your own convenience. One of the reasons for owning a pool is being able to swim when you want to. As for cost, that’s up to you. You really can control fuel consumption and waste simply by taking advantage of the suggestions made on this page. What guidelines should be followed in heating our pool?Taking into consideration the need to conserve energy and to minimize fuel consumption, any unnecessary pool heating should be avoided. You are the best judge of the kind of use you want out of your pool. Use of your pool for recreation, exercise, therapy or just general enjoyment obviously will require heating it. Your pool won’t contribute to your health or pleasure unless it’s warm enough to swim in comfortably, and when you want to swim. Actually, using your home pool can be far less wasteful of energy and cost you less in fuel than driving to distant resort and vacation areas for away-from-home recreation.
Swimming pool Solar Heating & Blankets
Solar Heating & BlanketsSolar heating is a very desirable way to heat your pool and spa for one simple reason; It’s free heat. After the initial investment, the heat that raises the water temperature in your pool or spa is free. The sun provides the energy to generate the heat through the solar panels or solar blanket. Solar blankets also prevent massive heat loss. When a pool or spa is covered with a solar blanket, the heating cost can drop by 70%. Use and Care of Your Solar BlanketSolar blankets serve a very useful role. Retaining heat is the most important one. A solar blanket will also help raise the water temperature a certain amount, but if you are expecting a solar blanket to heat your pool to 90 degrees in March or September, you will be disappointed. You can, however, expect a modest temperature increase with your solar blanket. The following are tips and ideas that will prolong the life of your solar blanket and make the most of your solar blanket experience.
Swimming Pool Skimmers
SkimmersThe interface of the plastic skimmer to the concrete pool, plaster, tile and coping creates many opportunities for problems to occur. Common skimmer problems include: separation from the pool wall (beam), freeze damage, leaking or collapsed/ separated pipes (especially if flexible or black poly pipe was used).
Sand Filters, information page
Sand filtersThe sand in a sand filter (#20 silica sand; 45 - 55 mm) is specially graded to trap particles in the 20 - 100 micron range. As a sand filter collects dirt, its efficiency increases, trapping more dirt. When your pressure gauge shows a reading 8 - 10 lbs. over its clean, start-up reading, it is time to backwash the captured dirt out of the filter."They Say" that a sand bed should be replaced after seven years. Gradual loss of efficiency may be hard to notice. If your filter requires frequent backwashing, every week or two, the sand bed may be "mudballed", or it may be "channeled". It may also "calcify" with calcium deposits. Other water balance problems may also contribute to sand deterioration, but a properly sized filter could go over 10 years between sand changes.
Filter Pumps, how they work, repair tips and troubleshooting
Swimming Pool Filter pumpsThe heart of your circulation system, your pool pump, pulls water from one or more suction ports (i.e., skimmer & main drain), and then pushes it through the filter & heater (if you have one) and back to the pools' return ports. How do I know what pump is right for me?Contrary to the advice given when selecting a filter, a bigger pump is not always a good thing. Unless you have been advised by a pool professional, or someone in the know that your existing pump was undersized, it would be wise to keep the same horsepower as you have now. How do I know what Horsepower my pump motor is?The horsepower should be listed on the nameplate (left) of the pump motor (in very tiny letters - hp). If the motor nameplate is burnt or worn off, sometimes a part number of the impeller (right) can tell us which hp your pump motor is.If the existing pump has done you well, it is easiest to plumb and wire with the exact same pump. The heights and lengths are the same, which makes the job a bit simpler.
Swimming Pool Lights
Pool Lights1968 was the year that the National Electrical Code (NEC) finally decided to include swimming pools in their standards and regulations (article 680). If your pool was built prior to 1968, there likely exists some sub-standard electrical design for your underwater lighting and filter pump. You may wish to update this at some point for safety reasons.
Millivolt vs. Electronic Pool Heaters
What's the difference between Millivolt Heaters and Electronic Heaters?Electronic Heaters have a pilot that lights only when needed. Similar to a modern gas stove, a small, electronic spark ignites the pilot when you turn the gas on. The pilot shuts itself off after the burners are lit. Millivolt Heaters have a Standing Pilot. This means that a pilot burns all the time, like older gas kitchen stoves. Having a Standing Pilot (Millivolt Heaters) obviously wastes a small amount of gas. It can also attract bugs, rodents and snakes seeking out the warmth it produces. Electronic heaters are micro-processor controlled. Circuit boards, similar to those found in modern PC's are used to control and analyze the heater functions. This also allows for LED indicators for temperature and troubleshooting.
Swimming Pool Heaters
Swimming Pool HeatersSwimming pool heaters can be the more complicated of pool equipment on you pool equipment pad. Making repairs to pool heaters should be performed by qualified personnel. Gas pool heaters using natural gas or LP (Propane) gas can be hazardous with combustion or exhaust of the pool heater. Hayward pool equipment has created the Pool heater FAQ below to help the pool owner with pool heater repairs and pool heater troubleshooting. Poolcenter.com has all of your swimming pool heater parts for your Anthony, Purex, Coates, Hayward, Comfortzone, Jandy, Pentair, Raypak, Teledyne Laars/ Jandy, or Sta-Rite heater.
Swimming Pool Filters, Sand, DE, and Cartridge filters
Filter Trying to decide on which type of filter to buy?There are three main types of swimming pool filters, D.E. (which stands for Diatomaceous Earth) {first filter}, Sand {middle filter} and Cartridge {last filter}. Different regions of the country seem to have different preferences; personally my order would have D.E. first, then Sand, then cartridge filters. However, the suitability of a filter to a pool can have more to do with size, than with type. Always go at least one size larger than you think you need. Buy the largest filter you can afford, it's money well spent.