water heater recir pump, is it worth it?
stash-hdy
16 years ago
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asolo
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Spin off RE: water heater and recirculating pump
Comments (17)There are different types of heat tracing. I used constant wattage in my system, and can't comment on other types. Aptly named, it produces heat with no limit, thus the need for control(t-stat)...exactly like your water heater. Memory isn't good, so I can't give prices (my system is over 10 years old)but IIRC, there is a minimum footage purchase (10' maybe)and then per/ft. cost. Insulation cost is a wash- any system should be insulated. My system is designed to maintain a temp. just under the heater setpoint. The longer the insulation maintains static condition the less power used. Cost for my system with expensive, quality pipe insulation was well under a circ. pump. Installation requires no plumbing, but does require minor electrical skills if power isn't nearby. Installing the trace and insulating will take longer than installing a pump (without return line- which could extend time considerably), but is not skilled work, simply conscientious. My situation has 20' of trace,@5W/ft. At the old kWh rate (just increased), operating costs were penny/hour. Note the system does not operate continuously. Circ. pumps consume power starting at ~400W, 4x my consumption, though of course they are intermittent duty too....See MorePool Heater or No Heater. Is it worth it ?? Sunrise, FL
Comments (15)Thanks Brent. Cool Pics of the pool build and then the solar install. How much was the solar install and all? And Aquatherm, is it in Sunrise, FL. I will check on that. I did get my equipment pad to be extended for the possible heater. So my PB is now doing a pad of 3 x 7. Should be enough. I hope. Or is that too big. I can't go 4 x 6 because my silly walkway on side of house between my house wall and fence is only five feet wide. So he thought going with 3 x 5, which is what he needed with a bit extra. I think 7 should be plenty. 3 x 7 pad. Do the solar panels need pad or is it just wall space. My pool continuation work started yesterday. SO exciting to finally see it come back up to a change. This is my pool in October after my first pool builder left my site, (went bankrupt, and took my payments. Long, Horrible, Story). Now my new pool builder started yesterday and wow. They got all the excation done, limerock, and sand down and compacted. Today they are doing the pavers lay down (while I'm at work). I'll try to upload a picture of that. They are awesome. Great people. They promised and delivered. I'm so not used to that. Plus very kind with my requests like the concrete pad extended. (Thanks to you guys and your thoughts). Now if I can only think of any more requests. Anything else I should ask or check on.??? Like my Sunshelf. Did I ruin it by putting it on the second shelf. They mentioned that the bubbler won't really do any effect. And maybe I could turn that bubbler line to a return line. Any thoughts. Or should I just leave as a bubbler and do a rigged job afterwards to make it bubble. Confused....See MoreIs a Variable Speed Pump Worth the Investment
Comments (10)Chlorine, when energized, escapes the water and enters the atmosphere. This is off gassing. UV light from the sun will energize it. Cyanuric acid, aka CYA or stabilizer keeps the chlorine sort of busy so even if it does get some energy from the UV, it isn't enough to keep it from "playing" with the CYA in the water.This also can keep it from doing work though so having too much CYA prevents Free Chlorine. aka FC, from doing it's jobs of oxidation and killing biological pathogens. Generally speaking, you need about 5 to 7% of the ppm count of CYA for FC with salt cell equipped pools and 8 to 10% for all other forms of feeding chlorine to a pool. Too much CYA, and the elevated levels of FC are very difficult to make happen on a regular basis. If the CYA were 150 ppm, can you see trying to maintain a residual of 12 to 15 ppm? Drop the CYA to 30 ppm and 2 ppm of FC is much easier and costs less. Please note that salt cell equipped pools often have somewhat higher levels of CYA and FC to reduce the cell's ON time so it lasts longer. Generally, pools, when on, they either have a tablet feeder or tabs in the skimmer (generally not a good idea, BTW) or a salt cell which won't work without water moving. Pools get the most use during the day. Activity will cause some gas off too, in addition to the demands that sweat, tanning lotions, killing bio-badies, etc... place on the residual FC in the pool. These can deplete a pool pretty quickly if the FC isn't replenished as it's being used. You need to keep that residual FC in there. Running at night when nobody is there doesn't help the swimmers if it isn't there when they are. Without the UV of the sun, aka night, the FC stays put. The water is safe. I do recommend keeping the pump running whenever there are swimmers using the pool, day or night. Scott...See MoreHeat pump in Texas is it worth the money
Comments (4)A heat pump is something that you will need a heavy electrical service for. If you would be able to trench a new line to your house service panel in the future then you can consider it to be something you can add at any time. If a new electrical service would involve destroying something like a stamped concrete deck then you had better put in the service now, or better yet, an oversized electrical chase so you can pull service lines through later. Minimal cost now with full ability to add in the future without demolition work. As for the heat pump itself you need to know that they are not like a gas heater. A gas heater is simple...you feed $100 bills into the front of it and it makes your pool hot. A heat pump works a lot like a rooftop solar heater. You need to have the right conditions. Hot weather, direct sunlight etc. If you understand the limitations of a heat pump and still feel this is an option you want to consider then you can read about how to correctly size one for your swimming pool here: How to size & buy a heat pump for your swimming pool...See Moreasolo
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoasolo
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoasolo
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agostash-hdy
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agostash-hdy
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoasolo
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
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16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
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15 years agolast modified: 9 years agojanicedallas
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14 years agolast modified: 9 years agocclmnts6
7 years ago
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