Anyone know anything about pool/spa heaters?

[Akamatsu]

I am getting ready to replace my 15 year old pool heater. Currently it is a Raypack with an Input of 399,000 BTU/Hr and an output of 269,000 BTU/Hr.(At least to the best of my reading of metal that was stamped 15 years ago??). The heater has been slowly getting worse and worse as far as condition. It still heats OK, but over the past year it has lost almost all of the internal sensors and is now at a point that for me to heat the spa, I need to jump across everything to get the burner to light.
So without a doubt, I think it is beyond the point of fixing. Not to mention that it still has a thermocoupler and a pilot.
Here is my dilemma... I don't know which heater to replace it with. Plumbing/electrical should not be a problem on any replacement. However, I do really like the new remote control setups that they are using on all the new pools, and would eventually like to get one set up, though probably not right away.
The system I have seen is made by Jandy and is called the Aqualink RS. I have seen new pools set up with this system, using a Hayward heater, as well as another with the Laars Teledyne heater. From the Jandy website the only heater they show as compatible is the Teledyne Laars, but ironically they seem to be the manufacturer of them.
Anyone have the skinny on Pool Heaters? Anyone know where I might be able to get more and better information? Possibly a good Pool maintenance forum that I could ask these same questions?
I have tried some pool supply stores, but they all seem to push what they sell, and don't seem to have any real information, other than Brand X is the best(I have heard 3 brand X's so far).
Anyone else been through this lately? How reliable/accurate are the digital/LCD displays? I think that is one option I am heavily leaning towards, as My last heater was a dial and guess. And a mark that was 100 degrees last week could be 95 or 103 the week after.
Thanks.
Akamatsu

[Rod-64]

Try this message board....you may get a better response.
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=wtb-hottub;action=messageindex;start=0

[Akamatsu]

Thanks for the replies so far... Keep them coming. I posted in that forum, though they seem to be catering to the above ground spas crowd. As far as heating the pool, I only do it maybe a couple times during the winter for kids birthday parties, etc. But I do like to heat the spa quite a bit, expecially when I feel sore after a long week, etc. I don't usually see but maybe $10 a night to heat the spa up on the gas bill.
And I hope with a more efficient heater that will go down.
Akamatsu

[mmered8299]

Jandys new heaters are great. You wont be dissappointed.
[ September 22, 2003, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: mmered8299 ]

[NorCal Gameshow]

you can check out this link. they set me up with solar . they also handle gas units. if the sales rep. can't answer your questions ask for technical assistance.
best buy pool supply (http://www.bestbuypoolsupply.com/heaters.htm)

[ROZ]

Hayward and Teledyne.... Enough said! Had nuthin but problems with the new Raypaks....
As far as heating your pool...Gas must be cheap in your neighborhood. Friends of mine have seen bills as large as 800 per month when heating....You'd be surprised how long your swimming season can be with solar....I've seen prople swim 80 degrees from April through October...
EDIT: JAndy's Aqualink RS(Jandy 1 touch) is a great uni. I highly recommend it. You'll find that it's very easy to install and operate. You may as well change your pool/spa valves over to Jandys automatics as well. This will allow you to turn switch ove to the spa from the remote in the house...
All the LCD readuouts on heaters that I've run accross have been accurate. You'd be surprised how many old ladies at senior complexes think 103 is 110... :rolleyes:
All readouts not only display the water temps, but have readouts/codes that you can refer to your manual about when a problem is presented...
[ September 23, 2003, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: ROZ ]

[SmartMoney]

Hey Roz, if your friends live in Cali - please don't tell me they are heating thier pool in the Summer time? Maybe Winter....but $800 a month to heat your pool eek! ! A warm shower will do for me.

[H.B. Brett]

I just bought a new place and have the same set up and it's probably about the same age. It heated up the spa "one" time. Set it at 90 and it went to 120. I'm trying to get the system replaced through the home warranty. The site below had some good info.
http://www.poolspahelp.com/welcome-page1.htm

[ROZ]

SmartMoney:
Hey Roz, if your friends live in Cali - please don't tell me they are heating thier pool in the Summer time? Maybe Winter....but $800 a month to heat your pool eek! ! A warm shower will do for me. Yup...They don't do it anymore :D . During the SDG&E crisis, I had a few complexes with relatively small pools that had rate increase to 2k per month. Atleast that's what they told me after they shut the heater off and ran the numbers... eek! ... The problem is that a pool can cool dramatically overnight(especially during the winter and early spring) and it takes a looong time for 18000 gallons of water to heatup to 84 degrees...Most people(depending on useage and location) run their filter at the 3 hour minimum...Since heat loss can be dramatic, a system needs to run about 11-15 hours(heater heats as needed in order to maintain a reasonable balance). It's a kinda catch22....You either pay a grip to run the heater to bring the temp up from time to time, or you pay to run the system for many hours a day during your swim season in order to maintain the temp you like...This is why solar pool heating is the way to go...Initial cost isn't cheap, but heat by the sun is....Like I said, my a friend's pool has an average temperature of about 82 degrees from April through October running solar alone...AND since his the base spa temp is the same as the pool, it doesn't take much time(about 8 min.) or money to get the spa up to 104....
HB Brett, The problem with your heater is probably thermostat related($40 or so), but it may as well be replaced since it's so old and ineffecient... Repairing old heaters will cost you the longrun in repair parts, labor, and effeciency...
Tips for a warmer pools are a darker color liner surface(dark gray or dark blue plaster or pebble Tech), pool cover, and solar pool heating...
This is just my .02, but i've been wrong before...
P.S. Since these guys are on the road servicing pools everyday, I don't think there are very many pool servicer forums....

[OC-PARTYCAT]

I bought a praxair N7 a couple of months ago and it works great. It has a hook up for remote control but you just jump the two wires and it works fine until your ready to install one. It heats up my spa in 15 minutes and heats the pool (20k gals) up to 90 in about 4 hours.

[H.B. Brett]

The stat is definately shot, but the system is pretty shoddy as a whole. I haven't had a spa before, but it looks like it's missing some filtering components. If I get home before dark I'll try to take some shot's of the system and post them. The home warranty people are coming out tomorrow. I need to get as much junk replaced as possible during the warranty period.

[Akamatsu]

At this point I am leaning towards the Laars LX400. It has a digital LCD Display. Will interface directly into the AqualinkRS system, and seems to be competitively priced. I do plan on adding the AqualinkRS and automatic valves in the future, but will be waiting on that purchase for a little while.
Thanks for the help and replies.
Akamatsu

[Akamatsu]

H.B. Brett:
I need to get as much junk replaced as possible during the warranty period. You are on the right track with that. I used mine for a new stove/oven and to get the pool heater repaired(6 years ago, as you can see that didn't last forever :(). What was your outcome of the service call BTW?
Akamatsu

[HOSS]

Mine is disconnected. It doesn`t shut off. It will just keep heating the pool.

[mickeyfinn]

Check this link out. I have used a geothermal heating system for many years with no problems and the cost to operate is almost nothing. You could probably come close to keeping your pool swimmable all year for what it cost to heat it for 2 weeks with a conventional heater. pool heater. Water to water (http://www.edenenergy.com/waterfurnace-international/water-to-water-waterfurnace/water-to-water--waterfurnace.htm)

[nastyhabit]

get a mimimax by purex there the best and the smallest ive been building pools and spas for 20 years the others look fancy with new dudads ....the purex is still the best just make sure the gas line is big enough 1 1/2 size up to 180 feet no prob with a 400,00 btu heater-the new heaters are temppremental with how much gas they get--nasty

[ROZ]

Any update?