Use Gas Pool Heaters For Cold Days

All those who like to go for a regular swim during summer months feel deprived of the pleasures associated with this sport in winter months as temperature of pool water begins to drop. But, the pleasures of swimming can be derived by having pool water heaters that successfully maintain the temperature of water to comfortable levels. However, the energy expense incurred for heating water thru an electric heater proves to be quite deterrent for most of the enthusiasts of this fun sport activity. The installation of gas or propane water heaters for pool presents a viable proposition of having heated pools at a considerably lower cost for your personal pleasure, as well for the members of your family and friends.



There are two kinds of gas heaters: propane heaters and natural gas heaters. Both are efficiently employed to heat large volumes of pool water. They are designed to heat faster than an electric heater. Thus, the pool water gets ready much sooner for a swim to be enjoyed by you and friends or others in the family. Coupled with that feature is the fact that you are in a position to have an extended season for swimming.

Resorting to the application of propane or natural gas for heating of swimming pool, works out to be economical as compared to electric heating. And, who wouldn’t like to save on such an expense, especially in the present economic scenario!

Though both these types of heaters are certainly more economical to use than an electric heater, each has a different efficiency and cost variation. Though definitely cheaper to install and maintain than an electric heater, propane gas heaters would almost cost double the amount of a natural gas heater. However, for using natural gas, you have to ensure its proper and regular supply for heating the water of your pool. It is always better to go for propane heaters, which in any case are more economical than electric heaters for keeping the pool warm.

Both the types of above heaters are available in different models. You should keep a few factors in mind while comparing different available options. If you go through the list of specifications of any of the heaters, you’ll come across a common abbreviation that is BTU, abbreviated form of British thermal unit. It is a measure of energy. One BTU is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of water by one degree Fahrenheit. In effect it means, the higher the value of BTU, the less time it will take to heat a given volume of water. So, that’s one factor you should compare at the point of buying a system for your pool. It’s not difficult to guess that a heater with higher value of BTU will cost more than the one with a lower capacity.

The second factor you need to consider in case of a heater is its thermal efficiency. Higher efficient rating means, there is less of energy wasted. A heater with an efficiency rating of say 80% implies that only 20% of the energy generated for its operation is wasted. As a conclusion, gas heaters with higher efficiency rating offer a more economical and environment friendly operation as they don’t waste much of energy. Generally the efficiency rating falls between 80-85 %, though gas heaters with an efficiency rating of 95% are also available.

Then, there are gas heaters suitable for being installed in outdoor pools, while the others are designed for being used for heating indoor pools. Some of the models can be used for internal as well external applications. Outdoor heater should have a design that prevents the heater from the harmful effects of rain and snow during winters and imparts it a longer life in the meanwhile.

Two types of ignition systems find application with swimming pool gas heaters. It can be either a pilot light or an electronic ignition system. Usually the latter is preferred as it avoids having a continuous pilot light on all the while and thus conserves energy. Nevertheless a choice is there and some consumers may prefer to have a pilot light system.

Be it a propane heater or a natural gas heater, it surely is going to be more economical and efficient than an electric heater for heating an indoor or an outdoor pool. They are easy to install and hardly need any maintenance. The installation of such a heater certainly adds to the fun and enjoyment of swimming, while enabling you to have a reasonably long extension of swimming season.

Swimming Pool Heater Problems? Don't Use Unlicensed Contractors

The construction of a swimming pool should be made with the help of a civil contractor but the installation of a heating system for the pool is another story. Doesn't matter do you have gas or electric pool heat, it is certainly not the job of a civil contractor. Most of the people utilizing the services of unqualified contractors for installation of heating system do not seem to realize the risk to which they are exposing their lives.

An R.M.G.A. or Rocky Mountain Gas Certification does not qualify any pool contractor to undertake installation of a heating system for your pool. You have to make sure that your new 20K-100K swimming pool heating arrangement is installed as per defined standard specifications.

It’s in very rare cases that you can avoid having a change of your gas meter when building a new swimming pool. Here’s why. Any house with an area of 1500sft to 300sft is installed with new gas meter by the provider company. This meter is designed to take the load of accessories required by normal household. For an average household this requirement will be in the range of 250-500 cubic feet per hour. Now that you decided to add a heater for your swimming pool that consumes as much of gas as all the appliances put together of your home, how do you expect the meter to behave. All probability you have a pool heater that burns erratically. Does that set the alarm bells ringing? Don’t get over alarmed as in most of the cases it can be fixed.

Sooner or later an improper installation is going to have problems. You may be able to take care of a few of the problems created but quite a few will remain unresolved.

If the pool is not getting the required amount of heat supplied as a consequence of low fuel pressure, it will take a too long for water to get heated up, sometimes even a few days. The results to high gas bills, repeated pilot light outages, carbon built up accompanied with frequent repairs of costly equipment, which if not repaired in time may cause serious accidents or even death. All this necessitates the services of a licensed plumber or a contractor for installing gaspiping system. It is always helpful to call in your local gas pipe specialist for advice and a check of the system installed by the contractor. Generally they won’t charge you for that and confirm if the pool heating system has been installed properly.

Make sure to entrust the job to a qualified professional. Feel free to ask for references and do not hesitate to satisfy yourself by checking on the systems installed by the contractor. You may as well check with your states Department of Professional Licensing. It’s better to satisfy yourself now rather than having to regret it later. And, finally do not pay all the dues. Withhold a part of the payment till you are satisfied with the installation. Of course there are many big and reputed contractors but you can’t deny that there are quite a lot of others who are incompetent and get lost once they have been paid.