How to Install a Pool Heater

If you correctly install and maintain your heat pump pool heater, it can easily last five to ten years or longer and maximize energy efficacy.

We recommend having a competent pool professional or electrician install the heater. Particularly for electrical wiring and hookups.

Heat pumps require plenty of air circulation and work best outside with plenty of clearance surrounding the unit with no obstacles. Take care in choosing the location for your heater; on level ground near a pool pump or filter and make sure that airflow is restricted. Your owner’s guide will specify the correct clearance in detail, where the heat pump goes in conjunction with your equipment and the ideal location of the unit.

What Distance From my Pool Should I Install a Heat Pump?

Install the heater near to the filter as possible and approximately 25 feet away from the swimming pool. Installing the unit any further may result in a loss since the tubing is underground.

An “ideal” installation will have about 24″ of clearance around the unit with no impediments above. We have seen a lot of exceptions, and if you believe you have one, contact us, and we can go over it.

If you’re not sure where to install the heater pump, call us to ensure that the heater’s capacity is adequate for your pool and the distance between the heat pump and filter.

Operating a Heat Pump or Pool Heater

After you get the unit wired by a certified electrician and plumbed, you are ready to turn it on. This is where you will require to read your Owner’s Manual, as each pool heat pump has several controls. Make sure that all valves are open to allow water to get to the pool heat pump. Sometimes valves may look open, but they are, in fact, closed. Your heat pump will only operate if your water pump is running. There are cases where the heat pump can still run if the water pump is off, but this is very rare and is only on plumbing installations where siphoning occurs; this must be adjusted.

When the unit is running in heating mode, ensure that the air being exhausted from the top is cooler than the ambient air.

This is a sure sign that the pool heat pump is working properly. If the heat pump is still running when your water pump is off, turn your heater off and contact the manufacturer or us.

This will sometimes arise if the heater is set well below the pool’s water level, or the flow switch requires to be adjusted. A lot of heat pumps will shut down below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and start up again once the temperature gets above 50. Some heat pumps will go below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in case they have an active hot Freon defrost. You can enhance your heat pump’s performance during cool days by using a solar blanket on the water. In some unique instances, the use of a solar blanket is necessary for the heat pump to maintain high temperatures correctly.

If possible, run the heat pump for 72 hours straight or during the warmest time of day to allow your pool to reach the wanted temperature. If you have a solar cover/blanket, we highly commend using it. After running the pool heat pump for some time, you will notice condensation water around your tool pad or in the unit.

If you believe the water to be caused by a leak, there are two ways of testing it. Turn off the pool heat pump, but maintain your water pump running. It would be best if you recognized that the condensation would dry up, which proves the water is going through the unit but is not leaking despite water flow. The other way is to take test strips and dip them into a pool of the condensation. The test strips will show that there is no chlorine present, which stipulates that there are no leaks.

Resources and References:

• Heat Pump Troubleshooting