pool heaters

[peak1]

i just had a coates spa heater 11kw output installed ,and it is taking over 5 hrs to get even close to 90 degrees is this normal and is there any thing i can do to speed this process up. btw it is about 60F here in new orleans

[dynamictiger]

Electric heaters are really designed to maintain temperature and not heat up from cold. It can take a while for the temperature to come up this is not uncommon.

However, to be sure give me your pool volume, water temperature, target temperature, air temperature and whether the pool is covered or not and I can calculate a heat load estimate for you.

HTH

[Guest]

I had a thought after this post and cheated using data from hurlcon. Converting this data across I calculate about 5.5 hours to get from 60 to 90 degrees with mild heat losses. Given your ambient conditions I would think 8 hours heat up time would be reasonable.

HTH

[peak1]

its 500 gallons and AIR TEMP is 50-60 f i have an 11kw heater and just bought a solar cover for the spa but have not tried to use it yet

[dynamictiger]

Estimated heat time from 50 to 90 degrees with an ambient air temperature of 50 degrees is 5.5 hours with a cover. The lower the air temperature the longer the heat up time will be.

If the spa is in ground you would need to add a few hours for the convection loss into the surrounding soil. If the spa is above ground you may need to adjust for wind chill.

HTH

[peak1]

thanks for the info, if you dont mind i do have another question. I have been having this pool (and it is my first) for about 7 months now. i have not had any problems at all (thank god). but i wanted to make sure i am properly taking care of the pool. i checks the skimmer baskets daily, clean the polaris shark weekly and constantly check the salt level in the pool including bringing a water sample to the shop to have it tested. besides cleaning the filters on the pump am i forgetting anything?

[dynamictiger]

From yur description it sounds like you are doing too much even, but that is to be expected when the pool is new.

On the salt you can reduce your concerns by having a read through the manual somewhere it will usually say maximum salt level and minimum salt level, and then the ideal level. Most pools are adjusted to the ideal level. Experience has shown it is better to keep the salt level at just under the maximum and then use the ideal as the low level. This makes the salt cell work less reducing current draw and consequently heat, so the cells last longer.

[peak1]

should i be backwashing and if so how do you do it exactly?

[dynamictiger]

Backwashing applies to sand and DE filters. I would imagine you have a cartridge filter in your set up, this needs cleaning from time to time, but not backwashing.

HTH

[peak1]

thanks for the help dynamictiger