Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

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Jo47

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby Jo47 » Wed 26 Mar, 2008 08:56

I'm going to install a heat pump and have been looking at the Gulf Stream GS 1000 or Aqua Cal HR 120. I think the Gulf Stream may put out just a few more BTU's than the ACal but everything else is pretty much the same. Has anyone had any experience with either of these units or know anything about them? Price is within a few hundred dollars of each other. It will be used in Florida mostly between the months of October and June.

Would appreciate any opinions. Thank you.


User

heat pump

Postby User » Wed 26 Mar, 2008 13:40

All I can say is hold onto your wallet even though heat pumps are somewhat efficient. Expect at least a 2-$400.00 a month increase on your energy bill to heat your swimming pool.
Walter
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Contact:

Postby Walter » Thu 03 Apr, 2008 14:13

Aqua Cal has a new model the super quiet, recommend it all the way
We are a custom pool and spa builder. We can only offer suggestions with the information given. Don't hesitate to email me if you have a questions and I will answer it as best as I can or point you in the right direction.
docT

gulfstream heat pumps

Postby docT » Wed 09 Apr, 2008 07:29

I have been using and Gulfstream GS1000 on my pool and spa and could not be happier. I have used the aqua Cal unit in the past and felt it was a good unit, but noticed a big difference in heat recovery time when I switched to the Gulfstream. I looked into the new "ultra-quiet" AquaCal when I was shoppong and it had an "Ultra-high" price tag.

I hope this helps,

Doc T
Mary Hughes

Postby Mary Hughes » Mon 14 Apr, 2008 12:50

Thank you!

I never answer these forums but I just had to after the experience that I had. As an unaware consumer I naively searched the Internet for a pool heater after my pool was built. I had no idea there were so many! I narrowed it down to a few including the AquaCal and the Gulfstream. Now, my husband is very consumer savvy. He began to research the origin and production of these products. I couldn't believe what he found:

1.) Gulfstream has only been made for a few years. AquaCal over 30 years.
2.) Gulfstream is made in a garage somewhere in South Florida. AquaCal has an entire production plant in St. Petersburg, FL.
3.) Gulfstream is not independently rated. I didn't know what that meant either- in a nutshell they can put whatever BTU rating they want on their brochure! Isn't that illegal? AquaCal's heaters are independently tested and that is the rating t hat they put on their brochures.
4.) This is the one that put me over the edge: When you need service for your Gulfstream you get some subcontracted Air Conditioning technician that services your unit. The more he has to come back the more money he makes from you. AquaCal dispatches their own AquaCal techs to service your unit and with the parts and labor warranty it's at no cost to you.

Never did I think I would end up such an advocate of a product but it really surprised and enlightened me to find out that I came so close to making an expensive mistake!

Hope this is helpful,

Mary Hughes
Nicole

Postby Nicole » Mon 14 Apr, 2008 12:54

Our company is the largest dealer of AquaCal heat pumps and we offer free estimates. You can find testimonials and product information on out web page. We have been in the pool heating business for over twenty years we would be more than happy to get you info or answer any of questions, Please feel free to call us or check us out on the web.

Nicole
flipper
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Re: Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby flipper » Thu 08 May, 2008 15:24

Jo47 wrote:I'm going to install a heat pump and have been looking at the Gulf Stream GS 1000 or Aqua Cal HR 120. I think the Gulf Stream may put out just a few more BTU's than the ACal but everything else is pretty much the same. Has anyone had any experience with either of these units or know anything about them? Price is within a few hundred dollars of each other. It will be used in Florida mostly between the months of October and June.

Would appreciate any opinions. Thank you.

Hi! We also live in Central florida and I bought a new Gulfstream GS 1000 last april after the pool was finished and installed it my self. We love our pump and have not had any trouble as of yet. As far as the person saying it will make a 2 to 4 hundred dollar a month difference in your bill that is not true. We set our pool to 88 and turn it on at the beginning of April and shut it off when the cold weather sets in around November and our electric bill increases by about 40.00 per month at the most. Our heat pump turns on for about 2 hours in the morning when the pool pump does to bring the water up to temp and doesn't run again the rest of the day unless we get a big rain storm. We also do not use a pool cover which would save us on electric I'm sure.
tMan

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby tMan » Wed 01 Apr, 2009 19:50

I simply had to respond after reading Mary Hughes comments above.

She must work for AuqaCal

Both units are neck and neck in performance, I sell both and order service for both.
Both are serviced by there own service technicians, both are built in similar facilities and both produce good products and are both indepently rated.

The difference that effects me and my customers is Gulfstream has a 5year parts and labor warranty in Florida with no service call charge. That means they cover the entire unit for 5 years.
AuqaCal has a 2 year warrenty and they charge 75.00 in advance on a credit card as a service call fee to do warrenty work and will charge you extra for freon or other expenses.

You can probably guess at this point which one I installed on my pool.
25 year trade professional/builder Former employee of aquacal

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby 25 year trade professional/builder Former employee of aquacal » Tue 07 Apr, 2009 20:15

tMan wrote:I simply had to respond after reading Mary Hughes comments above.

She must work for AuqaCal

Both units are neck and neck in performance, I sell both and order service for both.
Both are serviced by there own service technicians, both are built in similar facilities and both produce good products and are both indepently rated.

The difference that effects me and my customers is Gulfstream has a 5year parts and labor warranty in Florida with no service call charge. That means they cover the entire unit for 5 years.
AuqaCal has a 2 year warrenty and they charge 75.00 in advance on a credit card as a service call fee to do warrenty work and will charge you extra for freon or other expenses.

You can probably guess at this point which one I installed on my pool.



Sir,

With all due respect, when I left the building industry 4 years ago I looked long and hard at the " less expensive " gulfstream.

Do you really compare 29 years in business with almost 6 ?

Would you like to see the actual AHRI test results ? Gulfstream is not the poorest available but is consistantly below the performance of Aquacal.

Is 30,000 sq ft of warehouse, production plant, international shipping and national railway distribution, in house engineering department,40 million dollar international company with 275 employees, ( and sister company AutoPilot ) the same as almost 1000 sq ft of warehouse with a total of 9 employees ?

Statewide service by FACTORY EMPLOYEES is not the same as air conditioning companies ( that do a good job most of the time ) but are paid per visit so repairs are not always done the first trip. The $ 75.00 dolar trip charge prevents nuisance issues flow, power, improper thermostat settings and is waived for most genuine warranty issues and yes credit cards are welcome. Not all of the Gulfstream service subcontractors accept credit cards.

You are completely correct about the warranty issue. When the 3 major manufacturers of heatpumps, AquiaCal, Jandy, and Hayward all reduced warranties AquaCal decided to offer the best of the three. With all do respect Gulfstream is much more of a mom and pop local company and does a great job for what they are.
John342

AuqaCal or Gulfstream commercial or not

Postby John342 » Sun 19 Apr, 2009 22:30

Mary Hughes wrote:Thank you!
tMan wrote:I Gulfstream or AuqaCal?

I agree, Mary Hughes sounds as if she is married to or owns AuqaCal.

I have gone over the warranties and gulfstream has in Florida a 5 year warrany, parts/labor. I am purchasing my second heater for my second house. Gulfstream is a very quiet operating heat pump. Very easy to hook up as probably all heaters are. We kept our pool at 88 and our bill was at the most about $30 more per month. We used a solar blanket as any smart person would. Never had any problems with the heater at all and it still is running like the day we purchased it. You have to remember even though Mary says Gulfstream is a mom and pop operation probably in a garage, well where do you think Microsoft came from and many of todays best ideas. Just because someone has a huge building etc does not mean they make a exceptional product. It seems the bigger the operation the less amount of quality that goes into a product...ie auto companies. Gulfstream gave me no reason to not believe the numbers they produced and I do not believe the State of Florida would allow anyone to get away with "fooling" and making up numbers to represent a heat pump.



mr ww

were you in the air force?

Postby mr ww » Wed 30 Sep, 2009 08:42

Mary Hughes wrote:Thank you!

I never answer these forums but I just had to after the experience that I had. As an unaware consumer I naively searched the Internet for a pool heater after my pool was built. I had no idea there were so many! I narrowed it down to a few including the AquaCal and the Gulfstream. Now, my husband is very consumer savvy. He began to research the origin and production of these products. I couldn't believe what he found:

1.) Gulfstream has only been made for a few years. AquaCal over 30 years.
2.) Gulfstream is made in a garage somewhere in South Florida. AquaCal has an entire production plant in St. Petersburg, FL.
3.) Gulfstream is not independently rated. I didn't know what that meant either- in a nutshell they can put whatever BTU rating they want on their brochure! Isn't that illegal? AquaCal's heaters are independently tested and that is the rating t hat they put on their brochures.
4.) This is the one that put me over the edge: When you need service for your Gulfstream you get some subcontracted Air Conditioning technician that services your unit. The more he has to come back the more money he makes from you. AquaCal dispatches their own AquaCal techs to service your unit and with the parts and labor warranty it's at no cost to you.

Never did I think I would end up such an advocate of a product but it really surprised and enlightened me to find out that I came so close to making an expensive mistake!

Hope this is helpful,

Mary Hughes
THE FACTS

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby THE FACTS » Wed 04 Nov, 2009 20:33

The truth is in the testing. http://www.ahridirectory.org/ahridirect ... earch.aspx.

When I bought my pool heater I went to the AHRI website to compare the the BTU output and performance rating (efficiency) of the units. NEVER buy a heatpump without an AHRI Certification, those are the ONLY ratings you can trust. I compared the GS-1000 with two of Aqua-Cal units, the SQ110 and SQ120. The salesman who came out for Aqua-cal tried to tell me the SQ110 is a comparable unit, after doing my research I found this was not true. The SQ-110 only has 93000 BTU's with a 5.7 COP, The GS1000 has 104,000 BTU's and a 5.8 COP. The Gulfstream is providing 11,000 more BTU's an hour and is doing it more efficiently. The Gulfstream wins that comparison. The SQ-120 has 103,000 BTU's and 5.5 COP. This unit compared in BTU rating but is 6% less efficient and much more expensive. Don't be fooled in thinking the SQ110 is comparable because it is obviously not.

Gulfstream comes with a 5 year warranty. The company does have an in house service department I know this because I had some questions about the heater and was able to talk with the owner who actually manages the service department. After speaking with him and knowing that he had over 25 years of pool heating experience I knew that Gulfstream would be the best choice. Call the Aqua-cal service number and ask to talk with owner and see what happens. It is obvious that some of the comments made above were made by an Aqua-cal heat pump provider, because those statements are not true. TRUST me I did my research.
SVROPA1231

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby SVROPA1231 » Tue 17 Nov, 2009 12:32

I had a Gulfstream heat pump installed at my home 3 years ago and all I can say is LOUD. The unit was installed in my backyard by my pump & filter which is next to my back patio.

While it heated my pool to the temperature that we wanted, we had to have the "Manufacturer" ( a guy in an old Toyota ) out maybe a half a dozen times since the installation as it was SO LOUD while it ran that we had a hard time enjoying our pool and it disturbed our neighbors. I finally called in a non-manufacturer's service company (who showed up in a marked truck ) and they explained that the noise was made worse by the sound "bouncing off" of the house next to mine.

They told me about the Aquacal SuperQuiet unit. I traded my Gulfstream in on consignment for a unit that is practically silent! I had the Gulfstream removed and an AquaCal put in and I can't even begin to tell you the difference it made! That was four months ago and the operating expenses have been almost identical. It is even QUIETER than my pool pump!

The only problem now is unloading my 3 year old Gulfstream. I was hoping for $ 2000, 50% of what I paid but it looks like I will have to settle for
$ 500.00 as this is the best offer I can find.

Mrs. Svropa
Roger C

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby Roger C » Mon 12 Apr, 2010 13:48

Well, the post about it being loud was the only one that made me a little nervous. The other posts by people who appear to be employees of the other company are either very biased or out and out liars. I'm happy to say I had my GS unit installed today and it is far quieter than my previous unit (Swimright). 5 Year warranty and no service charge to come out and fix or service the unit.

Roger
Tman

Heat Pump..opinion on Gulf Stream or Aqua Cal?

Postby Tman » Wed 15 Sep, 2010 13:51

Roger C wrote:Well, the post about it being loud was the only one that made me a little nervous. The other posts by people who appear to be employees of the other company are either very biased or out and out liars. I'm happy to say I had my GS unit installed today and it is far quieter than my previous unit (Swimright). 5 Year warranty and no service charge to come out and fix or service the unit.

Roger


Like I said earlier, as a State certified pool and spa contractor, I sell and install both for my customers.
six of one or half a dozen of the other, I don't care which one you buy, after shopping price per BTU and the warranty.

Which would you buy? There is a lot of nonsense in some of these posts!

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