Aquacal 120 Maintenance & Operation Heating Tips, Heating in Cooler Weather, Pool/Spa Blankets

MAINTENANCE & OPERATION (continued)

Heating Tips

Heating in Cooler Weather...

Late night and early morning, generally being the coolest times of the day, are least efficient for heat- ing. For most efficient heating operation, heat pumps should be timed to operate during the warmest, daylight portions of the day. Conversely, if cooling a pool, it is best to run the equipment at night. Please set water pump and heat pump controls accordingly.

Pool/Spa Blankets...

A “solar” blanket will significantly reduce your heating bills. Check with the installing dealer to see if your heat pump was sized to be used in conjunction with a blanket. Blanketed pools will typically lose only 3 - 4° of heat per night versus 8 - 10° overnight with an un-blanketed pool. Reductions of 40-60% on heating bills can be achieved by using blankets. (Idea...Contact AquaCal Customer Support (800-786-7751) to learn about Liquid Blanket innovations.)

Failure to heed the following may result in permanent WARNING ! injury or death.

Improperly used, Pool-Spa blankets can become a drowning risk to people and pets. Blankets are not safety covers. They are not designed to support the weight of a person or pet. Never enter a pool until the blanket is completely removed (under no circumstances should anyone swim under the blanket). Follow all safety recommendations of the blanket manufacturer.

Pool and Spa Combination Heating...

Everything stated for heating a pool applies for heating a spa—only the volume of water being heated is different. Your heat pump comes equipped with two thermostats. One thermostat is for the pool and the other is for the spa. Simply position the pool and spa isolation valves as directed by your installer; select the appropriate thermostat (pool or spa), whichever you are heating, and with electrical power and water flow supplied to the heater, the water will be maintained at set point.

Your system can be automated with the addition of an optional External Flow Switch Kit (P.N. 0040S). Using this option will save you from having to change the thermostat selector switch each time you change from pool-to-spa and back again. Or, add a Universal Heater Controller (P.N. 0097TS) and gain not only automatic thermostat switching, but also automated spa/pool water valve operation. For details, contact the installer, the distributing dealer, or AquaCal Customer Support (800-786-7751).

Spa Heating & Spa Setback Option...

Air blowing into your spa while it is being heated will very often neutralize or partially counteract the heat being put into the spa by the heater; this added heat loss equates to increased time to bring your spa to desired temperature. When heating a spa, be sure to turn off the air blower. Air induced through the spa jets should also be eliminated, during warm-up, whenever possible.

If your heater is being used to only heat a spa, the POOL thermostat can be used as a setback control: simply set the pool control at a point 10-15º F below desired spa heat temperature and select the pool thermostat. This method allows the spa–when not in use–to be held at a heated temperature, but somewhat lower than normal spa-use temperature. One would want to blanket the spa if using this setback method. Using spa setback will result in reduced warm up periods over full, cold starts.

21