I am getting quite a few people telling me they are going to buy a Chinese pool heat pump because they are are a couple of hundred dollars cheaper then a USA or Canadian brand of swimming pool heat pump. Many people don’t even know that they are buying a Chinese or other countries products as the manufacturers or distributors make it almost impossible to tell where the heat pump is made. Even if you call them or e-mail them a few try to hide the origin of their heater. With all the uncertainty in the world with trade issues, tariffs and political conflicts it is safest to go with a North American pool heat pump. With most of the USA manufacturers I can call the head engineer or even the owner of the factory to help out a customer if they need me. I know how long a company has been in business and also what their customer service is like. People buy a heat pump from me because I know what is going on in the industry and they know that I will be there for them for years to offer help and advice if they need anything. When you buy a foreign heat pump you are going to be on your own. An exception to that rule is that Hayward and Raypak are using Chinese heat pumps for their smaller pools and they will stand behind them. Even Jandy, Built Right and Zodiac Pool products are not USA owned anymore. Lots of transition in the industry. Hayward is not a privately owned company anymore as they are now a public corporation answering to stock holders. How are you supposed to know that? Pool heat pump reviews are worthless if they are over 2 years old. Everything has changed. You need someone in the trade to help you get the best reliable swimming pool heat pump at the most competitive price with the highest efficiency, a long warranty from a company that is doing everything right with the highest chance of their still being in business in 10 or 15 years. Do you want to buy a heat pump from a company that also makes pool toys and umbrellas or do you want to own a heat pump from a factory that only lives and breaths heat pumps with engineers staying up late at night thinking of ways to make them as reliable as possible? I have been also hearing customers say that they can’t find enough reviews on some brands of heat pumps so they don’t want to take a chance. I heard that on a brand that has been around for over 25 years last week. Folks, this industry isn’t Amazon with 1000 reviews on a product. Sometimes not finding bad reviews is a good thing. If you are not finding enough recent reviews on the product to satisfy you then I suggest the old standby BBB for the company. Yelp and Google reviews can’t hurt either. Even if you have the greatest pool heater in the world and the company doesn’t care about you then you can do better. If you have questions about a brand or company please send me a text or e-mail and I will tell you my opinion. Oh, and a shout out to all my friends on Long Island, New York where you have the utility PSEG. Right now they have a rebate program of up to $1,000.00 back on a swimming pool heat pump. That is as good as it gets in the heat pump world and it is an amazing program. I know what models qualify if you have any questions.
Have a great season and as Steve Austin says: I hope to see you down the road.
Best,
Marcus Miller President
I want you to have the best swimming pool heat pump with the longest warranty, the highest efficiency, made in the USA, with the least chance of needing service. I feel like this year pool owners are consulting Voltar to pick a heater or chiller. How do I know this? The hint I have is that they are calling me after they buy for help with an issue with the machine. I have seen and probably serviced every swimming pool heat pump and most gas heaters that were made in the USA since the early 1980s. People ask me if they should buy a metal cabinet heat pump and they live on the beach. I say that it isn’t a good idea and they go someplace else and buy one. I say that my customer should only buy a USA made heat pump with engineers in the country and service contractors ready to help and then they buy a Chinese heat pump for $200.00 less and have to call China if something goes bad. I was given a Chinese heat pump for free after a trade show to test on my pool from %#@& so I know what it is like to e-mail and call China when it is dead on arrival than watch the Chinese rep disappear when it isn’t a simple fix. I tell a customer to buy a big heat pump and then they order a 50,000 Btu heat pump from e-bay for their 25,000-gallon pool and then bad mouths heat pumps instead of the bad research. If you are going to live in your home for more than a year then please get a reliable, heat pump that is made in the USA with high efficiency for a low power bill, doesn’t shut off at 55F when you need heat the most, has a long warranty, big enough for your pool with a titanium heat exchanger that is quiet, covered with a polymer cabinet and stainless steel fittings so it doesn’t look like a sunken ship salvage after a few years. I had a customer spend $100.00 more for a Canadian heat pump with a factory 2000 miles from them when a great manufacturer was one hour from their home with factory service guys patrolling their neighborhood like police officers in a crime zone. (It also had a 5-year labor warranty.) That is an amazingly long time for labor in your backyard. Now everyone is asking me to buy the Hayward Heatpro HP2104T with 140,000 Btu’s. I have sold lots of them with no issues. Maybe I have sold more than most pool guys. Also, some of my favorite people are Hayward engineers and customer service guys that I have known for more than 20 years. (You know who you are) The problem is the warranty isn’t very long is most states. It might be good for some people and for others they can do better. I want you to do better. Since you should not buy a heat pump more than once or twice in your life, you need to get it right the first time. Pool heat pump buying is not just about buying the biggest Btu unit. There are lots of variables to consider. Just ask me and I will tell you the pros and cons of most of the brands as I have seen and service most of them. Some USA manufacturers are buying Chinese heat pumps and then just putting their label on it and selling like their own. Some are putting the heat pump together in the USA and using foreign and Chinese parts. The warm tropical water in your pool should be a fun thing and not a burden if it fails. Let me know what kind of project you have going on and I will pick a model that checks all the boxes so that you get the best possible heat pump and have the longest swimming season.
