I supply my customers with heat pumps for swimming pools, aquaculture farms, homes & industry. We send out what I know are the highest quality heatpumps and supplies. My picks can change over time, and especially when I feel that a manufacturer loses a step or I get that funny feeling that something isn’t right. It isn’t an exact science but my picks have been pretty good. Just replaced a Pergrine (Smartemp) pool heater from 2000 that was still running but on its last legs. I have some Heat Siphon, Hayward, Pentair and Jandy heat pumps that have performed well from 15 years ago. Some better than others. I think mice finished the Smartemp off. Maybe invest in a good pool heat pump cover to stop that. This is a strange time in the industry. So many big players have no stock and are having supply chain issues that are causing them to not even have the proper spare parts. I had a swim school in a cold-weather state that was out of business for 3 weeks because their pool was cold and they couldn’t get a $30.00 part on a 1-year-old heater. They reached out to me for help and I called in a few favors from my friends of 30 years in the trade and got them the part. I shouldn’t have to do that. This year I have reached out to new to me USA suppliers of basic HVAC and geothermal supplies; some of them my LinkedIn buddies and some from my everyday encounters and have been ghosted more often than I can remember. Hey suppliers, I can be a big account that might even make you laugh occasionally. Special shout out to a temperature sensor supplier from Utah who was amazing following up with me. Wow, that is a professional sales guy. I like people who know their business and are excited about what they sell. I feel in the back of their mind they think they are making the world a better place. I know that I think that way. I get contacted by Chinese companies every day by e-mail and messaging to supply me with whatever I need. Very tempting, but that isn’t my business model though. I only sell USA-made products. I would sell Canadian heat pumps in Canada but for some reason, the new Canadian manufacturers don’t want my help like they did 10 to 15 years ago. I just had a Canadian poolheatpump Volcano made by Focustemp stop working after 18 years. I liked those guys. We would go out for French food when they were in town. Note to manufacturers. I have a soft spot for going out to eat and talking about pool heaters. Too bad the Focustemp guys have moved on to other things now. What confuses me is why don’t any European or other Asian companies try to reach out to me for more business? I have been to European Trade shows and I know that they can make stuff over there. 🙂 It is Strange. A couple of the big pool USA heat pump manufacturers are distributing small Chinese heat pumps. I have not heard anything negative. They will have to support them for years so I hope they tested them well. That should be a wake-up call for USA manufacturers to keep up on technology. Hard for a serviceman to get an engineer on the phone at 3 pm when you are in the field troubleshooting a system if is 2 am in China though. Not enough to have a good heat pump. There have to be people around supporting it and ready to help out if any issues arise. This probably isn’t news, but mechanical things break every once in a while. This is a strange year and I know that all of you are stressed. Maybe soaking in a warm pool will make you feel better. Or maybe watching your warm Koi fish growing big and strong. I know I can help you there and won’t ghost you. Well, I might if you keep calling wanting to optimize my website, remove ground moles, or keep leaves out of my gutter.
Stay safe out there. We really care about you and your comfort.
Best, Marcus
I was thinking about swimming pool heat pump service problems today. My favorite models have the least issues of course. They are still just machines, and sometimes they need to be repaired. Some of my favorite brands that I sent out 15 to 20 years ago are still running and have never been touched by a mechanic. I hope that the ones that I like now will have the same performance. That isn’t too good for my business model now but maybe customer referrals will make up for that. A pool is supposed to be fun and relieve stress and not cause you stress with operational problems. My goal has always been to have give people a comfortable pool that they can use for the longest possible time where they live. The most common call that I get is that there are no unions included on their new heatpump. The unions are inside the access panel usually taped to a PVC pipe so that they don’t get lost of or broken in shipment. The next most common call is that the heat pump is leaking water. 99.9% of the time that is normal condensation that is caused when you take heat out of the air to put in the pool you bring the air below the dew point and water then drips out of the pool heater. The more water on the ground the better the heat pump is heating. If you are ever in doubt that it is condensation you can test it with a chlorine strip to see if it reacts to pool chemicals. If no reading than you are fine. You can also turn the swimming pool heat pump off for a day to see if the area dries out. If it does dry out then everything is normal. Tripped breakers and blown fuses are common. Check that before you pay for a service call on your heater. Most issues are flea type things. The big elephant repairs are pretty rare. I think one in 5000 pool heat pumps lose a compressor. That could be a figure from the air conditioning / heating industry but I am sure it is close. Fan motors on pool heaters sometimes fail. Many times that is because they are installed just under the drip edge of the roof. They are designed to be outside for 15 years but are not designed to get a flood of water from the roof during a rain storm. If you have no choice and can’t move it then maybe put a 6 foot gutter over the heat pump. Electrical controls like contactors and relays are taken out by ants many times especially in the South. I have even seen a opossum and huge frogs in the control panel. They got in their when they were little and then grew too big to get out. You might have to seal up some holes when that happens. Not on my new heat pumps though. They are pretty well sealed up. If it starts raining frogs then you have bigger problems than your pool heater and I would take cover inside. If anyone has any trouble shooting questions please write, text or call and I will try to help out.
Keep swimming. It is great exercise and lots of fun.
I am on your side.
Best,
Marcus Cell 360 348 7574
I am regularly asked what maintenance needs to be done to swimming pool heat pumps. Most people never do anything until they need a service call. Really pool heaters are just big air conditioners, so many of the same types of service needs to be done to them. It is always a good idea to wash out the insides to get any dirt and leaves that might have slipped past the fan motor and fan blade. Make sure the circuit breaker is off and that you don’t get the water near the electrical components. AquaCal used to have a plastic lid that closed over the fan when the unit turned off to stop debris from getting inside. Seemed like a good idea. Nobody else picked up on it though. Not sure why. The outside coils should be rinsed off of dirt and even salt if you are anywhere near the ocean. An HVAC or electrician should tighten the electrical connections every few years. Maybe oil the fan motor if it isn’t sealed from the factory. Not that much to do. I come from a service background so I like to see it done but I have also seen 15 years old models running without ever being touched. If an HVAC person is checking the unit, maybe check the freon pressure and the temperature difference between the outside air and the air blown out by the fan. Also the water pressure switch should be tested to make sure the heat pump shuts off when the filter pump shuts down. I have people in Florida near some of the best heat pump manufacturers in the world looking to buy heat pumps from other countries. I don’t understand if you have a great manufacturer in your back yard why you would look someplace else. When you have an emergency you want a part or a service person fast. I have seen some quality heat pumps come out of Canada like Thermeau, Nirvana, Waterco, Nautyl. Some that went out of business or were sold that I used to repair like, Turcotte, Focustemp, and Summit. Summit was a reliable heat pump that was bought by Hayward. I had a hand in Hayward buying that company. Titan was another Canadian brand but I didn’t see one in person. Lots of Chinese heat pumps out there now. There is Comfortemp on the web. I saw that they were in the Northeast especially New York State. Fairland, Fibro Pool and Phnix are also Chinese but I don’t have any personal experience with them. Some I don’t know where they are made like XtremepowerUS, Trevinium, Trydent and Distinction. If you are a rep for them please call me and let me know. If you want to know what manufacturers are doing everything right please let me know. Swimming pools should be fun. They should not cause your stress with a repair. I like reliable heaters that I have seen to have the least chance of having any issues years down the road. I try to visit factories to check up on them to confirm that they are busy, organized and the quality of workmanship is impressive. Not traveling much lately though. This Covid has really changed my travel plans. I call lots of manufacturers to see if they seem to care and can answer questions. Stay safe and keep fit in your warm pool. If I can help with a heatpump heater or a chiller if the water gets too hot, please let me know.
Best,
Marcus
I have cabin fever. We are living through a weird time. I know that I have it good compared to the rest of the world. I don’t have food stress, I have shelter a job. Still, I miss the old days of just 6 months ago. It is strange going to the doctor with a mask on. I got the feeling today that when I went with my wife for her medical appointment that the doctor didn’t want me in the room as if he was afraid I would give him Covid 19. Impossible to read people with most of their face blocked off. I have to figure out how to express 10 emotions with my eyes I guess. Bizarre going to the bank and them not minding I had a mask and sun glasses on. I have friends that I know had Covid in February that are afraid to socialize with me unless I am 6 feet away and masked up. Lots of geothermal installations still going on. I am happy that I am still sending swimming pool heat pumps to people stuck at home. It makes me feel like I am doing something to make some people more comfortable & happy. I am sending more heat pump chillers out this year to people that usually just put up with pools that were too hot for a month or two. Best year ever for that. My fish people do need chillers to keep the little fingerlings from over heating. Sent 2 heat pump chillers to Hawaii to help a man with trout that needed cool water to be healthy and grow big. I hope my other Aquaculture, hydroponic and Aquaponic people check in with me to tell me how they are doing. I want someone to step up and challenge me to a grow off and see if science can beat me. I will even send you documented 2000 pound possible pumpkin seeds so we can judge whos growing technique works the best.
Stay safe out there,
Best,
Marcus
Social safe isolation is the rule of the land today. The National Guard is coming to my town on Monday to help out. I took this photo on Friday to show that even the clouds are in quarantine where I live. I don’t ever remember only seeing one cloud anywhere that I look in the sky. Maybe it is a sign? Maybe just something to distract me? I have still been sending out pool heat pumps. In the middle of a pandemic you might think that pool heaters are not the most important thing in peoples lives. I have even heard guilt in my customers voices when buying one. I thought about that, and the way I see it if people are going to be spending time at home and not traveling doing their stay-cations & social isolation & their pool is too cold to swim in, then they really and a need a swimming pool heat pump. These are stressful times & anything that will help people relieve stress and get their exercise is a good thing. Most of the home based activities are sedentary or eating related. I don’t stream movies or deliver pizza. Both are important services but there needs to be more to do to stay healthy. I make pools usable. If your pool is warm, and you use it regularly, then life should be a bit more bearable. I am not writing this to sell pool heat pumps. I can sell HVAC supplies to survive. Nobody reading this is going to have an a-ha moment because of me blogging about heaters and just now they just realized they need a warm pool. I am writing it so that you don’t feel guilty making your home livable in this emergency. To be your best and ready for anything you need to be healthy.
As always we are here for you.
Stay safe and call your Mom.
Best,
Marcus
It is late February and my cherry trees are flowering. I have not seen any bees around yet so this isn’t a good sign. It is still getting below freezing at night and that can’t be too good for this years fruit crop. I wonder how my green house buddies are doing who can more closely control the environment. We send many heat pumps to heat the air and the ground in green houses. Many flower growers in Texas and South America use them so they can grow petunias all year long. It looks like I will be spending a lot of time this spring staring at my trees and not leaving my yard as the first Coronavirus death in the USA just happened close to my town. I have been avoiding traveling and especially airports this year so I didn’t come in contact with other travelers but, now it seems people will be avoiding people from my area. I feel bad for my hotel / motel / campground and resort clients. They are taking a hit and many good people depend on that industry for employment. Not happy with all these markets in China that mix so many different species & foods. I am sure other countries are just as bad and have issues too. Maybe this will be the age of AquaCulture, Aquaponics and Hydroponics where they can control the environment and avoid this type of disaster. We are not living in the middle ages. If you are at your market stall playing on your smartphone then you can make sure you are also able to keep things clean and sterile. I would love to hear from all my agricultural buddies in that field on their views. Looks like there will be more Stay-cations this year. I hope that my pool heaters and heat pumps can help people enjoy their homes more. People with warm pools stay fitter and have great family togetherness occasions. If you need to heat or cool water or air with a gas, electric or heat pump please let me know. If you need to repair your old pool heater we can help with parts and troubleshooting. This months advice is to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds & call your Mom more. She loves you.
Best,
Marcus
There is nothing like home made bread. Kinda like local heat pumps. I just had a week of people telling me they can buy a swimming pool heat pump pool heater for $500.00 less then mine. I asked what brand of pool heater that they saw, and most had trouble remembering the exact name, but eventually we figured it out. The problem was that the marketing company selling inexpensive pool heaters combined the names from two USA pool heater companies to make it seem like an American product. Nowhere on their website did it say where the heat pump was made. I recognized it only because I go to the international pool shows and it looked familiar. I have lots of pride in my country and try to use and distribute USA products. That isn’t enough of a reason for you to buy a local a heat pump though. The pool heater also needs to be reliable, efficient, with a long warranty with a company close to your time zone in case you ever need factory support. If you want to call a Chinese engineer in Shanghai at 2 in the morning with a question then you have my respect. I don’t even want to call my cell phone company in the afternoon anymore. The Chinese have some good ideas with some of the features of their heat pumps. They impressed Hayward enough to sell them small heat pumps. Hayward has the infrastructure to service them though. If you have a problem you have someone to call. Most others do not. I still would’t send my clients in that direction. I still have customers who call me that I have known from 35 years ago when I was repairing their air conditioners and appliances. I hate to get a call that they have a problem with a pool heater that will cost them money and stress, so I do my best to give them the most reliable equipment backed by engineers with big egos who give their heart and soul into making the best product. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out, but most of the time my record is pretty good with my suggestions. I have to be an expert after all these years. One of my favorite brands that went out of business was The Kopec swimming pool heat pump. That man put his own name on the heater. I really respected that. He was a real guy making the pool heat pumps as good as he could because he knew that if there were any issues that it was his name that would suffer. 16 years later I still have customers telling me that their Kopec heat pumps are still heating even though all the lettering has faded from the sun. And I can still get parts for that heat pump because they were USA parts that are mostly still available. So ask me questions. I really have seen almost everything in this industry and want to help you have tropical water in your back yard so you and your family can enjoy your pool all season and not just for 2 weeks when the water is warm enough on its’ own.
Best,
Marcus Cell 360 348 7574
I know that I am being irrational about this #Coronavirus. Although the first case in the USA was in my county about 10 miles from my house. I did get my flu shot last week as I learned really how dangerous the yearly influenza is. I cancelled a domestic flight because I didn’t want to be stuck on line going through security with lots of world travelers. I over reacted when I found out my daughter was taken to a local Chinese meat market on a play date with her friend. I am not a big fan of huge food markets anymore with a mix of everything from everywhere. I thought it might be safe to go to Costco, but then to my dismay I saw the greeters wearing masks. One of my potential customers told me $3,000.00 was too much to spend on a #heatpump to keep their #swimming #pool warm all season. My new homebody self thought it would be great to have a warm pool and just do a stay-cation this year. I am sure they would spend that much on summer travel. I am taking my wife to a local #Hotel next week for her birthday. It has a heated pool and we won’t have the stress of travel now. I hope the pool and spa / Jacuzzi is heated with a heat pump though and not a gas or electric heater. I have Chinese pool #heat #pump manufacturers e-mailing me everyday trying to get me to buy one. I feel bad that they are going through this & hope it is over soon. I wouldn’t wish quarantine on anyone. Many of my customers are in the #aquaCulture, #aquaponic and #hydroponic industries. I hope this doesn’t disrupt them too much. Also my #theme park, #campground and #resort customers, I am sure will be affected. It is so unnecessary. Really though, it is now time to clean up those markets. You can’t keep stressing out our shrinking world. We all have to live together.
There is a storm brewing in the industry. Some companies are trying to make heating and cooling equipment overpriced and not letting you have a factory direct price. Then the payback starts to make no sense. It makes me crazy that some big companies want you to pay double what they are worth. I think that this technology is the future and will help your finances and the earth. Because I can be brutally honest about the industry, some big manufacturers now hate me. Too bad. They loved me 20 years ago when I opened up markets that didn’t exist, but now that they have their own sales people with protected territories, exclusive dealers & high quotas they lost their memory. That isn’t good for your pocketbook. That is why I am still here to help you. I won’t pressure you or give you a pitch from a sales seminar. I won’t take you out to dinner to make a sale and I will pull no punches if you want a heater that has a bad warranty or doesn’t fit your needs. I sell other stuff as a courtesy to my customers but I am not an expert on 1000’s of products except #heat pumps. If you want a heat pump for your home, business, #hotel #motel #waterpark #campground #resorts or #schools then I want to help. This is what I live and write about. If you buy a #heatpump from me you get my cell phone number. My customers are smart and I encourage them to do research. “An educated consumer is the best customer”. I can’t take credit for the last quote as it was from a men’s clothing company. I thought it fit though. 🙂
I am here for you.
Best,
Marcus
I want you to enjoy your pool for as much of the year as possible. Having a pool that is too cold is a waste of money and you are not using it to keep fit or for a comfortable place to entertain your friends and family. Pool heating with a pool heater or pool heat pump is the easiest way to solve that issue. A heat pump for pool is one of the best ways to maintain reliable heating throughout the season. I can help you with pool heater sizing, pool supplies, give advice on pool heater installation and most anything you need to know about a pool heating system. Some of you already have an old pool heater and might need advice on a pool heater repair or if you are replacing one, I can tell you who has the best pool heater for your specific application. A pool heating system can be a pool heat pump, gas heater, oil heater, solar panels or a wood-fired boiler. We can help you with all the pool supplies. We only distribute North American made products. You won’t get a cheap pool heat pump from me. Well, cheaply made anyway. You will get the best-priced pool heater that is of high quality.
I am here for you if you have any questions,
Best,
Marcus Cell Call or text 360 348 7574
Congratulations on getting this far in your pool heating equipment search. I am sure you thought about a gas heater. Some people go in the heat pump direction because they don’t have natural gas at the house and others because they don’t want a 500-gallon propane looking bomb in their backyard. All of them are bad reasons to get a pool heat pump. The best reason is that a heat pump is the best choice because of how efficiently they heat the pool, how their titanium heat exchangers are superior to most gas heaters, and usually how the warranty is much longer. There are other ways to heat a pool like with wood, oil or electric element. For most people, they are not practical or sustainable ways of heating. An electric element can cost 6 or more times what a heat pump costs to run, and oil heater is expensive and everyone I have ever worked on smelled bad and also gave a cloud of fumes in your tropical swimming pool paradise. Wood heaters are cool but most people don’t want the work of filling it every couple of hours every day. A pool heater is supposed to give you fun leisure time and not make you chop wood to go for a swim. Don’t get me too wrong. I sell lots of gas heaters. Ski resorts in New Hampshire, indoor pools in hotels in Minnesota, impatient people who want their spa hot in 15 minutes and don’t care how much it costs.
The most important things to look for in a pool heat pump are:
1: Reliability
2: USA made
3: Warranty
4: efficiency
5: Size (capacity)
6: Price
7: Availability
8: Manufacturer that only makes heat pumps and not floating toys or pool furniture.
Most of those facts are researchable. Some are not. That is where I hope that you ask my opinion. I have seen it all. I can tell you what to say when your California pool guy says they don’t work here when the Canadian pool heater manufacturers have Canada covered pretty well with heat pumps. I have seen people doing their research and just coming up with the most Btu’s for the cheapest price. Then they call me and ask what can I do on a price for this amazing machine. I see that they are ignoring whether the heat pump is made in China or if there is no or just a short warranty where they live. Don’t get a Canadian swimming pool heat pump if you live in Florida an hour away from a good heat pump factory.
Don’t get a huge heat pump if you have a tiny pool. Don’t get a metal heat pump if you live on the ocean or have a dog that mistakes it for a fire hydrant. Don’t get a digital heat pump if you hate digital. Don’t get a heat pump from a factory that doesn’t want to speak to you if you call them. Do ask me who is doing everything right and I will help out.
Please call text or write to us. We want to make your swimming pool heat pump experience the best possible.
Summer is on the way. Where I live the daily temperature averages get warmer starting January 12th.
Be safe out there.
Best,
Marcus Cell 360 348 7574
The Department of Energy says about gas heaters that: “Depending on your climate and pool use, they may not be the most energy-efficient option when compared to heat pump and solar pool heaters.” Gas pool heaters have been around longer than heat pumps. They are an older technology. Swimming pool heat pumps have been available for about 40 years now. The DOE says about pool heat pumps: “Heat pump pool heaters cost more than gas pool heaters, (to purchase) but they typically have much lower annual operating costs because of their higher efficiencies. With proper maintenance, heat pump pool heaters typically last longer than gas pool heaters. Therefore, you’ll save more money in the long run.” Many old school pool contractors only have experience with gas pool heaters and are not up to speed with the newer heat pumps that run at colder outside air temperatures than older ones. Pool guys are also not licensed to repair swimming pool heat pumps. That is a job for Air Conditioning & heating companies as they are really just big air conditioners. I have many stories of pool owners coming directly to me for advice when they couldn’t get their pool guy to help them choose a heat pump. Then when they have done their own homework and have had it installed for a year or two their pool guy comes around to the heat pump way of thinking. I fault many of the manufacturers for not having more educational events at wholesale distribution businesses to bring useful information to contractors so that they can recommend the most efficient equipment to their customers. I was hired to do just that many years ago in hotel conference rooms. I remember large turnouts of trade people and lots of interest but the manufacturer killed it due to budget concerns and I have not seen other manufacturers step up much since. I love pool guys and most of my friends got their start cleaning pools as teenagers. But they really are in an impossible situation to be expected to keep up on all the new technology while working 6 or 7 days a week in the season. I always welcome phone calls or texts from people in the pool industry if they need advice or help with pool heating equipment. I want them, and my customers to have the most efficient equipment with the lowest heating and maintenance costs so that they keep their pools at a swimmable temperature with pool heat pumps for as long as possible to keep fit and have great family memories from the back yard pool. Gas heaters have their place in the world. If you need one I will send you one in a heartbeat. For most people, it doesn’t make sense. Especially for all you hotel, motel, campground, and theme park people out there that could take the $50,000 a year in savings from using pool heat pumps to give your guests a better swimming experience with more lifeguards and free poolside drinks with all the money you will save.
We are here for you and want to see you swimming in tropical water.
Best,
Marcus Miller
