Hayward W3HP21404T HeatPro 140,000 BTU Pool Heat Pump for In-Ground Pools

I felt compelled to write a review about this product, in an effort to pass along some helpful information to anyone who's looking for an unbiased review, and who's circumstances may be similar to mine. First, I would like to mention that I had many pre-purchase concerns about the effectiveness of heat pumps due to the fact that I live in Northern New Jersey and have a fairly large vinyl in-ground pool. Also, this unit was replacing an older heat pump that came with the home when I purchased it, that never seamed to work right, which added to my heat pump pre-purchase anxiety. At first, I was dead set on purchasing a gas heater, but eventually I had to rule gas out after learning that the gas line had to be run underground directly from the meter, and I was unwilling to have some recently done landscaping dug up. (Running the gas line was also going to cost much more than I had originally thought.) But, after purchasing the HP21404T, and having it installed, this unit has surpassed my expectations thus far, and has put all my pre-purchase concerns about heat pumps to rest. Here is a breakdown of my initial results: After finishing the install on a Friday morning in early June in New Jersey, I put the heat pump on and set the temperature to 83 degrees. Keep in mind that I keep my pool uncovered, and the current or starting temp of my pool was 67 degrees at that time. It took about 28 hours of continuous run time to reach my desired temperature of 83 degrees. I was very satisfied with the initial performance of the heater and we were enjoying the pool that Saturday afternoon. But the most impressive part of my results came after I took into account that although the Friday outdoor afternoon temperature reached about 79 degrees, the outdoor temperatures dipped into the 40's during the overnight hours. Initially, I was convinced that the overnight temperatures were going to wipe out any of the gains the heater made during the day on Friday, but when checking the heater at 6am Saturday, I saw that although the temperature didn't rise at all overnight, the heater was able to maintain the temperature overnight and didn't lose any ground. Since then I have set the heater and pump on a 12 hour timer, and the heater has maintained the pool at 83 degrees afternoon temperature, even though the weather conditions in New Jersey are not always ideal at this time of the year (early June). P.S. The unit that is currently pictured on Amazons site, is not the correct picture of the HP21404T. Check Hayward's site for the correct picture. It closely resembles the Hayward Summit units. In fact, it seems almost identical to the Summit units except it is a different more attractive color in my opinion, and also has the spa feature (which does not apply to my spa-less pool). Also the unit is 140000 BTU's, not 14000 stated in the description. Would definitely recommend this unit based on it's initial performance and overall quality feel to the unit.

I bought an oversized heat pump for my pool thinking it would not work the unit hard. It did a great job for 6 months and then several trouble codes start flashing. I called product support and was told to contact a dealer, which I contacted the closest one to me on their list and was told I am out of their service area. I called Product support and was told someone would call me shortly. No call so I called them again and was told "Oh it will be at least 48 hours before someone would call". I said Two days? And they said no, 48 working hours. Shame on Amazon for not checking out their suppliers.

Received this heat pump slightly ahead of estimated time. It was well packaged, with the typical "truck bump" bruising on the box, but nothing affected inside. The box was tightly packaged with plenty of bumper padding. It arrived strapped to a pallet. The packaging also had a "tipping" meter that allowed you a visual of any improper shipping techniques. A nice visual to have, as I discovered after unpacking - once you tip the meter, it is very obvious and impossible to "fake" the status. Nice touch. The overall unit is large, but it's right-sized for the BTU and job. Comes with everything you need to plumb into your existing setup, or prepare for new rough-in. 2" PVC inlet and outlet. The unit should be wired to local codes, and expects a 50 AMP breaker circuit. The unit came with hold-down hardware. I installed on a freshly poured 6" concrete pad, used the anchors as directed to secure the unit. Unit needs proper airflow spacing, mine is installed to required spec. The front panel controls are very easy - my unit is a pool/spa heating unit. You have the options to turn on/off, set pool heating temp/mode, set spa heating temp/mode, and unit of measure F/C. After completing the install per the manual instructions, the startup test was flawless. The temperature reading is very accurate, measuring my setup from 3 points - all within 1 degree of each other. The SPA mode heats the hot tub very quickly, no issues. The pool was initially at 73 F, set unit to 84 F - was at temp within 8 hours and an air temp avg of 80, humidity was approx 70%. Pool size is approx 20k gal., salt. So far, I have had the unit up and running for 1 month. Tampa, FL area. No issues.

After sitting for my garage for a month to make sure I got and installed the correct wire, I put this in last weekend and was not disappointed. We have a white plaster pool that is covered most of the day by two oak trees. I complained about the cold all last summer and did not want to waste another year not being able to enjoy our pool. A typical dip in the pool would be a dive into the deep end and swimming directly to the steps and get out. I could not enjoy staying in the pool, even on 100 degree days. So, after my wife finally admitted it was too cold for her, I had the green light to put this in. For those who are curious about the electrical requirements (directions will not give you any of this), I ran 6/2 underground wire off of a 50 amp breaker from our main panel. An internet search for wire led me to Wire and Cable your way which shipped the wire at a great price. I installed a disconnect panel next to the unit and ran a pre-wired 8/2 wire to the unit from a 40amp breaker. After installing all the pvc connections, I turned on the unit and it had the water a surprisingly 75 degrees but felt colder. After faulting the first time due to low pressure, it finally got primed and started heating the water, initially setting the temp to 85. The water doesn't come out of the pump very hot, just a few degrees hotter than the pool itself so it needs to circulate the water several times to raise the temp. The next morning, about 13 hours after I turned it on, I walked out and stepped onto the pool steps and felt the water. It was much warmer and the unit displayed 84 degrees on the unit. Being that it felt perfect, I turned down the temp to 84 where it has stayed for the last week. I literally spent more time in the pool that day than I had the whole summer before and the whole family, including my wife and her sisters all swam in the pool for the first time. I'm curious to see what happens to the electric bill but if it's anything reasonable (compared to a gas heater), this is an awesome investment.

Edit - We were able to find an authorized Hayward company to come and look at this unit. It cost a few hundred dollars but the issue was just a lose connection on the unit. This has been running now for almost two months and has made the summer pool time much more enjoyable! We are very happy with this purchase and I have updated the rating to show that. I have not noticed any major increases in our electricity bill so far. I was very excited for this product. Upon installation we received an LP code. Of course Hayward is closed on the weekends and we are unable to get anyone to come look at the refrigerant in the unit. Extremely disappointed after reading great reviews.

After 16 years I finally broke down and purchased a heater for my pool (actually for my wife). But lets back up, when we installed the pool we did have a propane heater that we used once! That is, until it emptied my 500 gal propane tank in 2-3 days. Never used it again! Our pool is approx 27,000 gal. and my biggest apprehension was getting the right sized unit. This 140,000BTU is perfect. I did expand the slab about 6 inches. And while it says to have approx 2-3 ft clearance around the unit we did not have that much space so 12 inches was going to have to do and it works perfect. Actually, I am glad I made that choice vs. my neighbor who had his installed with pleanty of clearance but is very vulnerable to dust, debris, grass clippings, and worst yet, cottonwood! We did the install on our own, but had a professional do the electrical but mostly because my entire electrical needed expanded to a 2nd box. The piping was easy so the entire install went without a hitch. Most importantly this unit barely runs and takes very little electricity to run. My pump requires more electricity vs. heater so it is entirely un-noticeable on my bills. I should mention that I also have a timer hooked up to my system and the heater will not run without water flow, so it married up to my existing system with ease. Great unit and great purchase.

One of the cover screws was screwed directly into an internal pipe. There was no refrigerant in the unit. This was not discovered until after installation. Rather than return the item and pay my certified AC company to do another install of a new one, the AC company repaired the leak and refilled the unit, which costed me and extra $550. This unit should not have been sent, and the company quality control should pay more attention. I will say that the performance of the unit is incredible. It's quiet and heated our outdoor spa very quickly. I have not heated the pool yet, but I expect good results. I'm happy with the unit, but not happy about the flaw do to the cover screw being put through the piping. I have emailed the manufacturer. Waiting for their response.

The heat pump came with a defective sensor. Hayward requires that you use an authorized service technician in order to keep the product on warranty. That is a sweet gig, considering the county I live in is one of the 10 most populous in the US, yet there was only 1 tech designated as authorized by Hayward in the 30 mile radius (and I live in the center of the county). The tech, who was very professional, was able to diagnose the lack of a functioning sensor in approximately 30 seconds, and then charged me for a 10 minute repair $140. Now, I agree that I wouldn't want him to take longer just for me to feel I got my money's worth, but the fact is, I was sold defective merchandise which came with a faulty sensor. The product was broken from the outset and I already spent the money to have it installed, so the sunk cost did not allow me to return it rather than pay to fix it. And the tech was able to diagnose it so quickly because apparently this is a common, known defect. I would not be surprised if Hayward was getting a kickback from their sole authorized tech. The more products they sell with known defects, the more work their sole designated tech gets. This is like a self-licking lollipop. There is literally no way to know if the product is working until you install it, and by that point, you've either spent hundreds of dollars (for me it was over $1,000), or you've probably got yourself a hernia and some electrical shock from moving a large item. Only at that point would you even realize it came broken.