JohnMarc

What is the KW rating of the heat pump you are using?

Apologies for the potentially dumb question but do I understand this correctly? Specs for 18.7kW ITS Inverter Pool Heat Pump tells me that it does 6.9 m3/h to 40 C....... my hot tub is 1500 L (or 1.5 m3) so does that mean I can heat up the hot tub in less than an hour? (or 21 mins being precise) Love it, in fact when we go 4x4ing we are the buggers who still have the paraffin storm lanterns...... yes of course we have gained a lot with technology but those were good days and I do try and hang on to a little bit of it when I can......... Love it, in fact when we go 4x4ing we are the buggers who still have the paraffin storm lanterns...... yes of course we have gained a lot with technology but those were good days and I do try and hang on to a little bit of it when I can.........

Yup have tried the wood burning hot tubs and as romantic as it appears and sounds I found (having recently rented one for a while) unstable as regards temperature control, not suitable for suburbia as it looked like the next pope was being elected with the amount of smoke...... or I had set up a crematorium in my backyard,,,,,,,

Thanks Scorp007 I have to operate each unit individually as they are to far apart from each other. I am ow thinking of using the 10 tube High Efficiency collector ( https://itssolar.co.za/products/solar-water-heating/ ) and treating the actual hot tub as the "geyser" then if additional heating is required, redirect the water through the Heat pump to boost the temperature....... I have in fact found an (rather beaten up) old jacussi and am going to run some experiments with different piping arrangements to see which works best........ I am still trying to find the best filtration system bearing in mind the constant temp of the water.....

Thanks ..... that comes back to my initial question, as to do I need the solar geyser (my thinking was to minimise the time it would take to heat the hot tub in as short a time possible ) or can I heat the hot tub quickly enough using a 7,5 KW heat pump? I am told the ideal temperature range is 37 to 40 C .......

What I have done is simply built a plywood enclosure with plenty of ventilation ...... I painted on a resin to seal the wood completely ....... I live in an area where even plastic rusts 😂 so although everything was IP65 i wasn't going to take any chances, two years in and all good.

Okay here goes ....... Please be advised I really don't know what I am doing (as I am sure will be shown in my attached drawings) but I am hoping to get advise back on the following: Can I run the solar heated water through the heat exchanger although it is not "in operation" or is it a sealed unit unless in operation, therefor necessitating the installation of a solenoid valve redirecting the flow when the heat exchanger is switched on? Does the level of the geyser affect the free flow of the water, I am trying to not use an electrical pump to drive the water through the system when the tub is not actually being used? Some feedback would really be appreciated..... Thanks

😂 maybe that is what is needed for me to actually get this design done.......😇

Thanks Bobster, you got me looking online and have found some good options...... one issue ticked off now to the rest of the list.......🙈 Merry Christmas to all by the way, I trust it was a good one

Yes I am actually doing the entire tub build due to the unusual sizes and shapes needed so plan to have very good insulation all around including the lids.....thanks

Hi Scorp007 Yes exactly my thoughts, but my complete ignorance about these systems even frighten me....... so could I run the water through the solar tubes all day and then at night depending on the temperature required turn on the heat pump to heat the water those few degrees more? The idea being that the ambient temp. of the water is significantly higher meaning that to heat the water to hot tub temperatures would be done a lot quicker.......my question is I guess would I design a water system that runs through the heat pump/exchanger which I only turn on when wanting to actually use the heat tub?

Thanks Frivan. In my ignorance I assumed that solar heated water (the evacuated tube type, if that is the right term) would have to be constantly circulated because of the pressure build up...... these would only be used when the tub is being used..... basically I am trying to take advantage of the sun but cannot see myself having 1500 litres (x3) worth of geysers to store the hot water...... Hence me thinking of some sort of system that keeps the water (slowly circulating) in a system through the tub, with a sealed lid, and then when they want to use the tub they would use the heat pump to get up to the desired temperature if its not already there. But even me writing this I am seeing errors in my proposals....... I am trying to find info about the best (quickest) way to heat a hot tub...... want to use a heat exchanger/pump (as I do have plenty of solar generated electricity...).. but at the same time I have a lot of sun throughout the year...so got me thinking of the water solar heating... trying to make the best of both worlds I guess........and how to combine them......

I have a guest house and I am installing 3 hot tubs for our guest units, my thoughts are the following: I want to use a heat pump/heat exchanger (7.5 KW) for each tub .... I would like to use a solar heater of some sorts to retain an ambient temperature in the system but limit the use of the heat exchangers only when the solar heater cannot provide the desired temperature, (say at night or on cloudy days....) .... I don't even know where to start. Can I for example have the solar system constantly circulating heated water in the hot tubs but when the temperature drops too low the heat exchanger kicks in to boost the temperature? If anybody can advise me where to start I would greatly appreciate it. John

Is the breaker there as a way to isolate the battery bank from the inverter? If we assume I go the breaker route then are the fuses still required

As this system takes shape there is still one question I haven't managed to get an answer on, that is on the battery side why is a fuse and a breaker necessary, surely just a dc breaker would have the same protection a fuse would offer