1. Jandy Pool Heaters
Due to many changes of ownership Jandy pool heaters are for sale under
a variety of names. I have seen them under Laars Pool Heaters, Teledyne
Laars Pool Heaters and Jandy Pool Heaters. I have made an attempt to
very briefly cover the history below.
The originial company was Laars Engineers formed in 1948. This company
was purchased by Teledyne during the 60s and renamed Teledyne Laars.
In 1996 Teledyne bought Jandy Industries and started marketing their
pool heaters under that name (but sometimes including the Laars name).
Later in the 90s Teledyne split its business into three with Jandy getting
the home pool business. Laars Heating Systems got the commercial side
of the business. In 2007 Jandy merged with Zodiac Marine to create
Zodiac Pool Products and create “a major global supplier of pool
equipment”. Looking at an up to date brochure from Zodiac there are two
gas heaters under the Jandy brand and one under the Zodiac brand
(although you will frequently see it advertised as Jandy or Laars
Jandy!).
The current range of Jandy pool heaters comprises:
Jandy Hi-E2 (actually this should be under Zodiac brand but you rarely
see that) - This is a 350k BTU gas heater which is suitable for commercial,
as well as home use, as it is ASME certified. It is the most energy efficient
gas heater you can buy with a rating of 95% and it also meets all low NOx
requirements. It has a very high build quality with durability and reliability
in mind. It has a dual thermostat for use with pool/spa combinations.
Unfortunately all this is reflected in the price which is about three times
that of the other pool heaters on this page.
Jandy LXi - Ranging from 250 - 400k BTU these gas pool heaters are 88%
energy efficient. In addition they have low NOx emissions meeting all
requirements in this respect. The LXi range also have a sophisticated
control panel which can be removed from the heater.
Jandy Legacy - Ranging from 125 - 400k BTU these gas pool heaters are
available in both electronic and millivolt versions. They are 83% efficient
and make no claim to be low NOx. The legacy heaters have a number of
advanced features, are designed to be reliable and are relatively
inexpensive, making then good value for money.
Jandy Heat Pump - There are 3 heat pumps in the range at 100, 115 and
131 BTU. The latter two models also being available with Chiller/Hot Gas
Defrost which allows the unit to work in cold conditions and also to work
in reverse and chill the pool in summer. All models feature a standard
titanium heat exchanger (with lifetime warranty against corrosion). A 40
amp electricity supply is required.
So how can you choose between these models? There are two key factors
to consider. How often will you use the pool heater and will you consider a
higher purchase price in anticipation of savings in the years ahead? If you
2. are going to heat your pool constantly a heat pump will be cheapest to
run and the best buy long term. If you only intend to heat your pool
occasionally then a gas heater may be better as it will heat the pool faster
and will be cheaper to buy. In this case the Hi-E2, good though it is,
would seem to be rather over the top leaving the choice between the LXi
and the Legacy. If there are tight NOx emission standards in your location
it would have to be the Lxi, otherwise the legacy would probably be the
best option. Of course if you need a millivolt heater then the Legacy is the
only option from Jandy pool heaters.
