March 19, 2024

Maytag Pool to add new heater

After 20 years, the pool water heater at Maytag Pool has become inoperable and is in need of replacement. The Newton City Council approved Warnick & Reeves Mechanical of Newton with a quote of $18,806 to complete the replacement of the now defunct heater.

The pool last underwent a complete renovation and replacement project in 1996. During that renovation, a Teledyne-Laars gas-fired pool water heater was installed in the pool filter building. Due to its age and the amount of use it has, the city found it needed to be replaced rather than fixed.

“The old pool heater is 20 years old, which is very old for these types of heaters,” city parks administrator Nathan Unsworth said. “The heater is exposed to a lot of chemicals, which over time causes the metal to deteriorate and corrode. The current heater had reached the point where it was simply time to replace the unit.”

The city will be replacing the old unit with the same Teledyne-Laars model that has been used for the past 20 years.

The pool heater is used to adjust the pool’s temperature to a suitable level. If it were not in place, Unsworth said, swimmers would be taking a dip in very cold water.

“When we fill up the pool, it is the same temperature as tap water,” Unsworth said. “If you would jump into the pool after we fill it up, it would be like stepping into a bath tub that was filled with cold water.”

While warm, sunny days help to warm the water, Unsworth said it is a very slow process. If a cold, cloudy, rainy day were to pass through it can make any heat gain disappear very quickly.

“We use the heater to raise the temperature up to more ideal temperatures. Once we get it there, as long as the weather cooperates, we can typically keep it at that same temperature,” Unsworth said. “If we get a few cloudy days in a row, we may have to turn the heater back on to bring the water temperature up a few degrees. Mother Nature really determines how much we run the heater each year.”

The new heater will be installed prior to May 5 and will not interrupt the summer swim season. It is being paid for using 2015 bond proceeds.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com