A heater is optional pool equipment that is used to heat the pool for more comfortable swimming conditions. A heater is not required equipment...it is a luxury item.
There are various types of pool heaters. In fact, you will have a few different options to heat your pool. The two biggest factors when considering these pool heating options are upfront cost and, most importantly, the monthly operating cost.
A gas-powered pool heater is the best pool heater - in terms of solely heating a pool. A natural gas heater is the most popular type of gas-powered heater. But if natural gas is not available in your area, then a propane heater is certainly a gas-powered heating option.
A propane heater requires a propane tank to be delivered and installed onsite to deliver propane from the tank to the heater. In some markets, you can only buy a propane tank. In some markets you can only lease the propane tank (and you must buy the propane from the company leasing you the tank). And in other markets, you can either buy or lease the propane tank.
A propane heater is is reasonably priced to purchase and have installed (in comparison to other pool heating options). But the monthly cost for propane can be high...and it could be significantly high, depending on the time of year, the outside temperature, your desired temperature of the water, how often you use the heater, the size of the heater (namely the BTU rating), and your local propane costs. The propane tank will have to be re-filled with propane periodically, which will require a service call (to include the trip charge and the time to re-fill the tank) as well as cost of the propane.
While some pool equipment is expensive upfront yet saves you money each month (such as a variable speed pump or a heat pump), a propane heater is expensive upfront and is expensive to operate and use each month. If you can trade-off the high monthly cost for the quickest access to heat, then a propane heater is a viable pool heating option.
When you are researching propane heaters, be sure to research the heat exchanger, which is an internal part. It is the most important part, as it transfers the heated propane to your pool water to ultimately heat the pool. But, it is also an expensive part to replace if your water chemistry suffers. When you are faced with the decision of replacing the heat exchanger, it may be best to replaced the entire heater.
Within this pool manual, the following information is available about propane heaters: