Standing Pilot vs Electronic Ignition

There are two types of gas pool heaters are both of them come with their own advantages: Standing Pilot heaters and Electronic Ignition heaters. Both types of heaters can be run on either natural gas or propane. "Standing Pilot" and "Electronic Ignition" refers only to how the heater is ignited.

Standing Pilot Heaters

"Pilot" is the term for a small start-up flame that ignites the heater. So standing pilot heaters have a small flame on continuously burning on "standby" in order to ignite the heater when needed. This is basically the heater's idle mode and it uses a negligible amount of gas, but on the upside, a standing pilot heater does not require an electrical connection to operate.

The downsides include a less accurate temperature control systems and the risk of the flame getting extinguished by a strong wind.

Electronic Ignition Heaters

Electronic Ignition heaters use an electric spark to ignite their pilot, which in turn ignites the main heater. This type of heater is slightly more expensive and requires an electrical connection, but on the upside, it will save you a little bit of gas due to not having the standby flame continuously burning and it has more precise temperature controls.

Not sure which type of heater would be best for you? Contact Pool Boys and we'll get it sorted out!