Kozy Koi Pond Heater

The Worlds Most Energy Efficient
Koi Pond Heater

Based on Radiant Heating Technology

Once you have made the decision to heat your Koi pond, you then must decide what heater to purchase. There are various ways to heat your pond. You can buy a conventional hot water heater along with a heat exchanger and a pump and try to engineer your own system. You could buy a swimming pool heater and run your pond water through it, or you could buy an electric heater.

When deciding what way to go the most important concern is the "cost of operation." What's it going to cost me to heat my pond all winter? Well, we all know natural gas is a lot less expensive than electric heating. I heated my 4,000 gallon pond for two winters using a 3000 watt, 240 volt electric heater. The heater alone cost me $300.00 a month in electricity. So electric heating is NOT cost effective, but Southern California Edison Company loved me.

Heating your pond with natural gas or propane

OK, we know natural gas or propane is our best choice as an energy source. When deciding what kind of gas heater to use, the key is how efficient is the heat transfer system within the heater. All gas heating systems must somehow transfer the heat, created by burning the gas, to the pond water. There are various ways to do this. Some systems heat water in a household hot water heater then pump that hot water into a heat exchanger that is submerged in the pond water. This concept of heating the pond has the lowest efficiency rating. The hot water heater itself is not very efficient because you are constantly heating somewhere between 40 to 80 gallons of water and then pumping it to a heat exchanger where a second heat transfer must take place. Heat exchangers have somewhere between 10 to 30 feet of area where the transfer of heat takes place. This is a relative small area. Using a swimming pool heater is better but it too uses a heater exchanger with a relative small transfer area. The pond water is traveling through the heat exchanger at a rate of somewhere between 20 to 50 gallons per minute and is in contact with the surfaces of the heat exchanger for a very short period of time. This means most of the heat created by the burners is not transferred to the pond water. Most swimming pool heaters start at 160,000 BTU's and go up from there. They rely on sheer volume of heat created and constant recurulatiing of the water through them to do their job.

The KOZY KOI HEATING SYSTEM

The Kozy Koi Heating System is based on the principal of "radiant heat technology." Radiant heat technology is very efficient because of the large heat transfer area used.

The heart of the Kozy Koi Heater is a Bosch AquaStar 125B tankless hot water heater. The Bosch AquaStar 125B heats water instantly and is rated at 117,000 BTU's. The Bosch AquaStar 125B can supply a unlimited amount of hot water to any home. You could take 40 showers in a row and never run out of hot water. The AquaStar has highly efficient copper heating coils. All water parts are solid copper or solid brass. The unit is constructed with stainless steel and aluminum. The burners are stainless steel. The AquaStar has an 82 percent efficiency rating and .69 Energy Factor -- the highest in the industry!

The Kozy Koi System then takes the hot water from the AquaStar and pumps it through a TACO 1/8 hp 1.76 amp pump (The most widely used brand in the U.S. for the heating industry) and into A.I.M.'s radiant heating coils. These coils are made utilizing a triple layer construction of cross-linked polyethylene inner and outer layers protecting a highly conductive aluminum center layer. Each coil is 300 feet which allows complete transfer of heat from the recurulating hot water into the pond water. The total volume of water in the Kozy Koi System is about 10 gallons. Kozy Koi Systems come with two 300 feet coils and can be expanded up to ten coils. The system is controlled by a DIGI-SPAN "SPC-Temp" digital controller that can be set at any temperature. It has a digital display that indicates set point, water temperature and has self-diagnostics to trouble shoot problems. The pond water will be maintained within 1 degree of the set temperature. The Kozy Koi comes with a Expansion Tank to offset the thermal expansion that happens whenever the system cycles on or off. Also a great feature of the Kozy Koi is that it is VERY quiet. You can not even hear the TACO pump run.

MY KOZY KOI EXPERIENCE

As you can see I took my Kozy Koi and did some upgrading to it. Since my heater is installed outdoors behind my pond, I did some water-proofing to it to protect the shipping case it comes in. I bought some aluminum "L" channel to protect the exposed ends of the plywood back. I also primed and painted the shipping case. I cut some vents and a small "inspection" window into the front so I could read the digital controller with the front on the unit. I went to Home Depot and bought a 12" high vent stack for the heat vent on the top of the AquaStar. I ran a 3/4" gas line from my house to my equipment area. It turned out to be alot easier than I thought.

I finished the install about 3pm on a Saturday. At that time the pond temperature was 61 degrees. Within one hour the temperature had climbed to 66 degrees, that's awesome for a 4,000 gallon pond. Within 3.5 hours the pond was at 72 degrees and the Kozy Koi started cycling on and off to maintain the temperature. My natural gas bill has risen only about $35.00 per month.

SHIPPING & PURCHASE INFORMATION

Kozy Koi Heaters can be ordered in a 2 coil configeration or up to 10 coils. Most ponds depending on system volume and where you live, can be heated with the basic 2 coil system. Large volume ponds in colder climates need 4 or 6 coil systems. The heater is shipped in a 4 foot X 4 foot X 1 foot wooden box. It is lined on the inside with Formica and is ready to hang on a wall or a mounting system of your choice.

You can order your Kozy Koi Heater from your local "Koizyme" dealer or directly from Koi Care Kennel. The heater is shipped from the factory directly to your home by a common carrier trucking company. The coils are shipped in a cardboard carton.

For pricing information please contact Koi Care Kennel. (714) 379-1623 or e-mail us at : Koizyme@aol.com