Redneck Pool heater questions

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jtburf

jtburf

0
Jun 8, 2015
486
Houston, TX
Ok,

I'm not looking for year round, just would like an extra month or so each side of the season.

Here are my thoughts, questions and concerns.

5500 gallon AGP, would like temp to stay at 84-86, currently dropping due to cooler nights, yet hovering around 82 now and slipping. So you can see not a lot of increase needed, however I know when the pool gets in the mid 70's I doubt this method will work.

I have 100 sq ft of deck space that gets full sun, if I took 100' of 3/4" poly tubing, uncoiled it enough so it covered my deck surface and used a submersible pump running during the main part of the day could I get a max of say 10 degrees temp increase?

Am I even going to see a temp increase?

Is it worth the 150.00 venture?

Thanks,
John
 
All endeavors can prove informative. For such a small cost I would give it a try. In fact, something similar is on my agenda for the winter season. I'm going to do the coil method, just so it doesn't take up as much room. My cost will be less since I have most of the materiel from a previous project. (really want to replace my dead gas heater but wife is reluctant so...)

If you do a search of this site, you will find folks that say it works good( seems to for them), other folks that say it won't work (suggest you buy panels made for solar heating), and still other folks that say it doesn't work (didn't keep up with overnight loss).

Some of each if these will be along shortly, I'm sure.
 
You will get more bang for your buck and effort by adding the cheapest, thinnest solar cover you can find. It will retain more heat overnight than the tubing will generate. Or do both!

My 240sf of solar panels doesn't add 10 degrees to my pool. I think the biggest daytime jump ever was 8. But, the normal 24 hour add on a sunny day is 4-6 degrees. I don't use a solar cover.
 
I agree with pooldv. First step is a cover. After that, it is cheaper and more efficient to buy commercial purpose built solar panels. Solar heating is all about sqft of exposure to the sun. As pooldv said his 240 sqft of panels will not add 10 degrees, but his pool is 4 times bigger, so one could argue that 60sqft for you might not be enough.

For reference, that 100' of 3/4" pipe is 100*0.75/12 = 6.25 sqft ... so 10 times less the equivalent of what pooldv has.

For the price you quoted, you can get at least a 40 sqft solar mat off Ebay.
 
I've got a turkey fryer and 200' of garden hose that are just begging for something to do until Thanksgiving. I'm thinking about rigging up something myself. If I survive, I'll post results.
 
I also agree with the above posters. Cheap solar cover will reduce your evaporation, which will help keep heat in the pool. No need getting the more expensive 12 mil cover as they don't last much longer then the cheapies.
I have roughly 510' of 3/4 black poly pipe in a sealed enclosure. Water circulates through it when the box temp gets to a certain temp, as it will chill water when it is shaded or clouds are overhead or at night. This arrangement was working good for me last year when I had a 16' AGP, 200 sq ft of surface area close to yours. This year I upgraded to a 24' AGP 450 sq ft and it didn't work nearly as good, I had to run my HWT exchanger pretty much all summer to keep up with overnight heat loss, I should have bought and used a cheap solar cover.
The rule of thumb I have read here and am inclined to beleive is the Sq footage of your solar panels should be at least half of your surface area.
I have seen a lot of people on this forum who have found solar matts on Craigslist for considerable savings.
Winter setting in up here so back to the drawing board once again :)
 
A much more cost effective option?

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John
 

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A pool cover will SIGNIFICANTLY reduce your overnight heat losses. My pool struggled to breach 80 degrees in the warmest times of late July and August last year and was usually at about 76 degrees without heat. This summer, I hit 84 for over a month with no heat just because I limited overnight loss. Being a AG pool you'll still lose some heat through the sides overnight but the cover will help a lot.
 
If you do try a form of solar tubing be it an craigslist mat or a coil of poly pipe be sure to run the pump volume high as you can, enough that you can hardly if at all feel the temp difference on the return. I have talked to some folks that believe if the water is hot coming out of the solar they are doing great. If you don't move enough water you will not get all the BTUs out of the panels you could be. If you hit your target temp that is one thing, but if you are going for max heat gain you should take flow as high as you safely can.
 
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