Homemade Heat Exchanger

[uncledeadly]

My pool equipment is located in my garage and as such the pump is generating a lot of unwanted heat inside the garage.
I was just thinking that I could kill two birds with one stone by wrapping the exterior of the pump motor with 1/4" copper tubing and teeing this run of tubing into the supply line back to the pool.....this would , 1. cool the motor, and more importantly cause the garage to not be so warm and 2. help to warm the pool....I know the temperature gain in the pool will most likely be negligible but....a good way to get rid of the heat in the garage.

If I tee into the supply line in a spot approximately 6 inches after the filter and then tee in again 20 inches after the filter do you think I will get flow through the 1/4" copper tubing? I was thinking of using "y"'s instead?

And ....btw, i will bond the copper heat exchanger to ground so as to avoid induced electrical problems in case of a problem.

Love to be able to draw a picture but.....alas I'm computer challenged....lol

 

[JasonLion]

If you do that, you don't want to connect the copper to ground, instead connect it to the bonding system.

You won't get hardly any water flow that way. Better to connect one side before the pump and the other side after the pump.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Not a good idea, IMO. If your PH goes down, it'll eat the tube. You would need to add the piping to the bond too. You would likely inject copper into the pool. When the motor dies, it'll be a PITA to swap it.

If you have an attic above the garage, if there is an access door, crack it. The heat will go up.

Scott

 

[JamesW]

I would recommend against this. It's going to be more trouble than it's worth. One problem you might create is blocking the fan and vents that are built into the pump motor. You could easily end up trapping heat in the motor causing it to overheat and become damaged.