Pool Temp too hot!

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metalmom

metalmom

0
Aug 21, 2008
13
So, how do I get the temp down? I'm in TX, with dark plaster and a small IG play pool that is 5 ft at it's deepest. For the past 3 or so weeks, the water's been 92 degrees, and it's just too darn hot!
It's a new pool with little foliage for shade. I bought this mistcooler thingy online, but not sure it's really working. Can't afford to buy the $1200 cooler that attaches to equipment. What does everyone else do when the pool feels like bath water??

I'll try to attach pics....
 

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Yes, I'm usually so cold natured, I bought a heater for the pool, thinking, I can't stand cold water. But, it's way too hot, I guess I should've bought a cooler instead of a heater. I'm thinking it's the dark plaster that's causing it, but we didn't ask for dark plaster, our builder just installed it. Long story, but our builder was so lame. We signed contract with him last August and we still don't have a passed final inspection.
 
There is a fountain on the tanning ledge and I run the waterfall and fountain during the day. I bought a mistcooler that is basically pvc pipe that attaches to an inlet and it has small holes drilled in it. I ran this over night and the temp went down maybe 5 degrees. Then, full sun the next day and we're up to 92.
So, do I run it all day and all night, or just at night and not in the day?

and, yeah, no, the heater's not on....funny....
 
If it makes you feel any better, I have white plaster and a 20,000 gallon 8 ft. diving pool and my pool temp is the same as yours. My pool even gets some shade during the day.

I complain about it a lot, but my girlfriend loves it. FWIW, I agree with you, it IS too darn hot, feels like bath water...
 
You need some aeration in order to cool down that much water in that kind of heat. I took a 1-1/2" PVC pipe cap and drilled fourteen(14) 1/4" holes in the end of it and put a 45º ell and a male threaded adapter and screwed it in the eyeball port turned it up and it does a really go job of aeration. Just remember to keep an eye on the pH and that aeration means evaporation. :lol: so keep an eye on that level too.

To do any real good you'll have to run it at night. I've ran mine 24 hrs a day for few days and it makes a big difference.

Oh yeah, I forget to mention that I drilled a 9/16" hole in the side of the horizontal pipe aimed slightly down to maintain circulation.
 
92 is too hot, I agree. We like about 87-88 (depending on the wind- if it is really still, even that seems a bit warm.) I run my fountain all night every night, and I have found that it stays cooler if I do not run my pump during the day. When the water is still, it forms about a foot deep warm layer on top, but underneath stays cooler. I do not have a dark liner, so that may make a difference. I also use my solar heater as a cooling array at night. In fact, it's looking like my "solar heater" is only actually going to heat a few weeks spring and fall, and spend the rest of the summer cooling at night.
 

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FWIW, Evaporation is what cools a pool if you have a fountain.

The higher into the air you get the drops and the smaller the drops, the more evaporation will occur and that will cool your pool.

You should run a fountain/cooler 24/7 but it is probably more effective midday when the temp/dew point are the furthest apart.
 
I shoot my fountain way up in the air and get the drops to go as far as possible. I have tried day and night, but during the heat of the day, the sun is so hot, that I just do not get much cooling, and I lose a lot of water. I can run 1/2 inch out of the pool with the fountain during one day, and not get any cooling at all. It just slows the rate of heat up under the brutal sun. The night vs day dewpoint is less of an issue in most of Texas (except on the coast). It works better for my area to cool below my desired temp at night, knowing that I am going to gain about 3-5 degrees during the day from just the sun beating down on the pool. So I cool as close to 84 degree F as I can get. The pump stops at 8 am, when the sun hits the pool. From that point, I let the sun heat up the pool, but the top layer insulates the lower levels some. I can get in about noon, and the top layer of water will be around 86 degrees, underneath will be a bit cooler (very refreshing in the heat of the day to feel that cooler water underneath swirling around my legs). We open our big umbrella to shade part of the pool around noon if the wind is not too high. I turn the fountain and pump on about 4:30PM, as that is usually when we get in again, and can stop the temp rise at about 88 degrees for the whole pool (on a good day). We start to get a little shade from the trees at 5:30, and can get a pleasant evening swim at about 88-89 degrees. Leave the fountain and pump running all night, with the solar panels for cooling, and start all over again the next day. The pump runs more than I like, but then, at 105 degrees F, so does my air conditioner in the house.
 
metalmom said:
We signed contract with him last August and we still don't have a passed final inspection.
Click to expand...

Your pool was never inspected? :shock: What happened? I thought there wouldn't be allowed swimming without a final inspection?

It sure is beautiful!
 
I am over in Fort Worth and I have no problem it in the 90-92º range. I am up at 5:30 AM swimming laps and I would rather it be there than mid 80's at that time of day.

Nice pool and like mentioned run a waterfall pump at night if you want the temp down.
 
5:30 am swimming laps? Sheesh. I haven't attempted physical activity at 5:30 am since college. But IF I were a morning person, then I would not cool at night as much. I am guessing the original poster is more of an afternoon person like me. It is amazing how much difference a few degrees can make. If we go out and it is 92, we feel like we are being simmered. If we get in at 89 at the same time of the day it feels much cooler. If it is 87, it is refreshing, and if there is a stiff wind blowing, it can even seem a little coolish.
And, that is a beautiful pool. I could see a wand-type fountain arching from one side to the other (like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Blue-Water- ... pd_sbs_t_5)- it would be very pretty and cool is some. A little mood lighting, and running the fountain at night would be a lovely experience.
This is the one we have for our AGP: http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Play-30700-W ... pd_sbs_t_1
 
Turn on your waterfall at night. Aeration cools your water. (It will also raise your pH somewhat, so keep an eye on that!)

I've got a 6' stacked stone spillover in my spa. Just last week the water temp hit 93 and I decided to change my filter run times from 6:00 Am - 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM. The pool temp is now 88 in the morning, but it still hits 90 during the day.
 
Casey said:
metalmom said:
We signed contract with him last August and we still don't have a passed final inspection.
Click to expand...

Your pool was never inspected? :shock: What happened? I thought there wouldn't be allowed swimming without a final inspection?

It sure is beautiful!
Click to expand...

It was inpspected, but it failed for a couple of things and he still hasn't come to fix those things...our builder is totally lame, it's taken him a year to complete and it's not that big of a job. He's just lame.
 
This is what I bought and installed one on the back side of the pool, next to the waterfall.
http://www.mistcooling.com/poolcooler.htm
I'm concerned that I have to plug 2 other inlets to get enough water pressure to get the mister to work fully. I wanted to add another one and just make my own mister, looks simple enough, but then I would have all the inlets blocked except for the misters I think. Not sure how to get more water pressure to the inlets. I've had to figure everything out on my own cuz of my lame builder who couldn't be bothered to show me anything. So, sounds like I need to run the pump/fountain/mister at night to get the most cooling. So, maybe, what, 4 hours in the day and 4 at night? I'm running it from 10am to 6pm now.
 

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