I have a new 30' round above ground pool (54" high wall, 48" deep water). My pump is a 2HP two-speed that can move enough water to "spin" the solar cover when it's on high.
I am planning to build my own solar water heater "device" out of black rubber hose. I need to insert a diverter at the pump return so that I can use the pump to push water through the hose before it renters the pool.
My general plan goes something like this:
100' rubber hose coiled back and forth and mounted to a 4'x8' sheet of plywood. The wood will be painted flat black and the hose will also be black. I will prop the wood panel up so that it will be facing the Southern sky to maximize exposure.
I need some advice on what kind of diverter to use to redirect the water through the hose as well as where to get one. I have the standard sized hoses on my cartridge filter system and the hose will simply lip up over the wall of the pool for its return (I do not plan on returning the water to the return line. Also, because the heating process will be slow, I will need to be able to divert only a small flow of water through the hose so that it will run slow enough to actually be able to be warmed.
I'm aware that the amount of heat I will be able to add to the pool will be small. I don't expect to warm all 22,000 gallons from 68 to 80 degrees... I have a solar cover and the pool was built on top of about 3" (minimum) of sand and with an insulating ground pad. This is intended to be simply one of the pieces of the overall puzzle to aid in maintaining a comfortable water temperature in the early and later parts of the swimming season in Connecticut.
I am planning to build my own solar water heater "device" out of black rubber hose. I need to insert a diverter at the pump return so that I can use the pump to push water through the hose before it renters the pool.
My general plan goes something like this:
100' rubber hose coiled back and forth and mounted to a 4'x8' sheet of plywood. The wood will be painted flat black and the hose will also be black. I will prop the wood panel up so that it will be facing the Southern sky to maximize exposure.
I need some advice on what kind of diverter to use to redirect the water through the hose as well as where to get one. I have the standard sized hoses on my cartridge filter system and the hose will simply lip up over the wall of the pool for its return (I do not plan on returning the water to the return line. Also, because the heating process will be slow, I will need to be able to divert only a small flow of water through the hose so that it will run slow enough to actually be able to be warmed.
I'm aware that the amount of heat I will be able to add to the pool will be small. I don't expect to warm all 22,000 gallons from 68 to 80 degrees... I have a solar cover and the pool was built on top of about 3" (minimum) of sand and with an insulating ground pad. This is intended to be simply one of the pieces of the overall puzzle to aid in maintaining a comfortable water temperature in the early and later parts of the swimming season in Connecticut.