New Solar Panel Array & Low Pressure

[Absolutx13]

Hello,

I am a recent pool owner and have been trying to do all the maintenace, repair, etc myself. I 'inherited' a 10 yr old Kidney shaped gunite pool that's about 12k gallons. I recently removed the propane heater that came with it as I poured a lot of money into repairs and propane that it was just not worth it to keep anymore. Instead, I installed a new grid of 3 solar panels on the ground (http://www.game-group.com/products/solarpro-xf/). This was before I found the forum and found out about other easily DYI products that may be more efficient.

The problem I am having is that the way I have them hooked up and all water goes to the panels, the pressure on the bypass T connector is extremely low (1.5 PSI) but the water coming out of the pool is warm so I assume they work alright so far. However, I can't have this little flow to the pool as it doesn't manage to clean anything. What I did was I moved the T-Valve to direct 80% of the water to the panels and 20% through the bypass and the flow and the pressure incresed to about 6 PSI. This is great and all but I assume I am losing efficiency in the panels as now the warm water is combined with colder water from the pool.

Here's a diagram I drew and a few stats about equipment.

Kindey Shaped Pool @ About 12k gallons.
Hayward Filter & 1.0 HP Pump
No Cover (Considering Solar balls)
New York



How do I get the panels to receive 100% of the water and increase pressure so the pool stays clean?

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: New Solar Panel Array & Low Pressure

Your not going to get many btu's with those small panels, when it comes to solar area is everything, having said that you would likely get much better performance if you plumb them in parallel

 

[Absolutx13]

Re: New Solar Panel Array & Low Pressure

Your not going to get many btu's with those small panels, when it comes to solar area is everything, having said that you would likely get much better performance if you plumb them in parallel

Thank you. I will do some rewiring of the panels. I assume I need 2 T connectors for Water IN and 2 T connectors for Water Out for them to work in parallel.

Would you suggest I install a 4x20 Panel in conjuction with the 3 Grid panels? Would that produce enough BTUs?
Do I need to add more?

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: New Solar Panel Array & Low Pressure

Solar gain and heat loss is primarily determined by surface area of the pool, not by its size in gallons, as a rule of thumb to get substantial heat gain on a swimming pool, you will need panels sized at 50-75% of the surface area of the pool, in northern climates or areas where the panels are not mounted at optimal angles with good sun exposure would need more. Having said that, any solar beats no solar. In the case of my pool I have 66% surface area coverage, which in Louisiana with an indoor pool allows me to have swim temperatures over 80 degrees from around time of the last freeze of the year until shortly after the first freeze in the fall.

Ike

 

[Absolutx13]

Re: New Solar Panel Array & Low Pressure

Thanks for the replies.

I might bite the bullet and install an array on the roof. How difficult are they to install on the roof? I figured I need to put some holes into the roof to clip them on, which I'm a bit nervous about.

Also, any recommendations?
I also heard you need black PVC pipe.