Hey guys! Just purchased my home a few months ago and haven't been able to swim yet cause the water temp is too cold. Its been at 65 degrees. The gas pool heater operates but drinks propane like I never seen before. So $800 in propane and now its 95 degrees outside, the water is staying at 70 degrees. Still too cold for my standards. The pool room is built with sliding glass doors surrounding the pool which I have been leaving open due to the warmer temps outside. The pool is approx. 15ft X 40ft and 9ft deep at the deepest part. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about getting a solar panel heater system. What are your thoughts?
New Guy, indoor pool water temp, please help!
- Thread starter jetmech873
- Start date
Welcome to TFP! 
That is a lot of propane money!
Sadly, that is a lot of water, and it will take a lot to heat it. I would think you would do a little better than that however. I have a near 30K gallon pool and it takes about 60 gallons to move my temp 12 degrees. I know, I've done it a few times now with our crazy and windy spring. Not so much now until we get on the cheaper plan, but that's another story.
I'm sorry I don't know much about Solar panel heating, but it will likely take a long time to get the pool up to swim temp with that volume. Hopefully someone will weigh in that knows more, but I feel your pain believe me. I am curious if perhaps you heater is too small or if it has some scale inside, costing you more fuel gas. It should be a 400K BTU heater though. If it isn't that big, that could be part of it.
That is a lot of propane money!
Sadly, that is a lot of water, and it will take a lot to heat it. I would think you would do a little better than that however. I have a near 30K gallon pool and it takes about 60 gallons to move my temp 12 degrees. I know, I've done it a few times now with our crazy and windy spring. Not so much now until we get on the cheaper plan, but that's another story.
I'm sorry I don't know much about Solar panel heating, but it will likely take a long time to get the pool up to swim temp with that volume. Hopefully someone will weigh in that knows more, but I feel your pain believe me. I am curious if perhaps you heater is too small or if it has some scale inside, costing you more fuel gas. It should be a 400K BTU heater though. If it isn't that big, that could be part of it.
I have a similar pool and it is a nice warm 84 degrees, has been for a couple of months now using just solar heat. I have to leave the house soon to go to the inlaws, but here is a link to a couple of threads about mine, I replaced the solar heat last year, after replacing the roof the year before:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/41980-My-not-indoor-pool-at-the-moment
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/54481-Solar-Panel-Replacement-Update
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/41980-My-not-indoor-pool-at-the-moment
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/54481-Solar-Panel-Replacement-Update
Thanks guys. I will definitely check out a solar heating system because I refuse to keep dumping propane into a heater that's not doing the job. Kinda ridiculous to have an indoor pool and still can only swim in it a few months a year... SO it just sits there and taunts me everyday because I cant use it...
Looks like the Techno-Solis panel system is in Canada? Where did you buy it and approximate cost? I have found a few other systems that look to be around $800.
Looks like the Techno-Solis panel system is in Canada? Where did you buy it and approximate cost? I have found a few other systems that look to be around $800.
Leaving the room open encourages evaporation, which is the largest source of heat loss. You want to either keep the room closed to reduce evaporation or get a solar cover on the pool and stop evaporation that way.
Solar sounds like a great idea.
Solar sounds like a great idea.
That indoor pool will be a perfect application for solar heat. You will never look back iof you decide to go that route.
I think TechnoSolis is based out of the Tampa Florida area, and that is where they make their panels, I bought mine from poolheatpumps.com Solar Direct sells a limited selection (1.5 inch header only, etc) private label version of theses under the Vortex name. I paid $2675 for 11 4x12 panels witn 2 inch headers delivered truck freight about 15 months ago. I already had a solar controller AQ-SOL-TC, actuator, diverter valve, etc probably worth another $400 or so. Additional expenses were another $300 or so worth of plumbing fittings, synthetic mounting boards, caulking mastic, etc to deal with mounting on the R panel metal roof, and a paid a roofer (one of the guys that had put the roof on the year before) and his young helper to do the roof top work (my back is not up to such work since I broke it in 2010), I did do all the ground level prep, assembled couplers and end caps on the panels so only one side had to be assembled on the roof, prepainted the PVC pipe for UV protection, did the ground level plumbing, etc. Total labor paid was for about 8 hours of work, 4 hours on 2 days due to getting a late start both days due to weather, otherwise it would have been a 1 day job, I don't recall the exact amount paid for the solar as they did a couple of other little roofing patches while they were there.
Ike
p.s. use of a solar cover on the pool really helps cut down on humidity problems with the pool, I used one on my pool for the first time this last winter during the months when the water was too cool to swim. Also solar plus propane would be a great combination in those fringe months when solar on its own just can't get you there, like March was this year, every time the solar would get the water back up into the upper 70's along would come another cold from and knock it back down into the upper 60's. As I recall my water was 78 on March 1, and about the same on April 1
Ike
p.s. use of a solar cover on the pool really helps cut down on humidity problems with the pool, I used one on my pool for the first time this last winter during the months when the water was too cool to swim. Also solar plus propane would be a great combination in those fringe months when solar on its own just can't get you there, like March was this year, every time the solar would get the water back up into the upper 70's along would come another cold from and knock it back down into the upper 60's. As I recall my water was 78 on March 1, and about the same on April 1