Heating My Pool - recommendations

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T

TrustJesus

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Jul 17, 2014
51
Northern Minnesota
Been doing some reading on heating an AGP. My pool is an intex 15ft x 42" ring top, so 3,284 gallons. I live in Northern MN where daytime temps this time of year are 75 and night is 55 (yeah I know, ridiculous). I am NOT looking to spend too much money. What are some recommendations to heat this pool? I have a solar cover on order made by intex.

Any other suggestions with links would be great. This is new to me so maybe do a little explaining to help me understand the possible setup.

Thanks in advance.
 
The solar cover is going to help you retain heat overnight, which is a good thing. If you have a location close to the pool that gets full sun, you can get a solar panel on Amazon for $100. It comes with everything you need to hook it up and it can just lay on the ground. I cannot tell you how much it will heat your pool but likely no more than 5-7 degrees. Best case would be 10-15 degrees. There are also products that you put in the water called liquid solar heat. I have used Cover Free. Different people experience anywhere from no change to a noticeable rise in temp. I use a solar cover, small solar panel, and liquid solar heat.
 
Don't even think about an LP heater. Mine just burns through the LP when it's on. Solar would be a good way to go with commercial panels or even a couple rolls of black tubing.
https://www.google.com/#q=youtube+diy+solar+heater+pool :google:

If you have the $$$ a heat pump would be great and in the long run would pay for the initial cost 2-3K. https://www.google.com/#q=youtube+swimming+pool+heat+pump
Yours might be too small for a heat pump but solar could make a difference in how soon and how late you're in the water.
 
My solar cover will not get here for a few days. My kids really want to get in the pool tomorrow. What is my best option to try and get the water up. I was thinking of a few options:
1. Keep the dark blue "Intex" cover on during the day
2. Lay a clear 6mil tarp over the pool (without or without blue cover on pool) to act as a type of green-house effect
3. Buy a black tarp and throw it over the pool for part of the day

Any thoughts?
 
Lay a clear tarp over the pool to allow sunlight into it and to do a little insulating in the evenings.

I'm in WI and after a lot of reading I ordered a new solar cover this year, clear as it's supposed to let the heat in and then keep it in. You'd think black but it doesn't work that way.

Or a 100ft roll of black tubing laying in the sun as in some of the youtube videos.
 
f3justusc said:
There are also products that you put in the water called liquid solar heat. I have used Cover Free. Different people experience anywhere from no change to a noticeable rise in temp. I use a solar cover, small solar panel, and liquid solar heat.
Click to expand...

I have never seen Cover Free described as "liquid solar heat." It produces no heat, just helps prevent heat loss via evaporation. I use it and I still have to get the water heated myself.
 
kiss4afrog said:
Lay a clear tarp over the pool to allow sunlight into it and to do a little insulating in the evenings.

I'm in WI and after a lot of reading I ordered a new solar cover this year, clear as it's supposed to let the heat in and then keep it in. You'd think black but it doesn't work that way.

Or a 100ft roll of black tubing laying in the sun as in some of the youtube videos.
Click to expand...

What "clear tarp" did you buy for your pool? Do you have a link or name? Do you think it has been helping you warm your pool?
 
I just made a clear tarp using 4mil plastic sheeting (what painters put on the floor). The middle of it is "stuck" to the water and the outer 20 or so inches all the way around the pool is off the water hanging over the edge. I'm hoping this will heat up my water. It is 60deg right now, no wind, and bright sunny skies. I'm hoping clear will heat up the pool using the greenhouse effect.
 
I didn't buy a tarp I bought a solar cover. It's not a one man operation but I didn't have help and ended up fighting it for a couple hours. Due to my pools shape had to get a big rectangle and cut it down. Basically it's bubble wrap only thicker.

"I have never seen Cover Free described as "liquid solar heat." It produces no heat, just helps prevent heat loss via evaporation. I use it and I still have to get the water heated myself."

CeeElGee: To be fair he never said Cover Free was liquid solar heat. Those two expressions are in different sentences and if you Google it you will see many "liquid" pool covers mentioning "Liquid solar heat" in their marketing.
 

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I understand your dilemma being born and raised in extreme northern MN myself (I. Falls) but have since relocated to northern Louisiana. It seems that summer only lasts a couple of weeks then back into the deep freeze.
When i was growing up we had a couple of multipurpose ponds (garden irrigation, summer swimming, winter ice skating). We would throw a medium sized piece of black plastic out across the ice before spring thaw to quicken the ice melt and be able to swim quicker in the summer. We would tie weights and a rope on the corners of the plastic so it would sink when the ice melted. We used the ropes to retrieve it from the deep end during swim season.
I would think that a black tarp sunk to the bottom with a clear cover would be your best bet considering your indication of not wanting to invest alot of money.
Investing in a couple of 100 foot rolls of black plastic pipe as shown in the video by the previous poster (kiss4afrog) is an excellent idea. I use that here and i can get 8 deg warmer on a full sun day (I am only using 100 ft now but am going to upgrade to 300 ft soon). Another bonus to the pipe is that it may allow the pool to be open longer this fall and earlier next year as it all can be reused if properly stored for the winter. It also can be scaled up to take advantage of your lower solar energy. The only real disadvantage of the pipe is connecting it to the system. That will have to be done either by modifing the plumbing or by using a submersible pump.
You will have to make the choice of how much you want to spend.
 

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:wave: Welcome to TFP, one_knigth4u!!!

A couple points. Trying to sink a black tarp in a pool is not a good idea. For one the safety aspect and two you would be creating the perfect location for algae to start to grow beneath it.

Regarding the DIY black irrigation pipe, solar is all about square feet of sun exposure and it takes a LOT of irrigation pipe to give meaningful heating. There are now inexpensive pool solar panels on ebay that will provide significantly more heat for not very much money. It is not possible to DIY for cheaper than these panels any more.
 
I live just north of Minneapolis and have two solar panels hooked up that are in full sun. I've typically seen a rise in temp of about 6 degrees/day. I do put my solar cover on at night and this year I hard piped everything. I don't recall my temp rise last year exactly (maybe 3-4 degrees) but I believe the hard piping is helping to retain the heat as well as having the cover off of sunny days.
 
jblizzle said:
:wave: Welcome to TFP, one_knigth4u!!!

A couple points. Trying to sink a black tarp in a pool is not a good idea. For one the safety aspect and two you would be creating the perfect location for algae to start to grow beneath it.

Regarding the DIY black irrigation pipe, solar is all about square feet of sun exposure and it takes a LOT of irrigation pipe to give meaningful heating. There are now inexpensive pool solar panels on ebay that will provide significantly more heat for not very much money. It is not possible to DIY for cheaper than these panels any more.
Click to expand...

Do you have any links to the solar panels on ebay? Did some research but not exactly sure what is best.

- - - Updated - - -

Frank Raff said:
I live just north of Minneapolis and have two solar panels hooked up that are in full sun. I've typically seen a rise in temp of about 6 degrees/day. I do put my solar cover on at night and this year I hard piped everything. I don't recall my temp rise last year exactly (maybe 3-4 degrees) but I believe the hard piping is helping to retain the heat as well as having the cover off of sunny days.
Click to expand...

Do you have any pics and/or a link to the two solar panels you are using?
 
I am not sure what the "best" panels are, especially from Ebay. You get what you pay for and the panels on Ebay are a good bit less expensive that the major solar panel name brands ... but they should all work similarly.

Just search for "pool solar panel". Look for the 2x20 (<$100) or 4x20 (<$200) foot panels, not the little dome things.
 
kiss4afrog said:
CeeElGee: To be fair he never said Cover Free was liquid solar heat. Those two expressions are in different sentences and if you Google it you will see many "liquid" pool covers mentioning "Liquid solar heat" in their marketing.
Click to expand...

I suppose if one was willing to parse his words that carefully you'd be correct, but the statement could easily lead someone to believe there actually is a liquid you could add to your pool that would produce solar heat. Even the merchants who tag their products with "liquid solar heat" go on to explain further what I said.

"Liquid Solar Heating simply means using a biodegradable liquid that forms an invisible layer on the surface of your pool water to inhibit heat loss and reduce water evaporation. Liquid Solar Heating is very economical and highly effective. You can greatly reduce your chemical costs since you are not losing your treated water via evaporation, and you will have lower utility bills since you will be running your pool pump or heater less frequently."

Anyway, not to distract from what the OP is looking for, but there is no real substitute for an honest to goodness heater. I use my Cover Free because I hate coving and uncovering my pool in-season and I want to keep as much of the heat in as possible. Good luck ;-)
 
Liquid solar heat, Cover Free, whatever it may be. My point was this, there are ways to raise the temp of one's pool water. I use Cover Free in conjuntion with a solar cover and a tiny solar heater. If I add Cover Free to my pool and change nothing else, I have seen my water temp increase 6 degrees in one day. Read reviews and others say the same. Google is available to anyone who chooses to seek information. I simply provided the options if the OP chose to investigate. There is no need to "parse" my words or spend to much time over thinking it. If anyone would like to Google "liquid solar heat" the FIRST item in the shopping section Is Natural Chemistry Cover Free. That is all.
 
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