New Owner- can someone explain this?

[Br1129]

Hi all,

New here and to pools. This is our first year opening the pool, glad to have found this forum for questions I already know we will have later this spring.
Trying to figure out this contraption that lives on the roof of the pools pump house- as far as I can tell it’s some kind of solar heating system but I’m wondering if it is necessary for our setup. I don’t really know if this is something anyone would be able to sort out just by looking at pictures but thought this was worth a shot. If you have any questions please let me know.

potentially relevant information:
- in ground pool potentially original to the house (house built in 1955)
- 22k gallons
- heater is a Coates model 12430CPH (also accepting feedback on this heater; does not AT ALL seem to be an efficient means of heating this pool)
- the plumbing from the heater is connected to the roof of the pump house
- on top of the roof the plumbing is connected to a series of hoses going up and down the roof layered under a clear plastic awning
-under where the current heater lies, is what appears to be an old wood burning pit for heating

If my post is not welcome to this forum please let me know and I will remove.

thank you!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
That does look odd. Does it heat the pool water?
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[Bugman1400]

Would estimate that heater puts out less than 100kBTUs which may be a bit undersized for your 22k gal pool. Would recommend 250kBTU NG or LG minimum. Electrics are good for the south and milder temps.

 

[Br1129]

Welcome to the forum!
That does look odd. Does it heat the pool water?
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

I’m unsure if it’s still operational- it doesn’t sound like it supports any function of the current heater so we may disassemble this spring and see what happens

 

[ajw22]

I’m unsure if it’s still operational- it doesn’t sound like it supports any function of the current heater so we may disassemble this spring and see what happens

Looks like a home brewed solar heater. There is a lot wrong with that implementation.

I think the idea is that using the 3 screw valves you can either send water up through the roof to heat or run the gas heater.

Get a 400K NG heater if you have enough gas service and remove the roof loop. Or replace the roof loop with modern solar heat panels and a solar controller.

 

[JamesW]

The heater is 30,000 watts. So, it uses a huge amount of energy. It takes about 130 amps.
You would probably do better with a gas heater or a heat pump. The "Solar" looks ineffective.
You can do regular solar if you want.

30 Kilowatts = 102,364 BTUs per Hour.

Assuming a 10 cents per kilowatt-hour electricity rate, the cost to run the heater is about $3.00 per hour. 24 hours is about $72.00.

 

[Br1129]

The heater is 30,000 watts. So, it uses a huge amount of energy. It takes about 130 amps.
You would probably do better with a gas heater or a heat pump. The "Solar" looks ineffective.
You can do regular solar if you want.

30 Kilowatts = 102,364 BTUs per Hour.

Assuming a 10 cents per kilowatt-hour electricity rate, the cost to run the heater is about $3.00 per hour. 24 hours is about $72.00.

It’s awfully inefficient!! I had left it on overnight a couple times last summer and in 8hours only saw +1-2 degrees. The previous owner mentioned they had mistakenly left the heater on for a week and their electric bill was INSANE. Wont be making that mistake.

—

We are looking into a gas heater thank you to everyone who has made the recommendation!!