Pool Heater Ideas

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I can either can buck up and spend money on a solar panel, or scratch the heating idea this year. Sounds like diy is a waste of time. I do have a couple of questions/comments as I weigh out our options.

1. Assuming we use a solar cover (which we always have), how much temperature gain am I looking at by adding just one panel that is 80 square feet. I know this won't be an exact figure due to a lot of variables.....I'm just looking for a ballpark. Are we looking at less than 1 degree? Or maybe a couple? I'm not looking to extend the swimming season really.....just raise the temperature from June through August (Chicago).

2. How much does a gas/electric heater cost to buy and have installed for our pool? How much do each option cost to run a year?

3. The pump I have was taken out of an ejector pit we have in our basement. When we had our basement finished, the plumber took this pump out (not sure if it is a sump pump or ejector pump, etc) and put a new type of pump in. Not sure if this will work.

Thanks again!

 

[TreeFiter]

Someone suggested a DIY build using a garden hose. You could get a handful of fittings and build a diverter that connects to your return. Attach a garden hose, and lay the garden hose out where the sun will hit it. The water in the hose will heat up with the sun on it. It might not produce a lot of heat, but its better than nothing, and aside from the cost of a few fittings, its not really costing you anything.

 

[peterdaly]

If you have a cover, and are handy, I'd go ahead and build a coil or two and see if you can notice the difference. That's how I got started, and some extra heat is better than no extra heat.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Speedo]

How much does a gas/electric heater cost to buy and have installed for our pool? How much do each option cost to run a year

We spent around $2k for our heater (installed). The majority of that expense was due to the gas meter being on the opposite side of our house. I believe the line had to be run 120 ft.

100K BTU provides roughly 1 degree per hour in our 24ft AGP.

Doing it over again; I would have picked a different spot for the equipment pad and saved around $500.

 

[ps0303]

When I lived in Joliet, IL and had an above ground pool, I chose a small gas pool heater and it was worth every penny spent. You should be able to get a unit sized correctly for your pool at a good price. You won't be very happy with the money and time you spend on a DIY solar system. Invest wisely!