Solar heat -- reduce pump output from 1.5" to 1"

[JohnathanStein]

Would it harm the pump to reduce the output from 1.5", then run it through 300' of 1" black poly pipe, then back to the pool?

It's a two-speed pump, running on low speed 24/7. The only time I use high speed is for the vacuum, backwash, etc.

 

[jimmythegreek]

I wouldnt bother with any of it. 300' of poly tubing will give you 10 sqft of panel area. That wont do anything it's not worth the effort and money. True solar panels are the way to go. I'm sorry to be a party pooper

 

[JohnathanStein]

Well, it's a way to get my feet wet on the topic...

10 sq. ft. is more than some of the toys they sell: Amazon.com : Kokido Keops Solar Dome Above Ground Swimming Pool Water Heater | K835CBX/RV : Garden & Outdoor

Any idea on the pump strain issue, due to reduction in output diameter?

Also -- wouldn't that also apply to 300' length?

 

[jimmythegreek]

it will strain the pump depending on what kind of pump it is. remember when a professional comes to give you a solar estimate the minimum sqft is 50% of pool area, ideal is 75-100%. As a guess you have at least 250 sqft of pool surface, so 125sqft is the minimum to even make it worth it, so you kinda see how 10sqft isnt gonna do anything. Im sure if you read forums ppl will tell you they did DIY and it works, Im sure you get warmer water thru the hose than without the hose, but in a real world control test on same day temps and same sunlight the temp rising is all natural, nothing to do with the hose. at best I would say 1 degree rise in temp and that is stretching it.

 

[sktn77a]

I make it 78 sqft. (3.142 x 1" for the circumference in inches = 3.142"; divide by 12 to give circumference in ft; multiply by 300' to get the surface area of the tubing in sq ft). Now, not all of that surface area may be available for solar heating (the underside). Having said that, I'm not sure it's going to make a lot of difference, I don't think this is going to be a particularly effective way of heating a pool. And while I don't know exactly how much damage it will do to the pump, it certainly won't help it.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Put a three way valve is, you could only send a small amount of water through that array.

Search for fafco solar bear 4’x20 ft solar panel, you will notice an increase with that. I got my first one years ago for $169 with free shipping. It worked great until I upgraded to 8 - 4x12 panels

 

[pooldv]

The answer to the pump question is no, it will not harm or damage your pump to pump water through 300' of 1" tubing. It would be more efficient to create a manifold and pump the water through 6 to 10 sections at 30' to 50'.

My Texas pool is about 700sf and is in partial shade much of the day. With 240sf of solar panels it often wasn't enough so we installed a small heat pump. And using a solar cover to keep the heat in overnight and on cool, windy days also helped. We like our pool water 88 to 92.

 

[mas985]

I make it 78 sqft. (3.142 x 1" for the circumference in inches = 3.142"; divide by 12 to give circumference in ft; multiply by 300' to get the surface area of the tubing in sq ft). Now, not all of that surface area may be available for solar heating (the underside).

Actually, on average only 1/3 of the circumference (1") is available for capturing the sun's energy. This is because you have to take the angle of the sun's incidence on to the surface of the pipe into account and when you do that, you find that the capture area is proportional to the pipe diameter and not it's circumference. Basically, the energy captured by a solar panel is proportional to the area of the shadow it casts.