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Posted by Alex on October 10, 2006, 10:28 am
Hello,
We have a 25' above ground pool (48" deep), and we are looking for ways
of heating the pool now that it's starting to get cooler outside. We
live in Texas, and though our winters aren't bad, when the temp stays
below 85'F for most of the day and 50's at night, the pool gets quite
chilly.
I'm looking at some options for heating the pool so we can use it
throughout the winter, or at least a few more months into the fall now
that the 90-100'F temps are gone.
Does anyone have any experience with the solar heaters? I know even
when the temp stays in the 80s for most of the day the car is still
VERY warm, so I'd assume this is enough to heat the pool rather well
with a solar heater. We're looking at one similar to this:
http://www.intheswim.com/Pool-Heaters/Solar-Heaters/Solar-Pool-Heaters-for-Above-Ground-Pools/
We just put the pool in earlier this summer, so paying another $800 or
more for a powered heater isn't really possible -- but if we can get
good results from a solar heater, we'd like to go that route. We havep
lenty of space for it behind the pool.
Thanks for any advise or suggestions --
Alex
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Posted by on October 10, 2006, 10:39 am
>We have a 25' above ground pool (48" deep)...
Is the pool in the sun or shaded?
>... We live in Texas
What's the nearest town?
>Does anyone have any experience with the solar heaters?
The first (and possibly last) step might be a clear solar pool cover.
Nick
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Posted by B. on October 10, 2006, 11:04 am
A friend of mine bought a used pool heater on eBay for cheap, like
$125, and it was local so he picked it up. Those things are a few
hundred bucks even for a small one. Anyway, they're still using it
after 5 or 6 years. When pool heaters are used a lot, they could
develop problems that could cost more than $100 to fix, but if you can
find a newer one for a great price, go for it. Sometimes people move
and have to take apart a pool, and can't take it with them, so they
sell the heater, and sometimes cheap too. Narrow down your eBay search
to within 100 miles of you or whatever.
Some people think heaters are only for larger pools and in-ground
pools, but if I had a pool regardless of the size I would have a
heater. There's a BIG difference between 75 degrees and 80 degrees.
There's a safety issue too, when your kids lips turn purple and they
seem tired after being in a cold pool, that is a BAD thing.
The neighbors at our previous house put in a huge pool the year before
we moved, and rarely used it because the water was always ice cold,
even when it was 100 degrees outside. One of the reasons we moved was
because we knew that it was only a matter of time before they found out
about pool heaters, and then they would be in the damn pool all day and
all night and the noise would never stop. (They weren't nice people.)
Here are a couple other ideas I have seen:
-- My neighbors have a black solar flat panel thing that wraps around
one side of their pool. It's connected to the filter, so the water that
is sent out of the filter goes through the black thing and gets warmed
before being dumped into the pool.
-- I've also seen someone put an array of copper pipes on their garage
roof, and the filter water would run through the piping and warm the
water before going into the pool. Roofs get pretty hot in the summer,
so I would imagine if there was enough piping and the water ran slow
enough, this could actually make the pool hot.
Now, the above two ideas may not help you at night, but if you're not
going to swim during the day you can heat up the pool enough so that it
would be warm for you at night.
Good luck.
-------------------
Alex wrote:
> Hello,
>
> We have a 25' above ground pool (48" deep), and we are looking for ways
> of heating the pool now that it's starting to get cooler outside. We
> live in Texas, and though our winters aren't bad, when the temp stays
> below 85'F for most of the day and 50's at night, the pool gets quite
> chilly.
>
> I'm looking at some options for heating the pool so we can use it
> throughout the winter, or at least a few more months into the fall now
> that the 90-100'F temps are gone.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with the solar heaters? I know even
> when the temp stays in the 80s for most of the day the car is still
> VERY warm, so I'd assume this is enough to heat the pool rather well
> with a solar heater. We're looking at one similar to this:
>
http://www.intheswim.com/Pool-Heaters/Solar-Heaters/Solar-Pool-Heaters-for-Above-Ground-Pools/
>
> We just put the pool in earlier this summer, so paying another $800 or
> more for a powered heater isn't really possible -- but if we can get
> good results from a solar heater, we'd like to go that route. We havep
> lenty of space for it behind the pool.
>
> Thanks for any advise or suggestions --
>
> Alex
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Posted by Dan Espen on October 10, 2006, 12:42 pm
> A friend of mine bought a used pool heater on eBay for cheap, like
> $125, and it was local so he picked it up. Those things are a few
> hundred bucks even for a small one. Anyway, they're still using it
> after 5 or 6 years. When pool heaters are used a lot, they could
> develop problems that could cost more than $100 to fix,
I can attest the repair costs.
I do all my own repairs.
On my small $800 heater, I'm averaging about
$100 a year in repairs. So far I've replaced
the heater manifold, the pressure switch, the control
circuit board and the hose fittings.
I expect next year to have to replace the blower,
it's seriously rusted.
If you don't do the work yourself,
expect to pay at least double.
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Posted by on October 10, 2006, 12:23 pm
>Hello,
>
>We have a 25' above ground pool (48" deep), and we are looking for ways
>of heating the pool now that it's starting to get cooler outside.
The first thing you need is a solar cover, That buys you a few
degrees. If you have a place for solar panels that will make a huge
difference in a covered pool. On an above ground you also may need
some insulation on the sides. I doubt you will ever get it warmer than
the daytime temp with solar.
If you go to a real (electric/gas) heater the limit is your wallet
size
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