Swimming Pool Heater - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

raymr · #1 05-21-2006, 05:52 PM

The heater for our pool is 15 years old and falling apart. It also has become incredibly expensive to run. Last year I ran it for a couple days and it added 200 bucks to our gas bill (Ouch!). The pool itself is 30 years old, ~25K gallons and in good shape. I currently have the pipes bypassing the heater entirely, and getting it ready to be hauled off. The only time it really needs heat is during the very beginning and end of the season.

I'm now looking for ways to heat the pool with some alternative means. Solar is very iffy because of all our trees and limited square footage for the panels. I'm wondering about wvo, heat pumps, etc. I don't mind spending more up front if it provides long-term savings. Any practical knowledge/ experience out there?

Carleton Hughes · #2 05-21-2006, 06:44 PM

Money,money,money.... if it's gas or electric you'll pay thru the nose.

I dunno about your location,you must have SOME partial of full sun,even if you have to locate a panel 20-30feet from the pool.

First of all a solar panel or 3 of the right size with a decent storage tank is ridiculously easy to fabricate,did it myself,get some 3/4 marine grade ply,giving you 4by8collectors,4by8 sheet of 1/4"thick lexan,3/4i.d.PVCpipe with plenty of 90degree ells,space your pipes 4"apart,spray everything inside flat black,screw your 1 1/2"high wall strips on the base,cover with the lexan and screw framing strips to hold it down,not forgetting plenty of black tar for the joints{silicone is worthless}.
Your main concern is the velocity with which the water is circulated thru the collector,slower is hotter,30psi pressure relief valves in line are good.

You wanna go crazy?get a 12 volt circulator pump with a photovoltaic array to charge the batteries that power it.
It's all so damn easy.
First cost in materials was under $600.00,can't calculate the savings though

t walgamuth · #3 05-21-2006, 07:04 PM

how long have you been running it?

tom w

t walgamuth · #4 05-21-2006, 07:05 PM

i wouldnt be surprised if you just had some 55 gal drums painted black and a small pump it would work fairly well too.

and of course set them in the sun.

tom w

Carleton Hughes · #5 05-21-2006, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

how long have you been running it?

tom w

6 years.

Hatterasguy · #6 05-21-2006, 07:07 PM

My Uncle heats his with propane, keeps it a steady 85F for a large chunk of the summer. The bill is $$$ but he still does it...

Other Uncle tried to keep his heated all winter one year. Installed a big bubble with a heater, worked really well actualy.

Works good, is rather nice on those cooler days.

raymr · #7 05-21-2006, 07:15 PM

Where do you have this mounted? The pump equipment itself is in the sun for part of the day, so maybe I can build a 'roof' of solar panels over top if its not too heavy. Also I was thinking it might need some sort of valve to take the panels out of the circuit at night when the pump is running.

Do you also use a solar pool cover?

Carleton Hughes · #8 05-21-2006, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymr

Where do you have this mounted? The pump equipment itself is in the sun for part of the day, so maybe I can build a 'roof' of solar panels over top if its not too heavy. Also I was thinking it might need some sort of valve to take the panels out of the circuit at night when the pump is running.

Do you also use a solar pool cover?

Facing southwest,garage roof. 30degree angle seems to work best.Yes,it's inline with the filtration system,thermostatic relay deltas the drop in temperature and clicks a solenoid bypass cutting off the panels but still circulating thru the 80 gal,storage tank,usually get low '80's ambient.

t walgamuth · #9 05-21-2006, 08:40 PM

very impressive

tom w

raymr · #10 05-21-2006, 09:06 PM

I read somewhere that the panel area should equal at least half of the pool surface. My pool is 40x20 oval, or about 700 sqft. By that calculation, I need at least 10 8x4 panels! I have room for 3 or 4, without locating them out in the lawn somewhere. Whats your surface ratio, roughly?

Carleton Hughes · #11 05-22-2006, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymr

I read somewhere that the panel area should equal at least half of the pool surface. My pool is 40x20 oval, or about 700 sqft. By that calculation, I need at least 10 8x4 panels! I have room for 3 or 4, without locating them out in the lawn somewhere. Whats your surface ratio, roughly?

Stuff and nonsense,got a 30by 20 kidney-shaped pool,3'-4'-6'and 12for diving, and 4,yes,count'em 4 4by8collector panels are quite sufficient to heat the water.

Remember,I also have an insulated storage tank and during "normal"sunny days if the outside temp is say 69-70 it will take roughly an hour to give me around 80.

There is so much information on the web in this regard,hell! my technology is 6 years old!

Best part is that now they're soldered into the domestic hot water supply,damn fine when you don't hear the oil burner roaring on with it's whiney staccato when taking a shower.

WVOtoGO · #12 05-22-2006, 12:57 AM

With the kind of heating you folks are talking about, I assume you’re wanting to swim all year round.

If all you want to do is start swimming earlier in the season and stretch the season a few more weeks, do this:

Get some ¾” pvc pipe and 90deg elbows, and make as many 4’x4’ squares as the surface of your pool will take.
Cover the squares with heavy duty black landscape plastic sheeting (We found it in 4‘ wide rolls). We made 8 of them for less than $50.00
When you’re not in the pool, float the black squares in it.
If your pool gets any direct sun light, you’ll be amazed at how much these cheap (aka: Red-Neck Pool Heaters) will heat the water.

el presidente · #13 11-21-2008, 11:05 AM

Question about pool maintenance....

What should I expect to budget annually for a pool like this?

John Doe · #14 11-21-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by el presidente

Question about pool maintenance....

What should I expect to budget annually for a pool like this?

I don't know about annually, but I had a pool just slightly larger (Lshaped) than that 6 years ago and heated it up in December for a birthday party. I distinctly remember my gas bill being $740 extra that month. We kept it at 75 for two weeks. I never heated it again. Running the attached hot tub 5-6 days/month using the same heater cost maybe $100 extra/month. Same latitude as you. This was a 'modern' Blue Haven built pool that was promised to be reeeeel efficient.

In VA we have a 40+ year old gunnite pool that is heated by a solar panel bank with a large recirculation tank in the well house, but it covers an entire section of roof--maybe 30x20 but was apparently very expensive as I found out when hurricane Isabelle sent a gum tree branch through two of the panels.

KarTek · #15 11-21-2008, 11:47 AM

Right now a buddy and I are building a system that uses his AC system to heat the pool. It will be able to receive heat from both the upstairs and and downstairs units. The system uses propolene glycol in a closed circulating system (so he doesn't have to drain it in the winter). On demand, the control system will switch on the pump and bypass the fans on the evaporators. They will even make a determination to bypass the system if the air temp is cooler than the pool temp.

All of this will be inline, upstream of the traditional gas heater so the gas will serve as backup if needed. 400k BTU is alot!

The system is due to be in place spring of next year and I estimate it will cost about $1K to complete.