Help with pool heating design

[IKROWNI]

hello i was just browsing around at ideas for solar pool heaters and was thinking up my own design but wanted to run it by the pros or the more experienced to see if its possible to design it this way...

i have 1000' of irrigation hose with connectors for connecting them all together. the place i want to put the entire assembly is actually on the ground behind my pool area which is about 8' above the water level of the pool.

i do not have an extra pump to pump the water through and was wondering if i could just use the pool filter pump someway to create the design and potentially not have to have an extra pump running all day.

we run our pump roughly 6-8 hours per day and there are 3 nozzles where the water gets pumped back into the pool.

i was thinking that maybe it would be possible to just connect one of the nozzles that are pumping water into the pool to one en of the irrigation hose and just have the other side hanging into the pool somewhere.

heres a picture of my pool area so you can get a better idea
IMG_0852.JPG

the land behind the pool is at about a 45 degree angle facing south and i live in florida and there is no shade in that area at all

the pool pump is rated 1hp at least thats what it looks like on the faded out sticker

my plan was to wind the 1000' of hose into 4 discs laid on the ground behind the pool with one end hooked up to the nozzle and the other end laid in the pool would this work out well for me or should i look into spending more money on the project?

[Naptown]

Your pool pump will be sufficient to do this.
However don't run the 1000' of pipe in a single run.
Divide it up into 5 or 6 shorter pieces and tie them together in a manifold to a much larger pipe that would run from the return to the pool through the collectors and back to the pool.
If you want to get even more elegant use a Heliotrope three way valve and controller which will give you thermostatic control.

The problem with the 1000 foot single run is about 1/2 way through the pipe will reach the most it can collect as the water has gotten too hot. You don't want hot water coming back to the pool. A few degrees warmer and a higher volume will be more effective in heating the pool.

[IKROWNI]

Your pool pump will be sufficient to do this.
However don't run the 1000' of pipe in a single run.
Divide it up into 5 or 6 shorter pieces and tie them together in a manifold to a much larger pipe that would run from the return to the pool through the collectors and back to the pool.
If you want to get even more elegant use a Heliotrope three way valve and controller which will give you thermostatic control.

The problem with the 1000 foot single run is about 1/2 way through the pipe will reach the most it can collect as the water has gotten too hot. You don't want hot water coming back to the pool. A few degrees warmer and a higher volume will be more effective in heating the pool.

are there any downsides to doing all of this i like the idea of the manifold but will my pool suffer as far as water quality from bypassing the 3 jets that stream into the pool or would all be fine?


heres a quick diagram i threw together would it be something like this?
solar pool heater diagram.png

[Naptown]

are there any downsides to doing all of this i like the idea of the manifold but will my pool suffer as far as water quality from bypassing the 3 jets that stream into the pool or would all be fine?


heres a quick diagram i threw together would it be something like this?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1936[/ATTACH]

There would be uneven flow through that meaning the first coil would receive more water than the last.
So imagine this
Notice how you plumbed the top of the collectors in your drawing.
Now do the same thing at the bottom except where the ONE pipe that returns to the pool will be at the opposite end from where the first panel on the top header is.

[IKROWNI]

There would be uneven flow through that meaning the first coil would receive more water than the last.
So imagine this
Notice how you plumbed the top of the collectors in your drawing.
Now do the same thing at the bottom except where the ONE pipe that returns to the pool will be at the opposite end from where the first panel on the top header is.

so is it like this that you mean?

b5HlI.png

[russ]

Right

[Larry L]

Russ and Naptown are pointing you in the right direction but I feel I sould mention the pool chemicals. I've seen lots of home made pool heaters that worked great at first then failed due to the chlorine and other chemicals in the water.
There was even a system on the market that used EPDM rubber tubing. Great idea right, no so much. After a year or two the rubber would degrade inside and start to send little strings into the pool. As soon as you touched them the strings would smear all over the place. Not to long after the strings start showing up the tubing would fail and leak every where.
also what ever you decide to do make sure the "heater" is after the filter (so it won't get clogged) and before any chemical feeders you have.

[Naptown]

Russ and Naptown are pointing you in the right direction but I feel I sould mention the pool chemicals. I've seen lots of home made pool heaters that worked great at first then failed due to the chlorine and other chemicals in the water.
There was even a system on the market that used EPDM rubber tubing. Great idea right, no so much. After a year or two the rubber would degrade inside and start to send little strings into the pool. As soon as you touched them the strings would smear all over the place. Not to long after the strings start showing up the tubing would fail and leak every where.
also what ever you decide to do make sure the "heater" is after the filter (so it won't get clogged) and before any chemical feeders you have.

Funny Aquatherm uses an EPDM rubber tubing to connect their collectors. I have looked at many old systems and there have been no issues with this.

[Larry L]

Indeed, I believe the connectors are a differant grade/formulation of EPDM. I've seen the same and they do hold up pretty well. There is also much less surface exposed to water in the connector.
The collectors I had the problem with were "solar rolls" and the EPDM was more like the membrain they use for roofing. It's my understanding that the company had to pull all of this product and do a redesign.

[tonytheroofer]

Manifolds are a MUST

Hi, I have made solar my heater with 500ft of irrigation tubing , I used 1 1/2 PVC and T connectors for 5 upper and lower headers. I used 3/4 to 1/2 reducers off the T and coiled up each 100 roll of tubing. I set it up on my flat roof with a manifold inlet on the lower and the out let on the upper , make sure intake and out let are opposite ends of manifolds and the return line is higher then the out let manifold to ensure all coils are fed proper water. Doing it this way you will get max flow with least effort on pump and gain 10 times more heat to pool then using a single coil of 1000ft. If I had used 1000 feet i would have made 5 200ft coils and piped it into the manifolds.

As far as return water pr even feed you will use the same hoses you already use on the pool so size PCV and adapters by that standard.

[russ]

Doing it this way you will get max flow with least effort on pump and gain 10 times more heat to pool then using a single coil of 1000ft. If I had used 1000 feet i would have made 5 200ft coils and piped it into the manifolds.

Think your math is a bit questionable - less length is less pressure drop but gaining 10 times the heat - no.

[tonytheroofer]

Maybe not 10 but the manifold system would be so much better it would be like apples and oranges , and because I am not interested in exact math feel free to do it

[russ]

Your project so you do it - I am just pointing out you are making a wild assed guess and posting it as fact - some believe this type of claim.

Will be a very small increase in the real world.

[tonytheroofer]

Go ahead and run 1000ft of tubing in one long string and claim it is the best way to transfer heat back to the pool. If any claim is wild it is that senseless claim. Manifolds make the system perform leagues better and if your mind needs a math equation to understand it that's an issue for you to solve not me. I stand by 1 1/2 pipe t reducers to tubing size feeding each 200ft coil feeding it back into a return manifold the same as the inlet manifold powered off the filter pump.

[Naptown]

Russ wasn't questioning your method (although I would limit the individual coils to 100' and have more of them)
This is the proper way to do it
The math and performance claims was being questioned