DIY solar heating for above ground pool

[kellys_eye]

Note the min/max head on the pump. If your pool has 1m tall sides and you're pumping from ground level you'll be struggling to say the least - more so with the pipe diameter reduction.

[marc.knuckle]

Cheers. I was starting to think that way and have emailed two pump specialists for their opinion on a pump capable of pushing the water around 60m of pipe and ideally one that could have a slower speed.

[marc.knuckle]

Hey guys

Just got a pump and hose. Just wondering how best to attach the hose to the pump.

[Someone-Else]

Get a pump isolation valve (it fits the pump) then get a 22mm pipe (that fits the isolation valve*) the get a 22mm to 15mm reducer (that fits on the 22mm pipe) then shove your hose onto the 15mm pipe, and also a couple of jubilee clips

* I think that is the right size, it may be 28 mm though

[Nos]

Your pool is an above ground "blowup" Intex, here in France they are very common, also very crap! the pumps supplied will only do its job and pretty poorly at that, any extra "Push" needed will burn it out, you can buy solar heating panel that are made of fabric which are designed for the job, your pool is worth a few hundred pounds, why spend a lot of time and money on a project that will probably not work. You could buy a bigger Pool pump but then your connecting pipes are cheap see through plastic and fastened with jubilee clips, so they could need up-rating, just a quick point, as they are thin plastic they soon become brittle, cover them up to keep them out of the sun, that includes the flow and return at the sides. Go ahead and play about, but will the end justify the means, and be very careful these pools are as dangerous as in ground ones. The reason Iam giving you my advice is because I have owned this type of pool, bigger version so know their short comings, if you just want to keep cool then they will suffice and if you look after them and put them carefully away each season then you should 2/3yrs use out of it. Nos

[marc.knuckle]

Your pool is an above ground "blowup" Intex, here in France they are very common, also very crap! the pumps supplied will only do its job and pretty poorly at that, any extra "Push" needed will burn it out, you can buy solar heating panel that are made of fabric which are designed for the job, your pool is worth a few hundred pounds, why spend a lot of time and money on a project that will probably not work. You could buy a bigger Pool pump but then your connecting pipes are cheap see through plastic and fastened with jubilee clips, so they could need up-rating, just a quick point, as they are thin plastic they soon become brittle, cover them up to keep them out of the sun, that includes the flow and return at the sides. Go ahead and play about, but will the end justify the means, and be very careful these pools are as dangerous as in ground ones. The reason Iam giving you my advice is because I have owned this type of pool, bigger version so know their short comings, if you just want to keep cool then they will suffice and if you look after them and put them carefully away each season then you should 2/3yrs use out of it. Nos

hi. i'm not sure why you believe it to be a blow up intex. it is a steel frame Bestway. incidentally i did uprate the pump itself from the lowest bestway one to an intex 3 times the filtering ability.

agreed the pool at 12.6 feet isnt the biggest but was £500 so was a bit more of an investment, at least for me, than you seem to believe. thats why i want to get the most out of it and try this small project.

[Nos]

Sorry just saw your pump make and assumed that it was a "Intex" pool. I know the sort you have, my comments regarding the pump and pipes still stand. Nos

[marc.knuckle]

so the set up worked...initially. now its stopped.

at first it wouldnt work while on the grass before putting it on the shed roof. so we guessed we might need to prime it and sprayed water into the hose with our garden hose and then quickly submerged the intake hose and it worked. great. we then put it on the roof and did the same priming until all the air bubbles stopped coming out of the outlet hose then submerged the inlet hose and it again worked. it wasnt quite warm enough as we suspected and as mentioned on here but it did raise the temps a little with the obvious help of the sun on the pool. while we were in the pool you could really tell the difference with the water coming from the outlet hose feeling really warm.

then, it stopped. i thought before trying the prime method again i'd take the opportunity to 'improve' it by trying to remove the issue of the inlet hose going down to the floor outside the pool then back up over the edge into the pool. now, it still wont work whatever i do.

i dont know enough about pumps, pressure, gravity and what-have-you but i suspect that if the pump isnt 'man enough' to get started even when it eventually works, then any small issues will stop it dead as i am seeing. i will attach a couple of photos.







i also dont know what to look for in a pump that suggests it would be more powerful. this pump was only £24 from Amazon and i dont want spend much more on this but i've spent enough now to try to get it working. any suggestions welcome.

[Someone-Else]

any suggestions welcome.

As I first said

.......... therefore I would suggest you have a good idea, but in reality it will not work as good as you hope.

You have so many problems it is going to cost money to correct and even then there is no G'tee it will work.

First of all, yes that is a central heating circulator, but it is outside, it is NOT water resistant so when it rains water ingress will take it out. (Not instantly)
Then you have to understand that its still a circulator, its called that for a reason.................it circulates water, it doesn't suck water. You have it in the wrong place, its supposed to be low down so that waterflows to it by gravity, then it circulates it through the other pipes (pipes in a box in your case)

Not to mention the chlorine you (should) have in your pool will corrode the impeller (I did tell you to change it to a plastic one)

In short, although you think you are close to getting it to work, you really should admit defeat and quit now.

[marc.knuckle]

any suggestions welcome.

As I first said

.......... therefore I would suggest you have a good idea, but in reality it will not work as good as you hope.

You have so many problems it is going to cost money to correct and even then there is no G'tee it will work.

First of all, yes that is a central heating circulator, but it is outside, it is NOT water resistant so when it rains water ingress will take it out. (Not instantly)
Then you have to understand that its still a circulator, its called that for a reason.................it circulates water, it doesn't suck water. You have it in the wrong place, its supposed to be low down so that waterflows to it by gravity, then it circulates it through the other pipes (pipes in a box in your case)

Not to mention the chlorine you (should) have in your pool will corrode the impeller (I did tell you to change it to a plastic one)

In short, although you think you are close to getting it to work, you really should admit defeat and quit now.

Thanks, I take your points. I've spent enough time and money now to not give up and it's now not just about the money but sort of like a challenge/project that has at least kept me busy while I'm going through some issues.

I don't want to be changing the pumps internals. I'd rather get something different that may be better. Would something like this be better - Kingfisher DIYPUMP 400 W Submersible Dirty Water Pump - Green

I've ordered another length of 30m hose to add to the second box to keep it in the heat longer but after possibly buying this other pump i won't be spending any more so want to get it working the best I can and that's the last 2 changes I'll make.

[Someone-Else]

If you don't want to listen then how can anyone help you? It's your money you are wasting.

[marc.knuckle]

If you don't want to listen then how can anyone help you? It's your money you are wasting.

I'm sorry but i don't see why you're being so mean just because i want to get it to work rather than giving up. When you say help me, the majority of posts HELPING have been saying 'stop what you're doing, accept the fact you've wasted your money' rather than trying to get it working as well as i can.

I realise it's not going to HEAT my pool but when it was working yesterday it was coming through warm which at least helped a little.

For anyone who is willing to help with the TYPE of pump that would be better at getting the water around the system, would a submersible pump work in this situation?

Thanks

[Someone-Else]

removed this post as it serves no purpose other than to insult.

RichAndo

[marc.knuckle]

So, forgetting the issue of whether or not it will heat up the pool much at all. Will a 250w or even 400w submersible pump get the water around better than the current set up?

[Someone-Else]

Does not matter what I say, you do not want to know the truth. I have already told you what is wrong.

Believe it or not, I do understand what you are thinking, as I have been in the same boat (More than once) but I guess that you can not see the wood for the trees, until you do.............