Quickest (and least expensive)way to heat an above ground pool on a cool day? Solar Fish, Black Solar Heating?
Question:Above Ground Pool. I am having a get together this weekend. The temp is going to drop into the mid 60's. I hate to deal with the plastic solar covers (and I don't think they work all that well). I would consider a black tube solar heating system but don't know how effective they are. Are there any chemicals that will do it? What about the solar fish that leaks os Isopropyl Alcohol? I don't want to spend a ton...as I hope to get a heater next season
Answers:
Don recommended one of the best small footprint type heaters you can construct yourself. These are pretty effective.
Another way, if you have a large space you can do this with, would be to lay down some black plastic, run a water line in an accordion shape across the top of the plastic, then cover with another black plastic sheet. This is an extremely inexpensive way to heat the pool, especially if the surface area is 1/2 the surface area of the pool or greater. However, it does take some space and isn't the most sightly thing.
The little solar fish or any chemical additives you can put in the pool do not work effectively, cling to swimmers, and filter out. They are a waste of money and can actually cause problems with your water chemistry despite the various claims on the packaging to the contrary.
well, actually the best is to put the solar cover on and try to retain some of the heat in the pool...even if cloudy the rays of the sun still come thru and will generate some heat. But other choices are yours but they aren't going to help much, not like the cover will..
If you are a DO IT YOUR SELF type you can just build one for a couple of hundred bucks.
1 Get a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood
2 Get enough 2x6 decking slats to go all the way around the plywood, Or what ever is cheapest at the hardware store.
3 Get a bunch of coper tubes or small water pipes and line the inside of the box you just made.
4 pant the box inside and out with flat black paint pipes and all.
5 get clear plastic sheeting like what is used on a deck roof or green house. and mount it on the front of the box.
6 hook your pool filter pump to it with a valve to adjust the water flow or shut it off if the watter starts to get too hot.
7 Face it at the sun.
Here is a link to a air heater box that I built and used through the winter, The plans for it are in PDF format. You can use it to see how to build the box. Adding the water pipe to it would be a no brainer.
http://www.oynot.com/solar-space-heater.
Good luck,
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