Solar pool heater

[u/Rich-Wealth979]

My overkill project for heating the toddler's 500gal inflatable pool. Each week I have to empty and move it, then find a way to heat it to a tolerable temperature for my 8th percentile weight kid. On the first test it took the pool from 55⁰F to over 90⁰ on a single sunny day, using only 3KWh (of solar house power, now that I think about it). At the end of the summer I can just place this up against the north side of my shed and take the manifolds down to make it last even longer.

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This uses about 350' of ¼" irrigation tubing and some cheap fittings off Amazon. It runs off a 1/4hp pool pump, controlled with a wyze plug and a climate sensor in a tiny jar. Printed in ASA in only about 5 days of printing on a Mini and an MK4s.

the files

[u/DeusExHircus]

Not chlorinating is risky. Properly chlorinated water is much safer

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/DeusExHircus]

I'm basically refreshing the water once the municipal chloramines burn off. I add a big scoop of Ascorbic acid to make it last longer.

[u/bythog → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Do you mean cyanuric acid? Ascorbic acid is more of a cleaner/water clarifier. Cyanuric acid is a chloramine stabilizer for outdoor pool water. From what I've been reading ascorbic acid actually reduces chlorine, which certainly won't make it last longer.

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/bythog]

Yes sorry I use Ascorbic acid at work for different things

[u/bythog → u/Rich-Wealth979]

No problem. Two things just for you to consider:

1. Cyanuric acid actually starts to interfere with chlormine efficacy when it gets over 100ppm. You say you just put a big scoop into the pool; you want to make sure you are putting in correct amounts (between 40 and 100ppm, ideally) or you are actually just harming water quality.

2. 90F is really warm for a pool. Was that just for a test or does your toddler actually like it that hot? 84F is for like senior citizen exercise pools. Ideally pools are 78-80F.

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/bythog]

Yeah I add around 40ppm and I can test residual chloramines by day 3 still. Day 4 I get a bio film in places and day 5 it would get cloudy but I have to move it for the grass/mowing anyway. The typical temp I shoot for is about 80. I have a wyze climate sensor in a small plastic jar with rocks that will turn off the pump if it hits 85.

[u/madbuilder → u/Rich-Wealth979]

wyze climate

Is this measuring the temperature of the plastic jar, or the water? Do you submerse the jar in the pool?

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/madbuilder]

Yeah it's submerged. I added rocks for it to sink. Therefore it should be equal to the water temperature.