Redneck pool heater 3.0

[sodamo]

Here is mine. It will heat the in ground pool to over 90 if I put the cover on at night. Without cover it will get to about 80 or 85. It needs some weed control.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but maybe some details on this? How did you get it coiled so nicely? I'm fixing to make some sort of solar heater using poly hooking into my DC pool pump once I get it hooked to own solar supply so basically it will pump whenever the sun is shining. Once I get it going, I'll be posting as well.

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[FredH]

Back in the late '70's , In High School , We built 8' x 4' solar water heaters . Started by making the 4' x 8' frame out of 2 x 6's . On Back of frame We added 2 sheets of Galvanized metal roofing , that was flattened on ends and 1 side , thus it would nail flat on the edges of the frame . In the middle , we drilled and riveted the 2 sheets together down the entire length .

Next step was to paint entire inside of frame and roofing with Flat Black paint . Not quite sure what size copper tubing We used , 1/4" , maybe 3/8" ??? But it started by coming through 1 corner , running all the way to other end of frame in the first valley . Then it was gently bent over the peak to the next valley and ran all the way back down to the other end of frame . This continued all the way across , were is was fed back out of frame to were ever the project was . After the tubing was finished , We experimented with covering the frame with every thing from a Heavy Thickness Clear Plastic film , to a thin plexiglass sheet to donated single pane glass from old windows . The glass was not a continuous sheet , think We ended up with like 4 pieces of glass to cover 1 frame .

Depending on flow , angle of panel in relation to sun , daylight hours , etc.. Most of the people , Who used them in pools were actually using their pools any were from 2 months early up to 3.5 months early , ( normally , around here , mid June is about time a pool will get warm enough to use with out any
aid ) .

Can't remember any kind of temp's or as I said earlier , the copper tube size , But do remember they were very effective , But also can't remember which was the most effective . Best Value was the donated glass or the plastic film . Plexi was $$$ back then and all though glass was donated , it was a pain to deal with , as We had to set a strip of wood all the way around inside frame to lay glass on , then another on top the glass to hold it in .

Fred H.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Got it up to 29 last night... but lost 2 down to 27 overnight. I decided it was better to let the fire die off before bed and stop the water flowing, then have the fire die overnight and keep pumping water through 160'+ of garden hose in 14 deg air, effectively cooling the water.

Supposed to be nice today... and may very well be the last day for the pool. We're chewing through wood pretty good... unless we get a warm spell, or I get the oil system working better.

 

[NS Gearhead]

31deg BABY!!! There is no hesitation... you just walk in. Not cold, not hot. Just right. I couldn't be happier with it.

 

[mikehaugen]

31deg BABY!!! There is no hesitation... you just walk in. Not cold, not hot. Just right. I couldn't be happier with it.

Congratulations. ..

Maybe you will be able to have a Thanksgiving pool party this year?

 

[varmint]

Ah, brings back memories... in the 70's, a buddy had a stainless steel tank, maybe 5' x 8' x 4' deep. Open on top, and a bench was installed along both sides. This sat outside, and was heated with a wood stove with makeshift copper coils, and a small cultivator pump.
Imagine a very cold, clear Indiana night in the middle of the winter, lots of snow and ice on the ground, and a dozen naked hippies enjoying a hot tub- the water was 110 degrees, if I remember, which was plenty hot. Snow was falling on our heads, but we were overheating. Two red-hot guys decided to go over the hedge and go sliding on the icy street- run and slide on your (bare) feet. Naked. They were having a great time, with some of us watching from over the hedge top, when a car turned onto the otherwise deserted neighborhood street. A cop car. They ran, fortunately not into our yard, and the cops spent 10 minutes cruising up and down the street looking for them. Too cold to get out of their cruiser, mind you. The two guys weren't overheated when they finally made it back into the tub.

 

[NS Gearhead]

LOL, good story!

Got up to 32 yesterday, but down to 28 this am. Still pretty good. Supposed to be a nice couple days.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Now, I think you need a good way to insulate the pool itself. You've shown that you have a good heating system, but there will still be lots of heat escaping from the pool (mostly the water surface, but the sides, and maybe the bottom, too).

 

[NS Gearhead]

We did end up getting a solar blanket, and I think it's making a big difference. We seem to have leveled off to 28deg without me putting any more heat into it since the weekend. This is with mid-teen temps overnight, but nice sunny days in the mid to high 20s.

I don't think insulating the pool would be practical. I don't think I'd loose much in the ground, the solar blanket helps, and the sides... well it is what it is. It seems with so much water it takes a long time to heat, but also for it to cool off. I think it's safe to say that with this heater I've doubled the pool season.

Found something pretty cool on the web; a smudge pot. Perhaps my next pool heating project!

 

[NS Gearhead]

...however, I did plan to buy more sand for the pad... maybe I'll see what styrafoam would cost vrs that. Easy on the feet and insulation.

 

[NS Gearhead]

What do you guys think of this?;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXeDY2WS-yw

I'm thinking the copper coil could go inside the upper part of the chimney. Perhaps not as efficient as my wood burner, but I can get free oil, and I like that it would work with much less nursing, therefore run more often and longer. I'd build mine out of another 45gal drum, cut down and re-welded. Maybe remove 1/3 height. Some chimney lengths, 2" exhaust pipe, and a damper/ filler. I could make that in an afternoon. Copper's cost is the only sticking point....and gauges... but I could tear the wood burner apart.

 

[sodamo]

Not pretty, but got a start on mine. This will be a solar loop. Also started a new thread.

David
Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[NS Gearhead]

Before


after


Screwed up the hinges... door don't open. LOL


Start of the draft


...and this is when my last jig saw blade broke. That decided I was done for the day. LOL

 

[NS Gearhead]

Couple really sunny, hot days... so took two days vacation to finish this and heat the pool






Man, the heat sure warped the door!




Perhaps some light angle iron top and bottom... I hate to do it... that new front section sure added a lot of weight!

 

[muddstopper]

30 ft of pipe. I hung this off the side of my wood heater and connected to a 40gal hotwater heater. Circulation is obtained thru natural convection. I can get 180*F hot water out of this. No pumps, no wires. To connect to the hot water heater, I removed the popoff valve and installed a tee. I thin reinstalled the popoff valve into the tee. The other side of the tee is connected to the top run of my collector/worm/heat exchanger (pick a name). I then removed the drain valve from the hotwater heater and installed another tee and then reinstalled the drain valve. To the tee, I connected the bottom run of my copper pipe coils. For the pool, I think if you just connected a hose to the coil of copper pipe at the bottom of the coil and dropped the pipe over the edge of the pool, and connected another hose to the top of the coil and dropped it in the other edge of the pool, keeping both pipes below water level, then as the stove heats the water in the pipe, it should siphon water from the poll and return the heated water back into the pool thru the opposite end of the heat exchanger. Placing the pipes at opposite side of the pool should give you some sort of circulation and mixing. Its a pretty simple setup and it works. You might have to install a check valve on the bottom side of the worm to prevent drainback into the pool, but it should work

 

[NS Gearhead]

Done for the season now... pool's draining as we speak. It's getting down into single digits at night and I'm quickly running out of fire wood. LOL

 

[boggen]

say 1/2" to 1/4" under pool. hard board styrofoam, will more likely be more than plenty, underneath. ground has a natural tempature of 55 degrees F temp. a piece of insulation, kinda helps slows down the heat loose.

on the sides, being it is a round stake pool, bubble wrap, can work nicely, or thin 1/4" or thinner sheets, (multi sheets layered) thin hard board sheets are more likely to bend, before they start breaking / cracking vs thicker sheets.

wind chill, keeping the wind off can have huge effects on temperatures.

a solar blanket or like for top. is important, lots of heat loss there. have seen a few "floating" green houses, hard board insulation as floats, pvc pipe as frame work, and a thicker clear plastic tossed over and wrapped over the frame.

 

[Leyenda30]

Done for the season now... pool's draining as we speak. It's getting down into single digits at night and I'm quickly running out of fire wood. LOL

NS,

Just some food for thought during the winter...you might find some ideas with the rocket stove concept for less wood use and more heat. Also, a hand held infarred thermometer might help seeing where heat is lost in the system. Have you considered burnt motor oil drip for fuel. I know you mentioned oil but didn't notice what source. Good luck.

JP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wqJQmD-eVo

 

[Sodo]

I did a similar pool heater for a similar pool. Instead of coiled copper pipe (for the exchanger) I used a cast iron steam radiator that I bought at a local recycled building materials store for $25.



I chose one that fits within the size of a 55gal drum, but haven't built that part of the project. I set it over a campfire for a first test and it worked great. Had to stoke the fire all day, packing the wood UNDER the radiator which was laid across the fire like a cooking grille. It was a lot of work, but it proved the concept. I'm certain it will work better in a drum but doubt its as efficient as copper pipe. I filled the pool with gravity-fed creek water, running all the fill water thru the heater.

Haven't yet acquired a 55gal drum to continue the project. Kids may outgrow the pool if I don't hurry up… but the plan is to use it for an in-ground hot tub someday.

My plan for the drum burner was to have 3 vertical stacks, where two are capped, and full of firewood that self-feeds.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Well I've got a little over two chords of firewood, cut, split and stacked. We'll see how long it lasts heating the pool next year. The plan is to start harvesting for 2016 in the spring to try to get ahead and give more time to season the wood.