Using your kitchen faucet to heat the pool

[NullQwerty]

Hey folks,

I'm assuming this will have zero affect in raising the pool temp, but I want to see if anyone else has done it (with success).

Has anyone ever attached their garden hose to their kitchen faucet (with an adapter of course) and let hot water go into their IG pool to help heat the water temp? We have a pretty large water heater which gives us about 1 hour worth of showers. But then again we also have about a 24,000 gallon pool.

Has anyone ever done this with any success?

[tundraSQ]

Hey folks,

I'm assuming this will have zero affect in raising the pool temp, but I want to see if anyone else has done it (with success).

Has anyone ever attached their garden hose to their kitchen faucet (with an adapter of course) and let hot water go into their IG pool to help heat the water temp? We have a pretty large water heater which gives us about 1 hour worth of showers. But then again we also have about a 24,000 gallon pool.

Has anyone ever done this with any success?

I used to use it with my hot tub...but i think the pool with be a completely different story.:D

[sevver]

What would you do with the water that you displaced by putting in the water? The thing that could potentially work is to pump the water from the pool, into a hot water heater, and then back to the pool, but I am sure the hot water heater needs the water to be in there a while before it will heat it up. I have heard of other methods to heat a pool. A coil of black plastic pipe, pump the water through it and set it in the sun back into the pool. Or else a coil of copper pipe, like 1", and set it in a fire and pump it back in to the pool. The copper one I get a feeling is pure BS, but the plastic one could work, but slowly I would say.

I got a pool heater off of ebay for 560 dollars I believe, and I put it in myself, it is one of the best investments you could make if you ask me. I raised the temp of the water over 20 degrees in like 8 hours. I have had the water up to 96 before, which happens to be too hot for my tastes, but it is awesome.

[NullQwerty]

What would you do with the water that you displaced by putting in the water?

Running the garden hose from the sink for an hour shouldn't have much of an impact on the water level. At least it doesn't when I run just the straight garden hose. I'm lucky if it gets a millimeter higher. Even if it does have an impact though, the water just replaces the water that is evaporated during the day. I think that part of it should be fine.

I just didn't know if it would make any sort of an impact since we're dealing with 24,000 gallons of water here. But, maybe it would. If know one has tried it, maybe I'll make a trip to home depot to get the adapter and try it out. Before going through that, anyone try it or think it would/wouldn't work?

(By the way...I'd love to get a heater and probably will within the next few seasons, but for now...)

[JohnT]

It takes 8 BTU to raise a gallon of water 1 degree. Just as a SWAG, let's say the pool is at 80F, water heater is at 120F. Each gallon of water from the water heater then has 8X40=320 BTU more than the pool water. Divide that by the 24,000 gallons in the pool (ignoring the gallon added), and you will have .013333BTU, which would raise the pool temperature by around 1/1000th of a degree. The BTU content of the water in the heater starts dropping as soon as you start using it, so this is best case. Even with a 100 gallon tank, you are talking about raising the pool temp by only 1/100th of a degree. The cost would be astronomical too.

Pool heaters are on the order of 400,000 BTU per hour. You aren't in the same ballpark.

[CarlD]

It takes 8 BTU to raise a gallon of water 1 degree. Just as a SWAG, let's say the pool is at 80F, water heater is at 120F. Each gallon of water from the water heater then has 8X40=320 BTU more than the pool water. Divide that by the 24,000 gallons in the pool (ignoring the gallon added), and you will have .013333BTU, which would raise the pool temperature by around 1/1000th of a degree. The BTU content of the water in the heater starts dropping as soon as you start using it, so this is best case. Even with a 100 gallon tank, you are talking about raising the pool temp by only 1/100th of a degree. The cost would be astronomical too.

Pool heaters are on the order of 400,000 BTU per hour. You aren't in the same ballpark.

Nicely done!

[imfignewton]

Why not hook a hose thru the cooling system of your car and heat it that way?

[cygnusecks]

Of course, all of these methods are a waste of time once you see the Redneck pool heater. http://www.redneckpoolheater.com/.

[mwsmith2]

Why not hook a hose thru the cooling system of your car and heat it that way?

Because that's even more inefficient than a water heater.

Michael

[NullQwerty]

It takes 8 BTU to raise a gallon of water 1 degree. Just as a SWAG, let's say the pool is at 80F, water heater is at 120F. Each gallon of water from the water heater then has 8X40=320 BTU more than the pool water. Divide that by the 24,000 gallons in the pool (ignoring the gallon added), and you will have .013333BTU, which would raise the pool temperature by around 1/1000th of a degree. The BTU content of the water in the heater starts dropping as soon as you start using it, so this is best case. Even with a 100 gallon tank, you are talking about raising the pool temp by only 1/100th of a degree. The cost would be astronomical too.

Pool heaters are on the order of 400,000 BTU per hour. You aren't in the same ballpark.


NERD ALERT!!! ;) Just kidding. Thanks for the great response! Saved me time and money.

[Brock]

I swear I should patent this. But someone should make a matt that is black and would sink to the bottom of your pool. Like a solar cover, but that sinks and is black to absorb the sunlight. Then once the pool is as warm as you want it you take it out. It amazes me all the people that have really light blue or almost white colored pools and then wonder why they never warm up. A friend of ours is building a new pool, she originally wanted black pebble Tec but the dealer told her the pool would get to warm. We are in Wisconsin for crying out loud! For the 2 weeks it is really hot you could run a fountain, but for the other 12 weeks you need all the heat you can catch.

Maybe I am crazy and it wouldn't help.

[prh129]

What you describe is exactly what a solar heater does. Instead of sitting on the bottom of your pool it either sits on the ground or on a rack or on your roof and it hooks up to your pool pump. It heats the water as it passes through using the sun and using a solar blanket at night will help keep the heat in the pool.

Peter

[Brock]

I understand that it is the same thing as a solar heater, but it would be in the pool, cost no money to run, no pumps, no messing with plumbing and doesn't take up any more space then the pool already does.

[tmmort]

Interesting idea, a "black bottom pool". One problem, though, you have no way of turning it "off" and the pool might get too hot.

At my location, solar heating simply extends the season; that is, we're able to open sooner and close later. During the mid-summer, I usually have my solar off completely or else the pool gets way too hot.

[Brock]

Exactly, it would have to be a mat like material heavier then water, like a solar cover, once your pool is up to the temp you want you take it out rool it up and put it away.

[imfignewton]

Some one should come up with a crystal type structure as an addative to the plater finish that could change the color of the pool with the flip of a switch. That way you could have a black pool for heating in the cooler months and a white pool during the hot summer months. Just dreaming

[Tredge]

The primary function of a solar cover is to prevent heat loss....the black matt Idea would help heat the pool in the day but do nothing to prevent heat loss.

I have a feeling you would gain more from a simple cover to prevent loss due to evaporation than you would adding a black matt to the bottom.

Good Idea though :)

[graciec]

Then why aren't solar covers black?

[JohnT]

Then why aren't solar covers black?

There are black covers. My guess is clear is better because then you are heating water, not the cover.

[kevinfl1980]

what are you talking about?? buy a heater! you will waste more water!