A Cheap Pool Cooler

[duraleigh]

Not applicable to many of you, but those of us here in the sweltering South frequently get tepid pool water. Water temps above 85 are just not comfortable to me.

I cobbled together a few pieces of pvc and screwed them into one of my returns to create a poor man's evaporator. Cost me about 6-7 bucks and an hour or so. 100_0188.jpg

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The results have been significant. Normally, on a 95 degree day, I'm lucky to keep pool temp below 88. With this evaporator running about 8-10 hours daily, my water has not risen above 83. The big test comes tomorrow and the next day when air temps approach 100. I'm expecting, because the relative humidity will be lower, to maintain the pool less than 85.

To this point, no drop in Alk......probably because my pH is up around 7.6 most of the time. Water loss has been minimal.

Those of you in the dry air of the West and Southwest could probably see even better results.

[mkelley]

That's fairly neat, Dave, and something I could use.

Too bad I have an in-floor cleaning system (no returns except in the spa, and not much pressure there). Sigh.

[drumr]

duraleigh, I really like your idea, I have one of those floating fountains that hook into the return, but the fountain and hose get dragged all over the place when the kids are in the pool. One time, the floating fountain made its way over to the pool wall (24' above ground pool and the hose had the weight on it) and proceeded to empty the pool to the bottom of the skimmer, luckily it didn't do any damage to the pump so I am wary of it. When I use it I have added a heavier weight and it stays put, but I may try your idea out too. I am in Middle TN. and we are experiencing the high heat that you are and can't enjoy the pool when the water is so hot!!

[us7sail]

Dave, nice job and I bet the kids love it too. I might have to try that. Looks like a lot of fun not to mention the drop in temps. chris

[jnorris]

I'm in SC, and our pool temp was 90 degrees yesterday! I expect it to go higher next week too. I have 5 deck jets, so I'm going to try running those, to see if I can bring the temp below 90. Thanks for the great idea!

You know, back in May, when we swam for the first time, we cranked up the heater and got the water to 90 degrees. It felt heavenly then; what a difference a couple of months makes!

[us7sail]

Dave, Are those ends just pvc ends with holes drilled in them. What size holes did you find work best? Chris

[duraleigh]

Hi, Chris,

Yeah, 3/4" pvc end caps.....drilled 1/4" hole.

I'm considering trying new caps with a saw cut across the top. That would give me about a 1/16" x 1/2" opening that I think will give me smaller droplets for better evaporation. Downside is that I'll lose some altitude (goes up about 20-22 feet right now) so the droplets won't be exposed to the air as long....might end up being less effective...I dunno.

The cooler water is a remarkable improvement.

[aquarium]

Heh,

BMTA

Although my version was intended to aereate the water in order to lower alkalinity:





And it works like a champ to lower alkalinity. Which raises the question: Will pools with 'water features' have chronic low alkalinity? Aside from the cool temps...

[docwalker]

...Will pools with 'water features' have chronic low alkalinity?...

Not if you maintain a proper pH. The reduction in alkalinity is a result of lower your pH to 6.8 or so which converts the carbonates into carbonic acid. Carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere by aerating.

[aquarium]

Not if you maintain a proper pH. The reduction in alkalinity is a result of lower your pH to 6.8 or so which converts the carbonates into carbonic acid. Carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere by aerating.

I've been working on lowering the alkalinity from 220ppm to (now) 70-80ppm. I've -never- lowered the pH below 7.2 during the entire process. I have had to add acid when aerating, but that was my understanding of how it works.

But I see your larger point, that by not adding more acid, the pH -should- hold. When I hit 90-100ppm I was in a reverse situation because the pH kept bouncing back to 7.6. It looks like it's going to hold at 7.2 with the alkalinity at 70-80ppm. I suspect there's a chemical explanation occuring at the watersurface/atmosphere interface. But I'm not smart enough to explain it.