Heat Balls????

[ThaSatelliteGuy]

Does anyone know anything about these stupid looking little "heat balls" they have at the stores?? What's the deal? How are they supposed to work? Do they work?

[AnnaK]

The Solar Pill? Last year they were called Solar Fish. It's a gimmick. Seems I read elsewhere that they put a thin layer of paraffin on the water surface and this is supposed to keep the heat in.

More snake oil.

[Poconos]

Actually they are about one pound balls of plutonium. They sit on the bottom of the pool and give of lotsa heat. They started to appear in stores years ago as the US and Russian nuclear warheads are being dismantled and used for peaceful purposes.
Al

[Searcher]

I burn a wood stove in the deep end of my pool. Works great and it is cheap because I have a lot of wood on my property.

[drband]

I burn a wood stove in the deep end of my pool. Works great and it is cheap because I have a lot of wood on my property.

Nice! That's a lot more "green" than the kerosene radiant heater in the deep end of my pool!

[waterbear]

Actually they are about one pound balls of plutonium. They sit on the bottom of the pool and give of lotsa heat. They started to appear in stores years ago as the US and Russian nuclear warheads are being dismantled and used for peaceful purposes.
Al

And this from a Mod!?!?!?!

Why not just let anyone who is having 'hot flashes' soak in the pool? Talk about free energy!

As far as the "Heat Balls" and "Solar Pills", they contain HeatSavr liquid inside, which is a wax that sits on the surface of the water and in a perfect world (NO water movement to disturb the surface!) can keep a degree of two of heat in overnight. When used with a dosing pump the liquid is actually somewhat effective in indoor applications when all circulation is off for the night but for an outdoor pool a solar blanket is much more effective and a lot cheaper in the long run.

[Searcher]

And this from a Mod!

As far as the "Heat Balls" and "Solar Pills", they contain HeatSavr liquid inside, which is a wax that sits on the surface of the water and in a perfect world (NO water movement to disturb the surface!) can keep a degree of two of heat in overnight.

I am a bit confused with this. If it is a wax of some sort, would not my filter collect it and away it goes from the surface?

For me, 65 and higher, I am swimming so I get 9 months use in central NC. The other three months, I have the pump running on low. We had four 17 degree nights this winter and a lot of sub freezing nights with no problems whatsoever.

It is all in the flow.

[waterbear]

I am a bit confused with this. If it is a wax of some sort, would not my filter collect it and away it goes from the surface?

It is a waxy polymer that is in an alcoholic solution that creates a molecule thick 'solar film' on the water surface and yes, it does get filtered out, which is why it is BEST applied with a peristaltic dosing pump on a continuous basis (which is how it is used in commercial applications.)

[CarlD]

I burn a wood stove in the deep end of my pool. Works great and it is cheap because I have a lot of wood on my property.

I THOUGHT I saw you on Sponge-Bob while my 5 year-old was watching this morning!

At first I thought this was another Mel Brooks movie: "Heat Balls: Even BIGGER than 'Space Balls'!"

Al goes for the nuclear option!

I've seen these things for years, first as the fish, and even the pool store guys say they don't work nearly as well as solar blankets.

[waterbear]

even the pool store guys say they don't work nearly as well as solar blankets.

Yep, we do!