How do you keep pool warm outside without a $$$ power bill? Anyone use a greenhouse? Planning on getting the blanket and heater, live in VA
257753
We live in KY and have an Ipool. We bought a shelter logic 12 x 20 x 8 Heavy Duty green house. We placed 4 x 8 x 3/4" Tractor supply stall mats on the ground. The pool was then installed over those mats inside the green house. We also got the RayPak 5KW heater but rarely use it unless the day is very cold or want a quick temperature rise. We have also installed a Fibro Pool heat pump as the primary cooler weather heat source. We have a KW meter installed on the 220 line to the heaters we keep the pool at 87 degrees and let the heat pump and pool pump run 24/7. In addition we have two solar pro solar heaters connected to the filter pump that came with Ipool. The Heat Pump / RayPak actual pool connections are pumped by an Intex 2500 GPH circulation pump. Right now in March it takes between .89 cents to $1.25 per day to keep the pool at 87 degrees. With good sunlight it will drop to .40 to .60 cents. During our coldest months we shut the pumps down at night and let the pool temperature drop. A timer will turn filter and heat pump on to raise the to swim temperature in the afternoon. The heat pump will raise the temperature 2 - 3 degrees an hour as long as outside temperature is 40 or above. If we turn on the RayPak to speed up heating we get 5 - 6 degrees an hour rise. When we had just the RayPak the cooler month were running around 5 - 6 dollars a day. Overall the Pool has been great, provides an excellent work out, usually swim 45 minutes 3 - 4 times a week currently. The pool, green house, and heat pump work well together. If I did not like the temperature higher and set it to normal indoor pool temperature of 80 or so it would cost a lot less to run. As it is around $30.00 a month is well worth the convenience to us.
257754
Thanks for the reply. I thought about the basement but unless it has an 8 foot plus ceiling it would be awfully tight. In the end I decided daylight was more important and worked out how to keep it warm. If we had a garage then I would have put there since you could open the door for daylight, probably would have still put in a heat pump for it if the garage was unheated.
841454
Yes. Our pool is a similar size. Working well and we have saved $ on power costs.
1930995
I live in Las Vegas and oddly enough my pool is always cold, even in the middle of summer. Something about the ground here sucks all the heat out. After a week in the sun with this cover on, I stuck my hand in and the water was nice and warm, so I pulled the cover off and jumped in. It turns out that only the top several inches were warm. The rest of the pool was ice cold. Maybe if I ran the pump continuously it might have helped but that can lead to a seriously high power bill. So my results are mixed. Yes it does heat some of the water, but without the pump running 24/7 don't expect the whole pool to be warm. Of course, maybe your ground is not like ours. I live in Las Vegas and oddly enough my pool is always cold, even in the middle of summer. Something about the ground here sucks all the heat out. After a week in the sun with this cover on, I stuck my hand in and the water was nice and warm, so I pulled the cover off and jumped in. It turns out that only the top several inches were warm. The rest of the pool was ice cold. Maybe if I ran the pump continuously it might have helped but that can lead to a seriously high power bill. So my results are mixed. Yes it does heat some of the water, but without the pump running 24/7 don't expect the... » Read More I live in Las Vegas and oddly enough my pool is always cold, even in the middle of summer. Something about the ground here sucks all the heat out. After a week in the sun with this cover on, I stuck my hand in and the water was nice and warm, so I pulled the cover off and jumped in. It turns out that only the top several inches were warm. The rest of the pool was ice cold. Maybe if I ran the pump continuously it might have helped but that can lead to a seriously high power bill. So my results are mixed. Yes it does heat some of the water, but without the pump running 24/7 don't expect the whole pool to be warm. Of course, maybe your ground is not like ours. « Show Less
643380
The pool comes with a cover which is not bad. I suggest you first buy the pool and see if you need a solar power.
2084647
Our pool is around the same volume. It worked in the winter to about 86 degrees. We had it set higher but it got to 86 and stayed around there. Our pool is outside in the shade with little sunlight. It is deeper than yours but different dimensions. Being inside I am sure you can achieve your desired temp of 85.
2254388
I use a heater in my bucket... Just cut a slot for the cord in the lid. All of these buckets come with a tiny hole in the lid that I always seal up otherwise if used outside crap gets in your water.
1081690
my pool guy did not charge me more but can cause you do use more chem--my pool cover was to heat my pool some what--not way--i am sorry i spend the money==good luck
92800
No..we have always used a solar blanket on our pool..and have never noticed it working any different. Hope this helps. .
293616
Depends I suppose on how hot you want the pool. WE keep ours at 83F without any trouble. Your location also has a bearing on it's suitability, we live around the Great Lakes. The heater is designed for outdoor installation, you should make a sun shield for the control panel as they will fail eventually due to exposure to direct sunlight
610008
The covers are great, they truly warm the pool. I found an average temperature rise of 15 degrees. If the cover is to large you can simple cut it down with a pair of scissors. Make sure you don't cut off to much, you can always trim again.
2149179
I live in Tampa, FL and I'm thinking of planting this around the pool decking. Has anyone had any trouble with the heat in Tampa? It will be in full sun.
707039
We have a 170 sq. ft. sunroom, 10 x 17. It is glass on three sides. Our Mr. Heater is 10,000 or 12,000, not sure which off the top of my head, but our winters can be pretty cold. (WV) Anyway, we only heat it when the kids come in to visit and sleep out there. It takes the chill of and makes it okay to sleep. If we run it constantly it is comfortable, not too warm though. We use propane with ours. Don't know if natural gas would make a difference.
1219521
Solar panels produce anywhere from 1000 to 2500 BTU's per square foot, per day depending on your climate, (northern, southern, mid). These panels are rated at 2 square feet, so 2000 to 5000 BTU's per day, depending on location. 1 BTU will heat one pound of water by 1 degree fahrenheit. A gallon of water weighs 8.33 lbs, so you would need 8 BTU's to heat 1 lb of 70 deg F water to 71 deg F. The water in your pool weighs 19,800 pounds. Just to raise the temperature of your pool water by 1 degree you would need at most 9 panels, or at minimum 4 panels. From your question it looks like you want to raise the temperature of your pool water from ambient 68(70) to 89(90)? That is a 20 degree delta T, so realistically you are looking at a 396,008(400,000) BTU load to keep your pool at 90 degrees during the summer,(which to me sounds wayyyyyy too hot for a pool). At best, producing 5000 BTU's per day from each solar panel you would need 80 of these panels to maintain temp. If you wanted your desire temp to be 80 deg F instead of 90 deg F than you would need 40. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. There are pool specific solar panels that might produce more BTU's per square foot of usable solar area. In my opinion, 80, or even 40 of these solar panels sounds a little unfeasible. Yes, you could do it, and it might be cheaper than purchasing a 400,000-500,000 BTU gas fired pool heater, but realistically it's not a good application for these specific panels. The common solar panel size to heat water for domestic hot water in households is an 8x4 which they rate for 40,000 BTU's. For those you would only need 10, but again might be a bad option, as they are large, and are quite expensive given their size, (usually 800-1400$/each). Hope this helps. PS. I am also not a pool expert. I am not sure on the thermal retention that pool water holds during the night. It could drop 1 degree in 10 hours or it could drop 10 degrees in 10 hours, I really don't know.
440867
i would just so it doesnt freeze cause when it gets warm it could break ...love my pool but i take mine down in texas every year ....i also own a pool cleaning business and i would take it down just to be safe ,
1659130
The solar blanket wont hurt it, but it will not function properly if you run your filter with the blanket on the pool. I love ours. It's great for seasons when a lot of floating debris gets in the pool.
1659128
I am noy sure, I do not use a solar blanket on my pool. PoolSkim removes surface dirt so the water needs to move fteely for PoolSkim to work. The must be operational and cirulating the water. Hope this helps.
1194121
I wish I could help you, but I have only had mine a couple of weeks. I have also not been running the heater all the time since I cannot use it daily. I am sure the cost will go up as the nights cool down because the water temp definitely falls faster now.