/diy/ - Do It Yourself

pee in the pool

You could try a design like the one to the left (yes, I have mad mspaint skills), with bent pipes and a fire. The pipes have to be completely filled with water, and the inlet / outlet both have to be below the water line all the time.

The fire in the spiral would heat up the water, expanding it and forcing it to move upwards, then back out into the pool (red arrow). New water would be sucked in at the inlet (blue arrow).

Put a black rubber mat in the bottom of the pool. The sun will do the rest. If your pool is dry you can paint a portion of the bottom black. Don't get too much black or you'll get the water too hot.

>>220895
best idea I've seen on /diy/

If you can't weld you could also just buy some black PVC-pipes and mount them on a tilted surface facing the sun, using the same principle but with solar energy.
Pic related, left side is birds view.

forgot pic. The advantage of this solution is you wouldn't need to keep a fire going all the time, with all it's nasty side effects like smoke and smell which might upset your neighbours.

10 points for fire idea, never heard it before. I imagine it would be effective for quickly heating it up then just let the solar cover keep it warm, though i don't think my parents would approve so I'll hold on to that idea for my future pool....

The black mat idea seems the simplest most effective solution, I will have to look into what I can buy since our pool isn't dry though.

Thanks for the good ideas so far :-)

My dad took an old gas house furnace, stuck some thick pipes through the top of it, and added a thermostat to the system. It pumped pool water out, using the pool's pump, through the pipes in the gas furnace, and back to the pool. It worked very well. He had a T&P valve on it as well. the furnace was outside near the pool.

We had free gas, so it ran all the time. There'd be 3-4 feet of snow and I'm out in the 30' pool making laps while snow flakes fall on my head. It was awesome.

A googling for 'DIY Solar Pool Heater' turns up some well-documented solutions. e.g http://ffaat.pointclark.net/blog/archives/107-DIY-Solar-Pool-Heater.html

How cold is it? How warm do you want it to be?

A low-tech solution could be cribbed from http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pools/msg071951338822.html

Thing is, I don't know how warm that'd make your water. Nothing that a few equations wouldn't fix...

If you want more, try researching hot boxes, or solar powered dehydrator construction. Then scale up. Waay up. You may need to invest in some more expensive higher temperature resistant black plastic piping, and keep in mind the pitch of your roof when securing contraptions of any sort.

Me, I'd hire a specialist roof-worker.

But I have nowhere to swim. ;_;

drop a space heater in that bitch

How do you guys suggest getting the initial vacuum going for the pipe heating ideas? I understand that the heat gets the water moving, but how are you filling the pipes to start? It would be if the pipe didn't go over the edge of the pool but came in though the side..

>>220922
No need for that. You just lower the pipework into the pool first, make sure the pipes are filled, then lift the external part out of the water.

Ultimate conclusion is to put the pipework in the ground.

>>220926

Neat.

I recommend using something black in the pool first. It is the easiest method. You can easily resize mats on the pool floor to adjust the temperatures to you liking.

Something like >>220895 pic will not work unless the heating coil is below the waterline. Otherwise, the hot water will remain in the top section of the coil.

The pool already has a pump. you can hook it to your pipe heating system as in >>220906 and use any type of heating system from fuel to solar. Cold pool water would enter the filter, pass through the pump, through the heating coil, and back into the pool.

Again, placing black items into your pool like in >>220897 is by far the easiest, cheapest, method for a solar heating solution. you'd be surprised just how hot that can make a pool.

op, my aunt and uncle did this neat thing where the pump could be used to bring water to a series of flat, black mats that laid out on a simple structure built out of plywood and 2x4's
the mats were bought, however these had a lot of little channels for the water to flow back and forth just the way a car radiator is set up. worked very well.
make sure to build the platform where it will get the most sun

forgot pic
you can use as many just one as you like provided the pump can handle it

>>220897
And what about making the floor full black? or even just use black plastic thing you use for pools instead of the blue one? Will that work too? It won't have that nice blue look though. I'm not in a hot climate remind you, it's spring here and has been raining since where it's normally sun and hot (the temperature where you sweat in class wearing a T-shirt)

You have a pool with 200 sq ft of surface area exposed to the sun, but you want to heat it with a solar heater with 20 sq ft of surface area? Think about that for a minute.

As >>220897 said, put a black mat on the pool's floor. Or a thermal blanket on top of the pool. And, cover the pool with an insulated cover at night to keep the heat in.

lots of good advice here op, looks like your in good hands so I will add what I can, a website with plans for all sorts of solar water heating projects

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm

Good luck op!

>>220891
>water's too cold to swim guise

neighbor has a thing that reminds me of bubble wrap but you put it on the pool and somehow the water warms up.

Fire idea sounds brilliant.

>>220971
The amount you use depends on the pool's needs and the weather in your area at the time. Removable black items are better than permanent ones. That way you adjust as needed.

Anything black that touches the water in any way will help convert light into heat and conduct it to the water. Anything black laying on the surface will do the same thing, but some heat will radiate into the air. Even black solar blankets such as >>221012

A better solution would be to use a completely clear solar bubble blanket and use mats on the bottom of the pool. The mats on the floor heat the pool because sunlight goes through the bubble blanket. The air pockets in the blanket help insulate the water and the blanket itself prevents evaporative cooling. This is what the blanket in >>221110 helps achieve.

Such a setup can heat any size pool in a very short amount of time. This obviously depends on the weather, the starting temperature of the pool, and how many square feet of black mats you use.

To more directly answer your questions,

>And what about making the floor full black?

You would more than likely have the water far too hot. So, making it adjustable would be best.

>or even just use black plastic thing you use for pools instead of the blue one

Yes.

>>220895
I heard of someone doing this but using hose and putting on their roof to get all of the sun. Idk if it worked or not.

>>221207
If it had a pump for it then it should work. Like using the pool's own pump to pump the water around the circuit. Otherwise, it won't work because of the cold water being below the heating area. When the heating area is below the cold area then it will work without a pump very well, depending on the diameter of the piping, the number of bends in the piping, and the style in which the heat exchanger is made.

>>220891
man the fuck up and deal with it

>>221215
Pools are usually a leisure item. this means if someone wants to have a nice warm leisure time in the pool then they should have the right to do so. Pool leisure time isn't normally about how manly you are. Though, "manning the fuck up" isn't manly most of the time and makes those who do it look ignorant, bullheaded, and/or immature.

Pools are for cooling off in the heat. Warm relaxation is done in a spa.

>>221232
>never been swimming in an outdoor pool in the winter

It's GODLY. My friends were so fucking jelly when I was atalented /diy/er

on super-simple method i have seen (MAKE magazine iirc) was cheap plastic hula-hoops with black plastic fused to them on the face, making something that looks kinda like a portable hole. Float plenty of these in your pool and you are well on the way to soaking up a lot more solar energy.

The benefit over have a massive solid sheet of plastic was being able to remove them and even store easier. Just take them out of their box in your garage or w/e and float them. Add more to cover most of the surface, or pluck some out while you are swimming.

and if you are having an evening non-pool party they might be perfect for supporting (electric, tucked inside a plastic bag before being put in a normal glass cup) candles or lights.

>>221254
>implying I've never been in a pool in the winter

I'm not a little bitch, unlike OP.

>go in pool in winter
>top is frozen, have to use sledgehammer to get in
>get hypothermia.

woops

MRE heaters from a military surplus store. 160 degrees+. just activate a few of them and toss them into the pool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOBu5UUg-vQ

>>221436
No, you are being immature.

Op here again, sorry for the delay, i was busy being a little bitch... it pretty much takes up all of my time :-p

But i figured i'd update you.. after reading all of these awesome ideas I plan on doing some sort of combination of some of them. Sadly the black mat idea was shot down by the mother because it would be ugly i guess but my plan is to construct a couple of tetrahedrons with one side open and one corner weighted... these could could sink to the bottom in a few places and soak up sun all day long when know one is swimming and hopefully heat the pool up decently well. Then remove them when you want to swim... The only issue I am having now is thinking of a way to make them either collapsible or easily disassemblable/reassemblable.. any ideas?

>>221478
If being mature means be9ing a little bitch, call me Peter Pan.

Surprised there are no free floating black floats filled with coiled tubes and one way valves on the market. A few the size of yoga balls would off set the temp. The heck with cluttering up your yard/roof why can't the heater live in the pool?

>>221569

hmmm i like this too, good ideas everyone!

Depending on the deck around the pool you could probably make a large solar water-heater in the form of two layers of plastic, one black, one clear. Fuse the top layer down in a long pattern to create a narrow tube across the surface of the black (entry and exit near the same point for easier pumbing) and epoxy/heat-fuse in hosebarbs for connections.

you might be able to just divert part of your pools pump flow out through the heating field then back to the water. Otherwise a secondary pump to draw in water, like a moderately priced solar fountain pump, and let it run back to the pool. When you need the desk area just roll up the plastic to one side

I have seen this done with coils of cheap black hosepipe (for making a solar shower) and you have probably experienced the fun of turning on the hose and receiving scalding splashes instead of the cooling refreshment you had hoped for.

fill pool with gasoline. light on fire ...

Fill pool with gasoline, light it, and toss >>221778 in.

Keep it simple. It will look really exotic at night.

>>222766
Won't it melt the pool?

>>222954
No.

>>222766
That's beautiful.