Help me heat my above ground pool (cheaply)

[tmarquez]

Last year we bought an above ground pool, but hardly ever used it because it was too cold (we live in FL and like it WARM). It gets plenty of sun during the day.

We just bought a solar cover in preparation for swimming this year. I've read alot of conflicting things about these covers. Some say they don't work. Some say they raise the temp 10 - 15 degrees. Some places say to only use them at night, some say to leave it on all the time if you're not swimming.

Anyone with experience have any advice? The model we got is clear with the diamond shaped bubbles.

 

[kathi29]

We used to have a solar cover. It was a huge pain in the butt to take on and off. Our above ground pool is 28' across, and I really couldn't get the cover off by myself. The other thing I didn't like was that the top few inches of water were VERY warm, almost hot with the FL sun, and then the water cooled quite a bit as it got deeper.

I did find that it helped with water loss, though.

Anyhow, now we use solar fish. Drop one or two in the pool and be on your way. They seem to help the water hear more uniformly, they don't need to be removed before swimming, and they still help a bit with evaporation.

 

[kellia]

Come up here to Michigan for a few days, you'll never think it's cool again!

 

[preb]

We do live in Michigan and use a solar cover to heat our above ground pool! The way we use it is to remove it during the day when the heat is above 80 degrees or so and always cover it at night to avoid heat loss. We have found that the top few inches of water warm up much more than the bottom water, which is why I always make the kids jump in first to mix it up! We have also found that it helps keep the pool clean by having it covered at night. Our cover is on a roller that we roll across the decking. Our temps are fine June-August, but it really is cold in May and October. We are considering having a gas heater put in to extend the use of our pool into the spirng and fall. Hope that helps!

 

[InnerStrength06]

Hey, I like our pool warm also, however we live in Mass. and are lucky if we get a whopping 2 months of decent summer weather. Our pool is above ground and 12 X 24. We try to keep it warmish with a solar cover and it works to an extent. It is a piece of cake to get it off - DH bought an extra pool vacuum pole thing that I just lay on the edge of the pool (short side), and then roll up the cover onto it. Then I rest it (pool cover and pole in it) kitty-corner on the stockade fence.

We also bought a heater for it that runs on propane, however we are not talking cheap with that one. We basically bought it to try to entend the pool season, however IMO, it wasn't worth the $$$.

I was thinking of trying the solar fish doodad, but I thought it left some type of residue on the top of the water surface so I'm on the fence on that one.

If my pool is 80 degrees, I'm in heaven...the kids will swim if the temp is anywhere from 73 and above. I do not go in if it drops lower than 77. So if your pool is warmer than 78, you have it made! Good luck!

 

[tmarquez]

Ok so the top of the water gets nice and warm but the rest stays cold...sigh. Is it possible to run the pump while the cover is on? Maybe that way it will keep the water a more consistent temp.

I'm embarassed to say that 80 degrees is too cold!

 

[InnerStrength06]

Ok so the top of the water gets nice and warm but the rest stays cold...sigh. Is it possible to run the pump while the cover is on? Maybe that way it will keep the water a more consistent temp.

I'm embarassed to say that 80 degrees is too cold!

Don't be embarassed - I wish I lived in Florida and could enjoy the pool more than 2 months. Yes, I do run the pump before I take the solar cover off to try to mix the warm water on the top with the cooler on the bottom. It seems to help. It would really help warm my pool if my neighbors next door would cut down their half-dead Dogwood tree that hangs over my driveway and shades half of the pool after 4 p.m. We even offered to pay half of the cost to remove it. Such is life

 

[Order66]

We're in Ohio and we were able to extend our pool season into September this year by installing solar heat panels. If you can install them yourself, it's fairly cheap. We bought ours from ebay for under $100 and less than $10.00 worth of PVC pipe from Home Depot. I can look up the user we bought from, they were very helpful and gave my husband directions to install over the phone. They did send instructions, but he wasn't clear and they walked him through it. Depending on how large your pool is you may need more than 1. We have only a 15' round and one was enough. My SIL bought 4 for a pool twice as large and her pool was warm as a bath...too warm for me. She probably would have been fine with 2. They have 2 on the roof, 2 on the ground. We installed ours on the garage roof.

You can do a google search for Solar Heater Panels and it'll show you how they work. You do hook it up to your pump so the water is a uniform temperature all over.

 

[staceyfe]

You can definitely run the filter with the solar cover on. Toward the end of last season, I finally figured out this is the quickest way to get your pool warm. You will definitely notice a difference in the temp. if you run the filter with the solar cover on. It really makes the pool water heat up a lot faster.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Ours isn't an above ground pool but I went to look at what solar fish are and ewww, it sounds like that leaves a film of some sort of "something" that keeps the tempature higher by not allowing heat to escape. It mentions it won't bother skin- but what about eyes? hair? Can you feel it on you when you swim in that?

 

[momof296&02]

We had a 15x30 above ground pool & used a solar cover to heat it. We would take the cover off & put it on the ground next to the pool & one day we got a tissue mold in the pool. It was like tissues were in the water. It was gross! It probably came from chemicals on our lawn. After that we threw out the solar cover & bought a new one along with a solar cover reel. I thought the pool was always warm. The cover wsa put on everynight & we ran the filter when it was on.

 

[rentingspace]

Ok I have to put my 2 cents in. We have an ubove ground pool 12x24 rectangle. The first year I bought a solar cover and maybe used the pool 4-5 times. The top was always warm but the bottom was chilly! So, I bucked up and bought a propane heater. The pool opens in late May and closes in early September. We go in it every night (given the schedules) and all weekends not to mention all the new friends we aquire in the summer time. Now we live in Maine, that's pretty good use for a pool. I can't say enough to just buy the pool heater you'll never regret it and you'll enjoy your pool more.

 

[Donnask8pro]

Sorry, we have a built in heated pool.. But the outlaws have a pool not heated and they use copper tubes from the filter and up to make them lay on the roof on the garage roof in a bullseye fashion and than run back into the pool. The sun heats the coils and than heats the pool. Did that make sense? It works great. I guess the roofing shingles get hot with the sun and help also. good luck.

 

[Mickey527]

I have a 24X52 inch above ground pool. I love my solar cover and I hate swimming in cold water. Unless it is over 86 I don't go in.
I put the solar cover on at night and leave it on in the morning. I have my pump on a timer so that it turns on for 2 hours then shuts off for 4, then on again for 2 etc... This way when we are not in the pool the water has a chance to circulate the warm and then sit for a while so it can get hot again on top. This is better than leaving the pump running all the time bnecause if you do the water never is still long enough to warm up.
We usually swim in the late afternoon and evening.
I have my cover on a reel that is for a built in or pool with a deck. It is supposed to be at one end of the pool and you reel it in. I fixed the mounting holders onto the ledge of the pool in the middle and the cover can be spread out to each side. I can reel the cover up myself, then I take one side off the mounting hardware and hook it onto the gate near the pool. The other end of the reel is still on the pool but out fo the way, off the pool. I don't know if I explained it right but this way we have the entire swim area free.
We open our pool the weekend after Memorial day only because Memorial day is my birthday and I am always at WDW.
As we get to the warmer parts of the summer, usually from mid July to mid August I don't even put the solar cover on because the water gets warm and stays warm through out the day and night. I usually can use the pool until mid September during the day when the weather cooperates.

 

[kathi29]

Ours isn't an above ground pool but I went to look at what solar fish are and ewww, it sounds like that leaves a film of some sort of "something" that keeps the tempature higher by not allowing heat to escape. It mentions it won't bother skin- but what about eyes? hair? Can you feel it on you when you swim in that?

Nope. Can't feel a thing, can't see a thing. It's a microscopically thin layer. When we are swimming it gets mixed up in the water - when the water settles it comes back to the top. (Sort of like a thin layer of oil on top of water, but so very thin that you can't see it) We have been using the fish for the past two years with no problems.

 

[karenbaco]

About the solar fish.........
I was thinking of getting those but I have little kids that swallow alot of water while swimming. I'm worried about them adding even more chemicals into their stomachs from the fish. The chlorine is bad enough.
What do you think???

 

[kathi29]

We use a salt generator system so we don't have the chlorine problems. About the fish, though, my DD is the queen of pool belly. The fish liquid is so microscopically small I don't see how it could have an effect. When the water settles there is a layer on top that you can't even see. Take that layer and mix it in with the water, the amount that could be potentially swallowed is doesn't seem to be even measurable.

 

[kathi29]

I was just thinking about amounts. Our pool has about 18,500 gallons of water. We use 2 fish. I would say each fish has MAYBE 1 cup of liquid in it, and they last for a month.

 

[mtmdsb]

We live in Virginia and use our outdoor wood stove to heat our house, our water and our pool in the summer. Our 10,000 gal pool became a "hot tub" last summer.

Teresa

 

[JD1lawman]

We live in Virginia and use our outdoor wood stove to heat our house, our water and our pool in the summer. Our 10,000 gal pool became a "hot tub" last summer.

Teresa