Solar Blankets And Rings
A solar blanket is a great way to heat a pool and is an excellent choice for above-ground units that lack built-in heaters. Pools lose 75 percent of their heat through evaporation. Solar blankets stop this evaporation while absorbing and holding heat from the sun. You can use them to heat your pool by day and leave them on the pool to keep it warm at night. They use no energy and work well, but must cover 100 percent of the pool’s surface in order to work.
Some pool owners prefer solar rings to solar blankets. Solar rings work the same way as solar blankets but are much smaller, at 60 inches in diameter. This makes them much easier to maneuver and store than blankets, especially if you are working alone. Solar rings must cover only 70 to 80 percent of the pool’s surface and each one can generate 21,000 BTUs of heat per day.
If you opt for a solar blanket, consider installing a reel at the end of your pool. Attaching the blanket to the reel makes it much easier to roll up the cover by yourself and provides a place to store the blanket when it is not in use.
What Can I Do To Keep My Swimming Pool Water Warm
As we leave summer behind, we can expect to lose not only the warm days, but also much of the heat from our pool water. This culprit is evaporation, through which water molecules liberate themselves from warm water and escape into the air as water vapor. As the water molecules leave the pool, they take heat energy with them, causing the pool water temperature to fall. Although pools experience evaporation all year, it becomes more prevalent during the cooler nights. As the air becomes cooler, the humidity drops and the air more readily absorbs moisture and heat from the pool water.
Thats a problem, as it can require more energy to keep your pool at a comfortable temperature. But, of course, we have a solution that will keep both water and heat in your pool where they belong. Lets first take a look at some old-fashioned methods, and then we will see how technology can save the day.
Liquid pool covers offer an inexpensive, easy-to-use alternative to solid covers. Older-style liquid covers generally consist of isopropyl alcohol, which inhibits evaporation and heat loss. However, isopropyl alcohol is volatile and evaporates from water quickly. Consequently, these products need frequent dosing or some type of slow delivery device, such as plastic bags with small tears in them to dispense the product.
Any questions or comments? Drop us a note. We love to hear from you!
This Post Has 2 Comments
Why Is The Pool Water Still Cloudy After Shocking And/or Adding Algaecide
In most cases, your pool water may still be cloudy but FC is fine or high. Cloudy or milky water after shocking is normal, and the water should clear up within an hour or so. Just make sure your pump and filter are running properly.
If you add algaecide, keep in mind that some algaecide contains copper, which can actually make a pool cloudy. If the cloudiness persists 24 hours after shocking, then it’s possible that you used a poor-quality chlorine shock. In this case, you should take another reading of free chlorine and do the shocking again using liquid chlorine .
You should also check that all chemicalsespecially pH, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and calcium hardnessare within the recommended levels. Remember that calcium hypochlorite chlorine shock and chlorine tablets are not recommended for daily pool sanitization, because they raise calcium, pH, and cyanuric acid in your water. You need to be extra careful when using them, or else these chemicals will get off the chart, causing cloudy water, algae, or ammonia in the long run.
Finally, debris could cause continued cloudiness in the water even when chlorine level is fine. You can try using a water clarifier to send all the particles to the filter, or you can use pool floc to gather all the debris together and then vacuum it up using a manual pool pump.
Don’t Miss: Test Pool Pump Capacitor
How Do I Know Which Pool Chemical Is Imbalanced
In order to verify which of these chemicals might be imbalanced, you need an accurate, fast, and easy-to-use test kit. I use the LaMotte ColorQ Pro 11 digital water test kit. It saves me lots of time as it is easy to use and very effective for frequent use. It tests pH, free chlorine, combined chlorine, total chlorine, bromine, calcium hardness, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and other metals including iron, copper, biguanide, and biguanide shock all at a glance.
I then use PoolMath by TFP to find the exact amount of each chemical to add. Ideally, the recommended chlorine levels should be around 3 ppm, which should be the same as the total chlorine if chloramine is at 0 ppm.
How To Stay Warm In Cold Water
Unless you are a genetic marvel like Lynne Cox , you probably do not enjoy swimming in cold water, let alone doing so for a long period of time. However, there are some situations where you may need to swim in cold water. For example, you may be at a swim meet with cooler air, you may be swimming in open water, or you want some of the health benefits that come with swimming in colder temperatures.
Worry not! While it may take some getting used to , there are some things you can do to stay warm in cold water, and some steps you can take beforehand to ensure that you get the most out of your cold water swim.
Oftentimes when you swim in cold water, you will be allowed to dress appropriately for the situation. This can include a wetsuit, swimming cap, ear plugs, and even booties and gloves. If you want to take things a step further, you can even wear animal fat to keep warm!
Recommended Reading: How To Get Metal Out Of Pool Water
Solar Cover / Pool Cover
Solar covers are one of the most cost-effective methods for retaining heat in a swimming pool.
Why?
Because they tackle the root cause of heat loss head-on:
Evaporation.
Most heat loss occurs during the day, while your water is directly exposed to the elements. From the fierce rays of the sun to the sporadic gusts of wind, each force of nature contributes to your waters inevitable heat loss.
Natural heat loss that cant be stoppedunless you use a shield. And what better a shield than a solar cover?
A solar cover not only acts as a protective lid for your pool but is specially designed to absorb solar heat while doing so. This feature gives it the ability to reduce evaporation while improving heat retention.
And with evaporation being responsible for 75% of heat loss, theres no reason why you shouldnt take a load off your heating bills with this simple tip.
Cost: $50 $200
How To Clear Cloudy Pool Water Caused By Low Free Chlorine
Low free chlorine levels are caused by heavy usage, heavy rainfall , or hot sunny days when UV light oxidizes lots of free chlorine. If you have an outdoor pool, you can use a chlorine stabilizer, such as cyanuric acid, to prevent chlorine depletion as a result of direct UV light. Remember that cyanuric acid is very strong, and if it exceeds the recommended levels, free chlorine will disappear, and the water will turn cloudy and be at high risk of algae growth.
In summary, if your combined chlorine reads above 0.5 ppm, your water may turn cloudy and become unsafe for swimming. If this is the case, you need to shock your pool immediately to clear it.
Liquid chlorine or sodium hypochlorite is the best option for a daily free chlorine boost, because it does not affect pH, calcium hardness, and cyanuric acid in your water, which make pH, calcium hardness, and cyanuric acid scale high above the recommended levelsleading to cloudy water, metal stains, ammonia, algae, and other pool problems.
Don’t Miss: How To Increase Stabilizer In Pool
How Does A Pool Heater Work
Pool heaters are great amenities if someone is looking to enjoy the benefits of a pool year-round. Not just fun for the family and for hosting parties, swimming is great exercise that can strengthen the body in many ways. They offer accurate temperature regulation for in ground or above ground pools. No matter where your pool is, pool heaters can help create the perfect swimming environment. Learning about pool heaters, how they work, and what different pool heater features is important when considering which system is best for your swimming pool.
Hacks To Heating Your Pool Cheaply
- 5 Hacks to Heating Your Pool Cheaply
Is heating your swimming pool one cost too many? Youve already got the pump to run, and maintenance fees. If you dont want to commit to a pool heater, perhaps consider one of these cheap DIY solutions.
1. Solar blanketWhen your swimming pool isnt in use, you can use a solar blanket to insulate it, and keep the heat in. They are especially useful overnight and on cloudy days. Solar blankets are specailly designed to let in more sunlight then other covers too, so it can help to bring extra heat to your pool.
$40-$200
2. Solar pillA bit like a condensed blanket in pill form , it covers the pool and protects against evaporation, saving water and minimizing heat loss.Solar pills are non-toxic, invisible to the human eye and ultra thin. On pill can treat a 12,000 gallon pool for up to 30 days.
Around $40-$50 for 2
3. Black hose trick
Fill up your pool using a long, black garden hose . Make sure the hose is in direct sunlight so that it can absorb as much of the suns heat as possible since black absorbs more heat, this is a cheap yet effective way of heating your pool.
The longer the house is, the more time there is for the water to heat up. At least 50ft of tubing is best.
4. Water circulation hack
5. Trash bag heater!
You know those black trash bags? They can hold heat too. Fix one up to a hula hoop and if you want, cut one side of a pool noodle to add buoyancy and youve got yourself a super cheap pool heater.
Don’t Miss: Frog Pool Tender System
Are Pool Heaters Worth It
If you want to extend the pool season and have elderly folks using the pool, then theyre worth it. Personally, I think pool heaters are too expensive. I would just invest in a solar cover and enjoy swimming in cooler water.
If you want to see our favorite gas heater and heat pump brands, check our Pool Heater Comparison Guide.
And regardless of how you heat your pool, we recommend getting some type of surface protection like a solar cover so you dont lose water and heat at night.
Why Is My Pool Cloudy When The Chemicals Are Balanced
When all the pool chemicals are fine but your water is still cloudy, there is a good chance that you have particles in your pool. In this case, a water clarifier is used to collect all the fine particles so that they can be picked up by the filter.
Alternatively, you can use pool floc , also known as a super floc, which is a chemical that is used to bring all the clouding particles to the bottom of your pool forming a large cloud that you can then vacuum up using a manual pump. The particles collected using a pool floc will not pass through the filter like they would if a water clarifier were used. Make sure that your filter is set on the backwash or waste option when you are vacuuming to avoid any damage that may happen to the filter as a result of clogging.
Read Also: How To Lower Cya In Pool
Could It Be Ammonia Or Algae Starting Up
In rare circumstancesespecially during the beginning of summer when swimming pools are opening after closing for winteryour pool may have severe cloudy water that is difficult to clear. FC and cyanuric acid levels drop to zero or close to 0 ppm, there are very high CC levels, and there is a high demand for chlorine in your water, but FC levels will not rise easily, even after adding a lot of chlorine. If you notice these signs in your swimming pool, you have ammonia and you need to use a lot of chlorine to get rid of ammonia in your pool.
Early stages of algae make pool water look cloudy and dull. To be sure it is not algae starting up, perform an overnight chlorine loss test , which is done by adding chlorine to pool water in the evening when the sun is down to avoid depleting FC and taking the FC reading the following morning. If FC levels drop by more than 1 ppm through the night, the result is positive, and you have algae starting upand the sooner you get rid of the algae the better. Ammonia and algae come as a result of low FC levels, and the only way to keep them away from your pool is to maintain proper FC levels.
Pool Insulation To Reduce Heat Loss:
When planning a pool, think insulation. All pool designs, including a Natural pool or swimming pond, can benefit by incorporating some rigid panel insulation under and around the structure of a pool to save energy and costs in the long run. Regardless of where you are in the USA or Canada the ambient temperature of the ground is pretty constant, and its usually colder than the ideal temperature for enjoying a swim in the pool, so putting some insulation outside the thermal mass of the water retaining structure is a great first step in reducing the costs associated with heating a pool over the long term.
Don’t Miss: Removing Calcium Nodules In Pool
How To Heat An Intex Pool Final Thoughts
As you can see there are a lot of great options on how to heat an Intex pool it all comes down to what kind of feature you need and how much youre willing to spend acquiring your pool heater and its operating costs.
If you live in a warmer climate, we suggest getting a solar cover or blanket first and test it if itll be sufficient to heat your pool. You can also benefit from using multiple solar mats from Intex.
For those living in colder regions, we recommend getting a more powerful heating system, either a gas pool heater if you need to have a heating system that can quickly heat your pool and you dont mind spending on operating costs.
If operating costs are a concern, then getting a solar heating system or using a heat pump is what we will recommend for you.
Did Not Find The Intex Pool Heater Youre Looking For? Check Some Of These.
| # |
|---|
Effective Solar Pool Heater
Heat your in-ground pool with this effective DIY solar pool heater that is easy to build. For less than $300 and just a couple hours of work, you will start raising the water temperature of your pool immediately.
Two 4 feet by 4 feet homemade solar panels is efficient enough to effectively heat a normal sized in-ground pool. One panel can heat a small pool and three can heat a large pool.
A couple hundred dollars is a small price to pay to keep your pool water at the right temperature! Plus, they are fun to make!
Also Check: How Much Does It Cost To Resurface Your Pool
Easy Diy Solar Pool Heater
With these easy to follow instructions, you can build floating swimming pool heaters in less than one hour. Easy to make, easy to use, and very inexpensive.
PVC pipe, pool noodles, black plastic garbage bags and duct tape can be transformed into an effective heater that will warm pool water to a comfortable temperature.
As they float around in your pool, they will collect heat from the sun. That collected heat on top will transfer to the water below and effectively raise water temperature.
Perfect Location Building A Swimming Pool
Whats the point of purchasing several pool warming gadgets if your pool is in the wrong position? Before building a swimming pool in your house, make sure that youre planning to build it in the right position. Before building the pool have a look if it will get enough sunlight or not.
If the pool is under roof shade or a big tree, it wont warm up easily. An inappropriate position can create a difference of 3-degree Celsius approximately. And thats a big measure in cases of warming up your pool.
Plus, a swimming pool beside a big one is tough to maintain. The leaves of the tree will make your sea blue pool green. And the falling leaves will also make you clean the pool more often. Isnt that so annoying?
Don’t Miss: Aria Pools
How Does A Pool Aerator Work
Your pool temperature will be changed based on the ambient temperature but it will typically be far behind the actual weather. This can lead to pools which get very warm which just arent enjoyable to go swim in.
Whats interesting to learn is that your pool temperature is a balancing act of the previous weeks worth of weather. If you have long-lasting warm weather your pool will generally increase in temperature but is cold weather your pool will lose heat.
For a standard pool aerator, you will be connected to the pool return line to help the water get the maximum air interaction as this is what can help the water cool.
