CotswoldDoItUpper Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 I’ve made something following YouTube videos. This sentence puts the fear of god into my wife. I’ve made (using off cuts and leftover UFH pipes) a rudimentary solar water heater for the paddling pool (yes, spoilt kids!). it’s about 95cm diameter circle. The paddling pool Is 950L when full. Water pumped from the pool with a fountain pump and then returned to the pool at the opposite end. know that I can (potentially!) make it more efficient by spraying black and enclosing in some form of frame with glass/acrylic front but not going to bother if it’s a waste of time. will either have any impact at all?!? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Yes. For many years I had a home brewed panel on the roof connected to the DHW tank using a solar pump (like the Solartwin scheme). The panel was a roughly 5' square patch of DPC with 8mm black tube ziptied to it in a zigzag. This sat in a panel with twinwall roofing as front and back. And yes it worked very well. Pain it black and put it in a box, make it look a bit like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255244395162 or buy an Intex mat for a bit more surface area https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154993208894 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 You simply have too much time on your hands to coil the pipe up like that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 7 minutes ago, dpmiller said: Pain(t) it black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 31 minutes ago, CotswoldDoItUpper said: I’ve made something following YouTube videos. This sentence puts the fear of god into my wife. I’ve made (using off cuts and leftover UFH pipes) a rudimentary solar water heater for the paddling pool (yes, spoilt kids!). it’s about 95cm diameter circle. The paddling pool Is 950L when full. Water pumped from the pool with a fountain pump and then returned to the pool at the opposite end. know that I can (potentially!) make it more efficient by spraying black and enclosing in some form of frame with glass/acrylic front but not going to bother if it’s a waste of time. will either have any impact at all?!? Spray it matt black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Yes will work, but how much? We have a solar tube system, just black pipes, in Spain. Half the area of the pool, facing south on a gantry. It can heat 60m3 by 3C on a midsummer's day but the emerging water is only 0.5C warmer. The cleaning pump runs it so no running cost. Allowing for the pump running I calculated 100 x efficiency. Cotswolds on a sunny day, not facing the sun, small pool? Deduct pump running cost. You tell us. Good fun though. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldDoItUpper Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 (edited) Thanks all, I’m waiting for it to be sunny to see if I can feel the difference between the pool and output pipe. Matt black spray coming up! @ProDavethe pipes are at attached to a bit of leftover caberboard with nail in pipe clips. It only took half an hour or so! @saveasteading were less then 1cubic m so hopefully less of a challenge. Pipes equivalent to approx 1/4 of the surface area. what info do I need to know in order to calculate what the potential might be for the pool temp? I have another 40m of pipe which I could add in series and get (almost) double the temp increase? ive got some leftover 100mm PIR. Should I mount it on this? Any point? Edited July 12, 2022 by CotswoldDoItUpper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 https://www.thermalec.co.uk/calculator/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Stick the coil in a large black bin bag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 4 hours ago, CotswoldDoItUpper said: I’ve made something following YouTube videos. This sentence puts the fear of god into my wife. I’ve made (using off cuts and leftover UFH pipes) a rudimentary solar water heater for the paddling pool (yes, spoilt kids!). it’s about 95cm diameter circle. The paddling pool Is 950L when full. Water pumped from the pool with a fountain pump and then returned to the pool at the opposite end. know that I can (potentially!) make it more efficient by spraying black and enclosing in some form of frame with glass/acrylic front but not going to bother if it’s a waste of time. will either have any impact at all?!? Your invention and time make @Onoff ‘s efforts look tame . You are the new God . 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 38 minutes ago, Temp said: Stick the coil in a large black bin bag? Then what? Wait for bin day? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 4 hours ago, CotswoldDoItUpper said: leftover 100mm PIR. Should I mount it on this? I don't think so. The amount of heat lost to the ground will be tiny. It is fun to turn the pump off for a bit, then you get the same effect as when a hose in the sun is run...lovely hot water for a very short time. Thereafter the temperature difference will be small, but constant. If the water isn't too horrible, and retained for the next day, then a cover keeps the heat in....more prevention of evaporation than conventional cooling. I read a US contractor saying he refused to put in solar heating unless the client also allowed for a cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 The surface area of the pipe exposed to the sun is less than that of the pool as a whole. You might be better off putting thick black plastic in the bottom of the pool, and maybe some bubble wrap on top of the water when it isn't in use. The heat is directly transferred to the water, so fewer losses and no need for a pump. Plus more surface area, so more energy. 4 hours ago, CotswoldDoItUpper said: ive got some leftover 100mm PIR. Should I mount it on this? Any point? It might be more effective if you mount the pool on the PIR. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 You could put the coil inside an overheating room of the house, or even the car to extract some extra heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miek Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 If the water is cooler than the ambient air temp then don't insulate the pipe, better to have free air flow and gather some of the heat from the air. Don't glaze it as that will reduce the amount of light falling on it. Cover the pool. Evaporative heat loss is killer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 5 hours ago, SteamyTea said: Then what? Wait for bin day? Stick it in the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 22 hours ago, CotswoldDoItUpper said: ive got some leftover 100mm PIR. Should I mount it on this? Any point? No make a tight fitting cover for the pool (tight fit into the top) to let the heat build up before use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Active children don't need warm water anyway. This is all for nerdy fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I wonder if floating some black plastic on top would both heat the surface of the water and stop evaporation at the same time? I guess stratification will limit the effectiveness but I bet lots of us have got some heavy gauge DPM to hand and it maximises surface area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 31 minutes ago, Radian said: I bet lots of us have got some heavy gauge DPM to hand Yes, it is good for rolling up bodies in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 16 hours ago, Temp said: Stick it in the sun. Done that . Found it gets very burnt . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Why not run the warmed water down the slide if not too hot? Kids will love it, and you will get a bit of extra sun exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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