Glacier Pool Chillers are Awesome!

[MBTulsa]

Hello -

We live in Tulsa, OK and our summer days have been heating up to 100+ with high humidity and high heat indexes. Our inground saltwater pool is 25,000 gallon with a medium lagoon colored bottom with in-floor cleaners. Our pool is exposed to the sun most of the day.

Our pool water was heating up to 95 degrees and it was awful - you would get in and you would just be "wet" - it was not refreshing and not enjoyable.

We started doing research on a pool chiller and found Glacier Pool Chillers. There are 2 models and we went with the larger residential unit to maximize efficiency.

After installation - we had to tweak the pressure and intake valves to accomodate our in-floor cleaning system - but within 4 days (chiller was on entire time) our pool went from 95 degrees to 83 degrees. It is almost too cold!

It is awesome! We highly recommend this product for anyone that is suffering from hot bathwater in their pool. The units are a bit pricey - but isn't having a pool all about quality of life?

 

[Grape Ape]

That seems like a lot of money for a fan and a heat exchanger. Does it have its own pump or something?

It never gets that hot here, but it seems like it wouldn't cost much more to get a heat pump which might let you keep the pool open a little longer and would also work during the day.

 

[JasonLion]

Chillers are rather expensive to install. Their big advantage is that they use way less electricity than a heat pump run in cooling mode. If you only need to cool occasionally and you also need heat sometimes then a heat pump with a cooling option is a good choice. But if you are cooling for several weeks each year a chiller becomes an attractive option.

 

[eric99gt]

I'm actually thinking of purchasing one next year. Entirely too hot for 50% of the swim season. Jason why would you think install would be pricey? Especially if one does i themselves. Seems relatively simple.

 

[JasonLion]

Expensive is a relative thing. A typical chiller costs $1500+, which is expensive compared to some of the other options. For example, making a fountain out of a couple of pieces of PVC might cost $5 to $10. The fountain won't work nearly as well, but it doesn't cost nearly as much. I didn't mean the actual cost of the plumbing/electrical hookup, which is not a whole lot more than the minimum charge to have a technician come out, or you can do it yourself.

Even if you do it yourself, $1500 is a significant investment. If you are cooling for several months a year, it is a good investment. But if you only need cooling a few days a year, that is a lot of money to spend.

 

[eric99gt]

Oh yes. I do agree. Initial investment is high but when one lives in Houston I think it would pay us back quickly. The pool is regularly 94+ degrees for about 4-5 months out of the season. When it's that hot it's almost not fun to jump in. I've installed a fountain and that keeps temps around 90-91 for most of the season but even then it's a bit too warm.

 

[TXJM]

We are in south Texas too with a warm, bath water type pool this year. We are using it anyway, but I was wondering what type fountain you have? We are thinking of getting one, or we have also considered a pool misting system we saw where the water is recycled as a mist.

2013 - back when I posted in 2009, we bought a simple flower fountain and it can cool the pool up to 10 degrees. Works great! Highly recommend anyone to try this if you need to cool your AGP.

 

[gullzway]

I am also in Tulsa, OK but I have the opposite problem. Our pool is heavily shaded and has yet to break more than 82 degrees. I just aquired a solar cover to see if that helps get the Temp up. May have to do some selective tree trimming to get a little more sun on the pool.

 

[eric99gt]

We are in south Texas too with a warm, bath water type pool this year. We are using it anyway, but I was wondering what type fountain you have? We are thinking of getting one, or we have also considered a pool misting system we saw where the water is recycled as a mist.

It's a pool mist cooler. Just a home constructed project that includes some PVC pipe attached to the returns with some holes drilled in to the pipe.

 

[shakenbake]

We are in south Texas too with a warm, bath water type pool this year. We are using it anyway, but I was wondering what type fountain you have? We are thinking of getting one, or we have also considered a pool misting system we saw where the water is recycled as a mist.

It's a pool mist cooler. Just a home constructed project that includes some PVC pipe attached to the returns with some holes drilled in to the pipe.

I convinced my buddy to install one of these in his 25Kgal pool - easy to install in a jet. In 2 weeks the pool went from 95F to 86F. He was the guinea pig I've put a circuit with 3 jets in the pool we're constructing with these evaporative cooling towers in mind.

 

[TXJM]

Last year we bought a fountain that installed where our submerged light was in the wall of our AGP. Worked GREAT to lower water temp - as much as 10 degrees! Made the pool fun and refreshing again instead of a huge warm bath tub. Highly recommend this for anyone needing to lower water temp and considering an easy fountain fix. Of course, the higher in the air you can shoot the water, the cooler water you get. You can run it high at night, then turn it down or off for swimming the next day and keep spray out of your eyes.

 

[jark87]

I have also been researching the Glacier Chiller, but am currently trying the inexpensive PVC pool misting option. So far, so good. Water temp had reached 90 and we had not yet had our 1st 100 degree day of the summer here in the Dallas area. Water was around 86 in the morning. I installed a mister and ran the pump overnight. I also re-installed a fountain in the spa. Water temp was 83 in the morning and has yet to reach 90 - usually topping out around 86. We are in the midst of a heat wave with 100+ temps, so I'll know soon enough whether or not I'll be able to maintain a comfortable temp. As long as I can keep it 90 or below, I'll be happy! Today is the 4th day of 100+ and water temp is still holding at 86 at the high point.

As an aside, the misting system does let water blow back onto the stone around the pool, which is flagstone. Our pool is salt water and we had some erosion on the stone around the spa last year from the spray. I still may go the Glacier route just for peace of mind, as I don't want to have to replace stone. If anyone has any feedback regarding erosion concerns, as well as more feedback on the Glacier Chiller, I'd love to hear it!

 

[TheOne]

Note this is from the Glacier chiller manual:

"Understand that salt is a corrosive mineral. Salt likes to remove ions and can take zinc away from
galvanized steel and this type of chlorine is five times harder on pool equipment than regular chlorine.
As such, use of a salt system may lead to the deterioration of certain materials if salt levels exceed the
manufacturer’s limits. Steps should be taken to protect your pool cooler and keep it in good working
operation for many years. Our units are made of reinforced fiberglass, with galvanized steel
components. Hose down potentially corrosive parts regularly to reduce salt build up and rusting (from
the fan motor shaft to the exterior visible nuts and bolts). As with all pool equipment there should be
some expectation of cosmetic effects from the corrosiveness of salt water. These cosmetic effects will
not hinder the operation of the pool cooler. Glacier Pool Coolers, however, does not warranty fan
motors or pumps on salt water pools due to salt corrosion or buildup. All remaining parts are fully
warranted as per our limited factory warranty."

 

[Weth]

I notice Tulsa gets down to upper 60s or lower 70s at night. Wouldn't solar run in reverse (not the direction of flow, but at night rather than day) also be helpful? You would also get the added benefit of extending the season when you could run the solar during the day to keep the pool warm?

 

[Big Thunder]

I live in Tulsa as well, our 13000 gal pool is in direct sunlight all day long, after the first two weeks of having a solar cover on, we are at a comfortable 84-86 degrees. Running the pump at night with the fountain attached usually keeps it below 90. Don't use the solar cover anymore.

 

[Molson]

I notice Tulsa gets down to upper 60s or lower 70s at night. Wouldn't solar run in reverse (not the direction of flow, but at night rather than day) also be helpful? You would also get the added benefit of extending the season when you could run the solar during the day to keep the pool warm?

It works for me, if the pool is too hot, I'll run the pump at night with the solar open, drops the temps pretty quick.

 

[ChrisL]

Some automated solar heat controllers have a cooling mode built right in. I can open mine up and switch from Heat mode to Cool mode and the solar panels will operate when the temp on the roof is below the pool temperature.

 

[agent86]

Was about to pull the trigger on the Glacier Pooler Cooler and decided to try the cheap route suggested elsewhere on the forum. All I can say is WOW...normally the pool temp here in Houston would be in the range of 94-96 for my pool, but I made these "CHEAP" PVC pipes "pool misters" and after running the 1HP pump from midnight to 8:00am (after three days) with these installed the starting temp is now down to 84! Kids are actually complaining that it feels too cold. LOL. I'm excited that the pool is now refreshing during the day!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuOde_o-1Yg

 

[Circle-D]

Great pics... I think I will need to do something this year, last year got to hot. And the Glacier idea is cool, pun intended, but definitely not cheap. I have 8 returns, 6 pool and 2 spa. I also run my pump at about 20 GPM. Any suggestions on quantity?

 

[agent86]

I just watched my filter pressure and tried to keep it where it normally is. I had to add a screw in cap to one of my pool returns on the "tanning deck" to get the misters to shoot with any kind of pressure...I just went all out and tried 4...