Homemade In-ground Pool Heater?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
G

gil_happy

0
Nov 27, 2017
5
Arizona
Hello,


After performing a quick online search for a 'propane pool heater', a number of options came back that ranged between $1100 and $2000! To me this seems very expensive consdering the price of most consumer goods has come way down in price.


I was wondering if anyone knows about, or has seen any type of economical homemade, or DYI propane pool heater? I currently have a 10,000 gallon, in-ground pool (salt) and I'm investigating whether or not there are any type of DYI propane based pool heaters (or any other inexpensive fuel source). It seems like there should definitely be some type of solution out there and it could be something as simple as a heating element that sits in the water (protected of course) and is heated by the propane vs something that pumps the water and recirculates it through in internal element which is what I assume these devices I found online are doing.


Thanks in advance!
 
Prices haven't come down at my supply house and I doubt they will.

Some an idea for you. Joking of course. A real gas heater is the only thing you should install.

redneck heater.jpg
 
So Paul, what beer are you drinking in that picture ? :laughblue:

I agree. $1,100 - $2,000 for a propane heater (I'm guessing around 200kBTU/hr or so) sounds about normal to me. There's plenty of "not-smart" things people can do to kludge together a DIY heater, but none of them will give the safety and reliability of a properly manufactured and installed gas heater. Nor is gas or electric something someone without specific knowledge should fool around with - gas is explosive and electricity is deadly. When mixed with water, both should be handled by a pro.

There have been posts on TFP of people trying to use tankless water heaters to add heat to a pool, but the flow rates and available heating energy are not really sufficient to heat an outdoor pool in any reasonable time frame. I have seen posts of people pumping water from a small Intex pool through a steel pipe loop buried in a wood fire and then emptied back into the pool....certainly about as DIY as you can get and a good way to get rid of landscape debris...

Save up, buy a decent heater from a reputable manufacturer (Raypak makes some of the best heaters), and have a pro install it for safety and peace-of-mind.
 
^I was waiting for that one to come up ;)

None of these options are necessarily cheaper or viable, but in terms of long term energy costs, given your location, have you investigated heat pumps or solar options?

The heater, at $1000-$2000 k or more, is just the beginning of your "investment" when it comes to heating a pool, even one that is 10,000 k gal versus 24k ;) (Ask me how I know ;)
And propane is more expensive than natural gas (though the latter isn't always available.)

As someone who heats their pool yearround in Michigan, thanks to an inflatable winter dome and a spouse willing to humor my hobbies, I will say that even if you COULD safely DIY your heat source, your payback would be nullified in a season ;) Every bit of energy efficiency over time is a worthwhile pursuit!

And efficiency requires engineering specific to application...

With that said, I've found excellent pricing on Raypak at Swimming Pool Supplies - Pool Parts - INYOPools.com, whose owner is a supporting member of this forum. You might want to check out what kind of pricing they have available. While propane lines should be handled by a pipe fitter and electrical by an electrician, there is also a lot of DIY maintenance at support documentation available at that site, and they're good about helping you size the equipment to your individual pool system.
 
JohnT said:
Solar panels. You are in Arizona so sun is plentiful.
Click to expand...

:goodpost:

Agreed. Pro install of panels around here will run a pool owner ~$5k or more BUT you can definitely buy panels online and do the installation yourself. Solar panels in AZ will get a pool swimmable in mid-March and allow you to keep it open until about the end of October. Any earlier or later and you need an active heat source.
 
10,000 gallons of water weighs 83,400lbs.

It takes one BTU to raise 1lb of water 1 degree F.

That means it will take 83,400BTU to raise your pool temperature 1 degree.

Propane has 21,600BTU/lb, so it will take 3.9 lbs of propane to raise your pool temperature 1 degree, or a full grill bottle to raise your pool 5 degrees. At the current US average price of about $2.42/gal (in bulk), it will cost you $11.37 to heat your pool 5 degrees and you'll probably do that every day that you need to heat.

But it's even worse than that, because you don't get all the heat out of burning propane because of the exhaust and the pool is constantly cooling while you are heating it.

Solar pays off quickly.
 
Wow, thank you everyone for the all of the replies.


JohnT / Swampwoman / JoyfulNoise - regarding solar in Arizona, my home already had panel installed when I bought it. Like you said (and according to my pool guy), it is swimmable in mid-March until about the end of October (currently this morning it is 62F).


JohnT - thank you for the calculation on propane; that puts things into perspective.


I guess the next questions is, based upon the fact that I'm in Arizona, already have solar panels, what would the most economical way to heat my pool in the winter if I occasionally heat it?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Do you have a pool cover?

Natural gas heater if you have municipal NG (cheaper than propane) OR install a heat pump. A heat pump only add heat slowly and generally doesn’t work well of the air temp goes below 50F (COP, coefficient of performance, becomes less than 1).

Generally speaking, if you’re opening in March and stop swimming in October, that’s pretty decent for Arizona. Swimming in the dead of winter requires a lot of energy and work to get the pool to a swimmable temp and so most people just switch over to using a hot tub in the winter when they want to enjoy an outdoor soak. It’s really not practical to heat and run a pool in the winter unless you have an indoor pool (which has lots of other issues and complexities associated with it). My advice is to “close” the pool and not waste the time and energy trying to squeeze out a swim day. There are much better things to do outdoors in the AZ winter than jump in a tepid pool with chilly air temps.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Do you have a pool cover?

Natural gas heater if you have municipal NG (cheaper than propane) OR install a heat pump. A heat pump only add heat slowly and generally doesn’t work well of the air temp goes below 50F (COP, coefficient of performance, becomes less than 1).

Generally speaking, if you’re opening in March and stop swimming in October, that’s pretty decent for Arizona. Swimming in the dead of winter requires a lot of energy and work to get the pool to a swimmable temp and so most people just switch over to using a hot tub in the winter when they want to enjoy an outdoor soak. It’s really not practical to heat and run a pool in the winter unless you have an indoor pool (which has lots of other issues and complexities associated with it). My advice is to “close” the pool and not waste the time and energy trying to squeeze out a swim day. There are much better things to do outdoors in the AZ winter than jump in a tepid pool with chilly air temps.
Click to expand...

No pool cover at this time.. there certainly is municipal natural gas (Phoenix area) offered so that is an option. Since this is a 'vacation' home, I am seeing what my options are to heat the pool. At the end of the day, it may not be worth it, unless I end up renting my home to snowbirds, etc and charge them for usage.
 
Running an NG gas line from your meter to the pool equipment pad can cost as much as $11-$15 per linear foot but quite a bit more if there’s any hardscape or “things” blocking a straight run.

If you used a solar bubble cover to help retain heat at night, then you could easily keep your solar running well into November.

I know a few snow-birds and they have no desire to swim in a pool over winter but would happily use a hot tub.
 
Things to keep in mind.

If you use solar, it needs to be warm out in order for the panels to collect the solar heat to put in the water. If it's cloudy out, no heat. If it's cool out and you run water thru them, well you just now cooled off the water more. AZ isn't always very warm especially during the winter months.

If you use an electric heat pump, same thing as solar. You need warm temps to create heat. Plus is takes a long time to actually heat the water. Many folks keep their heat pumps on all the time during the cooler months in case they want to swim.

Gas, natural or propane, provides you with real heat no matter what the temp is outside. It also provides you with a faster way to heat and you can "spot" heat times when you want to swim. It doesn't take days to heat.

*Invest in a solar cover for your pool no matter what heating source you purchase. Keep you heat investment in the pool water.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Running an NG gas line from your meter to the pool equipment pad can cost as much as $11-$15 per linear foot but quite a bit more if there’s any hardscape or “things” blocking a straight run.

If you used a solar bubble cover to help retain heat at night, then you could easily keep your solar running well into November.

I know a few snow-birds and they have no desire to swim in a pool over winter but would happily use a hot tub.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you about using the hot tub vs pool in the winter. Although a pool cover is a pain in the butt, it sounds like a cheap solution to extending the pool season.

- - - Updated - - -

ps0303 said:
Things to keep in mind.

If you use solar, it needs to be warm out in order for the panels to collect the solar heat to put in the water. If it's cloudy out, no heat. If it's cool out and you run water thru them, well you just now cooled off the water more. AZ isn't always very warm especially during the winter months.

If you use an electric heat pump, same thing as solar. You need warm temps to create heat. Plus is takes a long time to actually heat the water. Many folks keep their heat pumps on all the time during the cooler months in case they want to swim.

Gas, natural or propane, provides you with real heat no matter what the temp is outside. It also provides you with a faster way to heat and you can "spot" heat times when you want to swim. It doesn't take days to heat.

*Invest in a solar cover for your pool no matter what heating source you purchase. Keep you heat investment in the pool water.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all of these details... it provides me with many options to think about and to be aware of.
 
318f2596a573c5f337c85bd2a32c2efe.jpg


This is a commercially built wood fueled pool heater with a SS heat exchanger
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply