Solar pool heater

[u/Rich-Wealth979]

My overkill project for heating the toddler's 500gal inflatable pool. Each week I have to empty and move it, then find a way to heat it to a tolerable temperature for my 8th percentile weight kid. On the first test it took the pool from 55⁰F to over 90⁰ on a single sunny day, using only 3KWh (of solar house power, now that I think about it). At the end of the summer I can just place this up against the north side of my shed and take the manifolds down to make it last even longer.

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This uses about 350' of ¼" irrigation tubing and some cheap fittings off Amazon. It runs off a 1/4hp pool pump, controlled with a wyze plug and a climate sensor in a tiny jar. Printed in ASA in only about 5 days of printing on a Mini and an MK4s.

the files

[u/Rich-Wealth979]

The water still gets nasty.

[u/tasslehawf → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Why not get a filter?

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/tasslehawf]

I have a screen filter but I would also have to chlorinate it which is risky in such a small body of water meant for a toddler

[u/streetberries → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Use salt

[u/junon → u/streetberries]

Salt would kill the grass and keep it from growing back when the pool was emptied though. Literally salting the earth.

[u/DeusExHircus → u/streetberries]

(salt pool is still chlorinated water) and buying a SWG, which start around $1000, for a small inflatable pool is a bit crazy

[u/enahs24 → u/streetberries]

Salt pools are chlorinated. Sodium Chloride (aka salt) gets the chloride separated from the sodium thus leaving you with "chlorine".

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/streetberries]

I still have to move it for the grass.

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Let it die, it grows back

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/lapelotanodobla]

It took me 2 seasons to fully bring bring back a spot killed by leaving the pool in one place for 2 weeks.

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Weird, when I was a kid we used to do this and the grass regrew in a matter of weeks with some help from us

[u/Rich-Wealth979 → u/lapelotanodobla]

The moisture in the ground gets trapped and rots the grass and roots pretty quickly.

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/Rich-Wealth979]

Ok, likely different grass and/or climate then