John, thank you Sooooooo much for sharing this. I just copied your idea last month to prepare for a graduation party & had my pool up to 80 Fahrenheit 2 weeks before Mem. Day which was a good month ahead of usual in my part of Ohio. (A couple very cold days & nights & a heavy cold rain just days after I removed & stowed the tubing set me back to 70, but that was just crappy timing on my part disassembling to get the deck cleared off too soon.) Still shopping for a reliable & economical longer term solution, but this was a great, inexpensive quick fix.

May 26th today. We have had colder weather and rain for most of the time since May 15, but now we have had about 4 days of 80+ degree weather in a row. Two weeks ago my pool water was 65 degrees and today it is 80 degrees. I met my goal. Time to roll it all back up on a spool and hopefully I can use again next year.

Great idea using the pool outlet to push water through the pipe. I bought a pond pump, paid 89.00 for it but I think I am going to do what you did and connect it to one of my outlets.

Darn good idea with the T outlet.

You should lower the hot water out line to the bottom of the pool because heat rises and it will help warm the pool up faster and lessen the chances of over evaporation occurring

Damn you have a great pool setup

I tried this a couple of years ago with half-inch irrigation tubing and a pond pump. The problem is, once the hot water circulates out of the system, the water doesn’t stay hot for long. Eventually the water runs cold and you’re just circulating cold water again. The only way this works is if the water in the black tubing is given just enough time to heat up, and then is circulated into the pool. Rinse and repeat.

Brilliant idea !!

Glad I live in south Texas and our winters last about 24 hours

@dickhitswater4836

2 жыл бұрын

yeah, pretty miserable summers though.

I'm in the same situation this year. Just had the pool installed last week of April 2017. Water in pool is 62 degrees with the weather not co-operating. It's 52 outside degrees this morning. I'm also looking to get the pool warmed up and am thinking about a simple and inexpensive solar heater like you have. I have a solar cover that arrived yesterday and will be putting it on the pool today. Thanks for sharing!

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

solar cover really doesn't do much but help maintain water temp. you will feel the water get warm at the surface after a full day of sun, but it will take weeks of warm weather to warm the pool.

There's just something amazingly inspiring about someone as yourself who is a Darn Good DIY creative person!

@JohnHansknecht

4 жыл бұрын

Someone should tell that to my wife! Lol. I usually only get grief for my projects.

@tamismith007

4 жыл бұрын

​@@JohnHansknecht Awe, well, you're Fantastic, yeah, that's true!

I built a solar heat panel after watching some You Tube videos. 120.00 for the plexi-glass, 89.00 for the adjustable pond pump. 30.00 dollars for the 4x8 sheet of plywood, 20.00 for the four pieces of pressure treated 2x4, two garden hoses for the in and out at 70.00..(I buy American made when I can, not the Chinese junk) 300 feet of 3/4 pex tubing was 135.00, fittings to link hoses to pex tubing, etc 20.00, screws to hold plexi-glass to frame and put frame together I would say I used about 10.00 worth, Paint spray cans black 20.00 worth, all total= 514.00 Results? I live in Central Pa, currently on 4/28/2020 it is about 55 degrees outside and sunny. with some clouds passing through. The panel is heating up to 100.00 inside and the continual output is 64 degree's. The pool temperature is 54'F It's cold outside so I imagine it will only get better. I think the mistake I made was using 3/4 inch pex tubing instead of 1/2. I will be making another one using 1/2 inch pex tubing which is only 75.00 for 300 feet. The 3/4 will feed into the 1/2 inch then. I am a little disappointed with the results, I expected better after spending 500.00 and I forgot to mention caulking I bought to seal everything up. I did this because I wanted to extend pool swimming season. I worked hard and spent 10,000.00 putting in a built in pool for the family. did not seem right to spend that money and only be able to use the pool for three months out of year. I hope this does the trick but am not convinced. You can buy the rubber panels on Amazon for 250 a section. I may have been better off doing that. Also, to anyone thinking of putting in their own built in pool, if you have some common sense, you can do it. The pool companies in my area wanted 35000.00 to put in the same pool..(pool included) I did mine for about 10,000 including the concrete patio surrounding pool. FYI.

@danielroden9424

3 жыл бұрын

you can get the same effect with corrugated roof panels that are transparent for 20 dollars for 2x8 (x2 so 40) and 1/2 inch 500 foot garden tubing for 39 dollars using the other materials you listed and save yourself 160 dollars

@maddygoodwin1896

Жыл бұрын

I just installed my own pool in Maine (18x36) and trying to get a longer swim season- a month on either side of it. How much is your pool increasing in temp with the solar heater? I also have a solar cover as well as black cover I may use. Have you made any adjustments and your recommendations? Thanks!

wow this is great, its a good thing that I watch this video.. thanks..

i am a pool guy and used to do the same thing with garden hoses. 10 degrees rise in pool temperature i would get in just 3 wraps around the pool. good for you

That is pretty smart utilizing the Sun. But you just eliminated walking space and cluttered up a beautiful deck

@JohnHansknecht

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Only for a week to warm the pool in spring. Nobody using deck at that point anyway.

@drbarchitect

4 жыл бұрын

@@JohnHansknecht GREAT IDEA!! I was looking at doing a DIY system that was stationary on my shed roof. But now I'm rethinking that based on your video thinking why do that when you have to look at it 365 days versus a week or two at the beginning and end of the season.... I like it!

@drbarchitect

4 жыл бұрын

... And I love the idea of connecting to the pool return outlet.

That fitting you made for the outlet it darn cleaver! I have the reverse problem now mid summer, my pool is too warm. Thinking about doing basically the same setup but running it at night to radiate off heat.

@markabston5182

6 жыл бұрын

DoItYourselfDad Get a pool fountain, it helps allot with cooling off the water. I was having the same issue 2 years ago. Someone told me to try a fountain. Believe it or not it works. I use an intex pool fountain.

Those leaks can be taped up but it will take awhile to circulate the entire pool to raise the temperature!

I wonder how this would compare to just having a big black tarp floating in the pool?

Good idea

You should have the warm water drain back into the bottom of the pool.

@TimLewallen

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, the discharging the hot water on TOP of the solar cover kind of defeats the point of having a solar cover in the first place.

Thanks was the tube under pressure when you put the glue on it? the flex seal paint spray did not work honestly my roll had so many holes some quite huge right off the roll I have given up trying to seal them all. I put duct tape on the bigger ones and that's it for me just too many

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

It was not under pressure. I marked the holes first and then shut off the pump and let the tube flatten out. Sad to hear you had so many holes. Wish they made this tubing in a heavier mil thickness.

Hello i am not that smart in this area i spent about 40 mins at Lowe's and came out more confused. What is the fitting being used on the inside of the pool that connects to the wall where the water flows from the pump to the pool and spits out

@mark7176

5 жыл бұрын

Return Jet

John, What is"the little directional thing" to which you refer? Does it regulate the outflow so that water is directed into the hose and what is it exactly?

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

Robert Howell it is a simple pvc tee. When a tee is screwed onto the pump discharge, the water flows to both outputs. When I then screw on the directional nozzle, it gives a little back pressure and water starts flowing through the black poly. If you tried to sent the entire flow through the poly, it would burst .

During normal pool use do you remove the hose from the decking? Or leave it out and try not to trip over it ? Thx, Gerry from San Diego,CA

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

I only have it up before pool season, then I take it down after it has warmed the pool. By the end of summer, we are all 'pooled out' and I don't bother with using it to extend the season.

I really like this idea!! I have a question though.. Can you use a regular black garden hose instead of the poly tube? For longevity and extra heating purpose.

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

It was 1000 feet of tubing, and it needed to be 2" tubing so the water could flow. You couldn't get flow through 1000 feet of garden hose and it would be very expensive.

@Debber0401

6 жыл бұрын

We use the black garden hose that is pushed to the peak of the roof and zigzags back and forth on the one side of the 16’x 32’ roof, which is then pumped back into the pool. We can close the feed to the roof so that the water just gets pumped from the filter back to the pool once the water reached the desired temp.

Genius

So just puttin it up that time before pool season is enough for this heat to last throughout the whole season? Excuse me but I am very new at this pool stuff. Gerry

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

There is an itching or spring fever to start swimming after winter is done. We tend to want to heat our pools up. Then, once the water is warmer the sun is out and generally more days of warmth and the pool is good for swimming. Occasionally there will be some cold nights and the pool chills down, and then you either heat it again or wait for the sun to do it.

nice video. can you tell me specifically which hose you have there? if you dont have the specifics, could you point me in the general direction? thanks!

@JohnHansknecht

3 жыл бұрын

It wasn't actually hose. It was bagging material from Uline. Designed to be thermal sealed by a bag sealer. It isn't very strong.

How long did you leave running? What was the overall pool temperature in the end (not just at the exit hose). How long did it take?

Hey John, great video. Can you provide more info on the tee you installed? That looks like it would work for me on my in ground pool. Right now my water level is a little low and I'm slowly raising it up by trickling water through 5 black hoses coiled on my deck when the sun is out. Once it's full I'd like to use a set up like you have.

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

Ama Dablam it is a pvc tee with a male 1.5 inch thread to screw into my existing outlet. then another adapter to the internal diameter of the plastic bag material. it has been 1 year and the 6mil plastic is not good for a second use, so it would be $50 each year. this year I will wait for mother nature to warm the pool.

@amadablam8229

7 жыл бұрын

John Hansknecht Hey thanks for the reply john. So do I have to remove the existing jet to get to the threads?

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

Ama Dablam yes, it just unscrews. Then carry it to the home store to test fit the thread to make sure you are buying the correct fitting. you want a tee with a male to your outlet and a female on the opposite end so you can screw the jet back in. this gives sufficient back pressure for the side port to your heating tube and does not cause any undue strain to your pumping system.

What year

Nice try, I did the same on a smaller scale, but in UK temperature is not as hot as your. But I did get hot water coming out the out feed end , but even in my 10k litre pool it didn't make any real difference to temperature overall. But as it's free I can't complain. Even my electric pool heater didn't help much after being on for 2 days.

@JohnHansknecht

Жыл бұрын

Yes, we do what we can. It was cheap and worth a try. It brought my temp up faster than nature was going to do it, and then I put it all away for the following year. Now I live in South Carolina USA, so much warmer all year long, but I still close the pool over winter. It would cost too much to bring it up to swimming temperature in the winter.

Reached 110 degrees today on the outlet water!

@justinthomas2880

7 жыл бұрын

John Hansknecht what is the warmest that you got your actual pool temp?

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

I took it down after reaching 82 degrees because my wife doesn't like a hot pool. As summer comes we then have to shade the pool or it gets near 90.

@derekdresser9214

7 жыл бұрын

Hi John thanks for sharing this. I wanted to ask you for an update on your pool heater. it's been a year were you able to use it again this year? I decided to give it a try myself this year to tied us over for the year. did you try to fix the pin holes? if so how did you patch them?

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

Derek Dresser I have it going today, but I am only using about 200 feet from the roll. The pinholes are so small I don't worry about it. The most difficult part of reusing the tube was wrapping the old tube back on to a reel. It wont fit back on the original reel. It was getting unwieldy, so I just cut it short because I had a tangled mess. Last Sunday it raised my pool 3 degrees in one day, so I'm still happy with it.

@derekdresser9214

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks John, good info. Wow that is a lot shorter. I have some big pin holes in mine. I may have to go shorter myself due to space issues and a rather large dog the needs his space. If you were going to fix the pin holes what would you use to fix them? 3 degrees a day is still good

do have a part number or description for ULINE black tubing?Thanks

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

uline.com/BL_2105/Black-Heavy-Duty-Poly-Tubing. The 6 mil 2" is what I used. Model S-11127

Neat

@JohnHansknecht

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, I see you found my one viral video. Seems lots of folks want cheap ways to heat their pool. I've moved south now and will probably need to cool my pool.

question, is it worth get a 16 or 12 mil cover, versus 10 or 8 mil?? since they really dont last that long anyway. thanks

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

kenny play the good ones last about 3-4 years. Your choice.

@kennyplay5982

6 жыл бұрын

and the not so good ones last how long??

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

kenny play I'm not a cover salesman, so I have no clue.

@DoItYourselfDad

6 жыл бұрын

I've had cheap covers fall apart in one season. I've found the key to keeping them in good shape is storing them out of the sun when not on the water. It's not just the UV, but the heat that gets built up in them when they aren't on the water that breaks them down.

also, i believe that solar cover instructions say that its not good to leave the cover out in sunlight because of UV breakdown.

Not very usable on deck that way, also a lot of kinks on hose how do you move hose without more kinks

@JohnHansknecht

5 жыл бұрын

I guess you didn't understand. This was a "one time use" solution to warm up the pool "BEFORE" swimming season. Left on the deck day and night, an automatic temperature switch would run the pump when it sensed the deck was heated above 80 degrees. It was much cheaper than using any other fuel source to warm the pool and was very quick.

Why wouldn’t you have all the exhaust water go into the hose? Seems to me it would heat much quicker.

@brianh.5334

6 жыл бұрын

Couple of reasons... If the water pressure is too high it may break his tubing so there are limits from that perspective. Secondarily, if the water is moving too quickly, it won't have the time to pick up heat from the deck and the sun so you may end up with more water going through the hose (faster flow rate) but it may come out at a lower temperature.

Easy to Assemble - But watch the video

Your pool will heat quicker if you remove your pool cover. Solar blankets are not meant to be used during the day. They are used to hold the heat in during the night when the sun is not out.

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

Brent A that really depends on what the air temperature is.

@HillBillyTheKid

6 жыл бұрын

Your right it does. But I'm assuming it is sunny/ warm outside, otherwise where are you getting the heat for your fancy new heater? You would not believe how many people think that solar blankets are used to promote heat during the day.

@CaptainElwood85

6 жыл бұрын

Brent I beg to differ. Here in Australia, I managed to get my pool to 37 degrees Celsius in under a week with the pool blanket on during summer. We were going to the beach so didn’t use he pool. When I took it off it was stupidly hot to swim in. Now if I didn’t have the blanket on there is no way my pool Would reach that temperature that quickly inside a week with same weather conditions.

@CaptainElwood85

6 жыл бұрын

Brent also.... when I take my blanket off during they day the first 6inches deep are hot. So you can clearly tell it is heating the water.

@HillBillyTheKid

6 жыл бұрын

If you do some research I can assure you this is not the case.. it goes against common sense. Why does one wear sunscreen? To protect them from the sun... having your blanket on blocks the sun. Sure it will still heat but not as fast. You are entitled to your own opinion as am I, but I have had a pool my whole life and I have worked in the pool and spa industry for almost 20 years.

The problem with solar pool heater is.........its solar!!!!! I actually need my pool to heat up when its NOT sunny and hot outside....and no solar system will do that for you When its sunny and warm i dont need to heat my pool ??!!?!

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

Richard Lefebvre this was intended to show how you can cheaply bring a pool up to swim temperature in early spring, well ahead of the normal swim season. Then it is taken down and put away.

@valeriew4833

6 жыл бұрын

Lol then why are you here watching a solar pool cover video?

@icarusod

6 жыл бұрын

John Hansknecht. Thx makes sence ..

50k pool yet breaks the wallet on a heater

@JohnHansknecht

6 жыл бұрын

Pool was about $6000 if I remember correctly. It is an on-ground pool by Aquastarmi.com because an inground was not an option on my sloping land.

@drbarchitect

4 жыл бұрын

So by your logic if you have a $50k pool, you have to have a $10k heater and waste $1k a month on the electric to gas to run it.... Do hate on someone trying to save a buck.

@nauticajr22

4 жыл бұрын

Hello Royce, If you are interested in buying this pool i will sell you it for 49k. Im running a huge sale.

But you got the joke cover on the pool stopping it from warming up lol oh and you can't shoot WATER with a laser and get a temp LOL.

@JohnHansknecht

7 жыл бұрын

Solar covers warm the pool by absorbing sunlight and transferring it to the water. The bubbles in the cover then insulate the warm water at night to prevent heat loss during cold nights. That is not a "laser". It is an infrared pyrometer and it is quite accurate measuring because it measures the frequency of infrared light leaving a surface. This includes water. Geez, do I have to teach all of you? You should have learned this in school.

@Lcvelycute176

6 жыл бұрын

John, dont bother common folk with facts...its not worth your time!

@dickhitswater4836

2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnHansknecht the amount of stupid questions and lack of knowledge is amazing on this video! I’m going to do a similar set up this year, we have a permanently installed solar unit on our roof but being in the PNW summer days just aren’t enough to heat a big pool by itself and my family likes the water to be warm. After several years are you still using that set up?

@JohnHansknecht

2 жыл бұрын

@@dickhitswater4836 I used it three years in a row just to give a boost to what nature was going to do. By the third year, I had cut the length in half because of all the pinhole leaks. I no longer live in Virginia. Moved to an island in SC and have a new bigger pool. Here in SC, I keep my pool covered through winter and pollen season, which is the month of March, but after that it is warm enough to open completely without needing a heater. Would I do this again had I stayed in Virginia? I would have probably invested in some large diameter PEX or black irrigation piping so it could be a little stronger than the ULINE bagging material.