# Best way to heat a pool without, ya know, buying a pool heater **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874 "2013-03-13T23:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/1 "2013-03-13T23:59:30Z")
Our family has recently acquired a lovely home in the desert oasis of Las Vegas. The house has a great pool, but the pool has no heating system- traditional, solar, or otherwise. While I realize that, come August, heating the pool will be the least of our worries, I thought it might be nice to be able to extend the pool season a bit through other means. I’ve read about covers that absorb the sun, floating discs that absorb the sun, on and on. Are any of these worth while? Or is everything just a waste until we get around to installing an actual solar panel system for the house and pool? What do you guys use? [It’s a decent sized pool, but not huge.](http://i.imgur.com/dhGWJwy.jpg) I think the deep end is 8 or 9 feet or so. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/2 "2013-03-14T00:08:33Z")
Throw a fire in it. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/3 "2013-03-14T00:20:32Z")
Turn a propane grill into a [redneck pool heater.](http://www.redneckpoolheater.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Kkrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Kkrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kkrose)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/4 "2013-03-14T00:32:19Z")
Have you looked at [these?](http://www.pooldisk.com) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/5 "2013-03-14T00:35:15Z")
A solar blanket will keep the heat in overnight. The solar blanket doesn’t absorb heat, and left on during the day can cause some crappy chemical reactions. It’s meant to trap heat overnight only. The most efficient way to gather heat during the day is through solar energy. It’s not a solar panel system, but rather a black maze that is heated by the sun’s radiant energy thereby transferring the gathered heat to the flowing water. Costco has fairly decent solar systems for sale at the start of every pool season, but if you procrastinate they’re gone fairly early: well in my neck of the woods anyway. I have never believed in the solar fish myth. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/6 "2013-03-14T00:44:21Z")
> [@Kkrose](#): > > Have you looked at [these?](http://www.pooldisk.com) Those are one of the things I mention in the OP. I’ve seen them, but I have no idea how effective they are. > [@Leaffan](#): > > The most efficient way to gather heat during the day is through solar energy. It’s not a solar panel system, but rather a black maze that is heated by the sun’s radiant energy thereby transferring the gathered heat to the flowing water. Costco has fairly decent solar systems for sale at the start of every pool season, but if you procrastinate they’re gone fairly early: well in my neck of the woods anyway. What would such a thing be called? And what sort of price range are we looking at? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/7 "2013-03-14T00:54:27Z")
You could always pepper spray it? I hear that burns. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/8 "2013-03-14T00:57:38Z")
Some you can just lay on the [ground](http://www.costco.ca/SunQuest-Solar-Pool-Heater.product.10349641.html), and some you can mount on [roofs](http://www.costco.ca/Solar-Works-Solar-Pool-Heater-for-In-ground-or-Above-ground-Pools.product.100035893.html). ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/9 "2013-03-14T01:39:38Z")
We have a pool and included in the price was a choice of heater - gas or solar. We selected the solar, thankfully, and it does indeed increase swim months by about 2-3 months or so. It is like that rubber mat linked in the thread above - and it connects from your pool filter and simply shoots the water up to the roof, through the rubber matting (think of little hoses running back and forth and back and forth up there) and when the sun is shining - almost every day here in Vegas - it most certainly does warm the water up. If you are not careful, you can accidentally turn your pool into a huge jacuzzi with water temp easily over 100 degrees - not at all fun to swim in. BTW, you can also use this system to cool your pool - let the pump run at night and that same rubber panal cools the water instead of heat it. It is “free” heat…you have to run the filter about 6 hours a day anyway, and all it is doing is pushing the water up to the roof, through that black rubber mat and back down into the pool, so no extra cost whatsoever. Worth the price of installing one - but I am sorry to say I don’t know the price. Can’t be all that much as it is really just an intricate rubber mat, some PVC tubing going up and coming down, and that is about it. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/10 "2013-03-14T01:49:23Z")
Paint it black? Or would that be too hot? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/11 "2013-03-14T02:06:10Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Paint it black? Or would that be too hot? If you mean paint the actual pool black, that supposedly helps a bit, but it does make your pool look like a dark lagoon. Our neighbors have a pool with a very dark color and they are not happy - they cannot see a lot of the gunk that might show up in a clear pool and if you drop a ring or something like that, good luck finding it. BTW, it is not so much “painted” black as it is sprayed with a type of dark color concrete mixture. Of course, in our pool (much like the one in the OP’s linked photo) you can see every single leaf and twig and pollen grain…which also has its drawbacks, but at least you can clean it faster and easier. Plus, most relatively new pools have an automated vacuum that does all the hard work for you. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/12 "2013-03-14T19:07:45Z")
Encourage your pool guests to pee in it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cymy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Cymy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cymy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/13 "2013-03-14T19:30:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Some you can just lay on the [ground](http://www.costco.ca/SunQuest-Solar-Pool-Heater.product.10349641.html), and some you can mount on [roofs](http://www.costco.ca/Solar-Works-Solar-Pool-Heater-for-In-ground-or-Above-ground-Pools.product.100035893.html). After my pool heater broke, I rigged up a DIY version of the above on the concrete around my pool in New Hampshire–cheap black corrugated tubing from the local home improvement warehouse–and it works great during our short summers. It doesn’t make the water warm like bath water, but it takes the chill out by several degrees and cost about $30, including connectors. I don’t cover the pool, I imagine that if I did, it just might get bath-watery. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/14 "2013-03-14T23:03:50Z")
I am writing this from central Illinois, where everything outside is gray and brown and snowing: That looks like a rough gig, Diosa. I’m a strong person though. If you invited me to visit I think I could handle it. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/15 "2013-03-14T23:45:15Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Encourage your pool guests to pee in it. 😉 Sign at a neighbor’s pool when I was growing up: “Welcome to our ool! Notice there is no P in it, let’s keep it that way.” We have one of those solar blankets - it looks like a heavier version of packing bubbles. It comes square and we have to trim it to fit our pool. Works well and extends our season by about a month on either end of summer. The comment about messed up chemical balances in the water is true, tho, so you have to pay attention. It is also kind-of a hassle to remove and put back on at night, requiring two people to make it easy, altho it can be done with one. Cost is in the $200 range, I think. They disintegrate and need to be replaced every 3 years or so. Our neighbor has a solar array for heating pool water on his roof - it is connected directly to the filter, and as stated, it heats as well as cools. His season is about a month more than ours on either end of summer. Cost was in the $800 - $1200 range (est). We also have a gas heater for the 'cuzzi, but to heat the whole pool would be prohibitively expensive. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/16 "2013-03-15T02:13:27Z")
Throw a bunch of sodium and/or potassium in there. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/17 "2013-03-15T02:24:30Z")
Body warmth is the answer. Get into the pool in the morning and stay there all day and well into the evening. Bring food to the water’s edge and only leave the pool to make quick bathroom breaks. Continue this daily for a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/18 "2013-03-15T03:25:18Z")
Knock down that building that is casting a shadow over it. It’s blocking a half day’s worth of heat! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/19 "2013-03-15T03:42:03Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > It is “free” heat..you have to run the filter about 6 hours a day anyway, and all it is doing is pushing the water up to the roof, through that black rubber mat and back down into the pool, so no extra cost whatsoever. I doubt this is correct. The extra work will at the least be increasing the workload (and hence power consumption) of the filter motor. My mother’s pool has an extra pump fitted to push the water up to her roof, and that obviously uses extra power. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874/20 "2013-03-15T06:13:13Z")
I’m sorta looking at solar panels. Leslie’s has cheap (don’t know what they charge) flexible black poly sheet with thin wall tubing - in the showroom,it looks oval - do no know if water pressure would inflate it. I am underwhelmed, but I remember when it was copper pipe in rigid boxes with real glass cover - just like a greenhouse). There is another product with real pipe headers and arrays - it looks like it would handle much greater volume of water. This pool was built with solar panels (the real ones). Unfortunately, they were installed over a cheap roof and did not survive the re-roof. All that remains are the feed lines between the equipment pad and the roof. There is no need to worry about over-heat - if it gets too hot, partially close the valve which diverts the water from the filter - you need to be able to shut it off (plus put a one-way valve to keep the water from trying to flow backwards and mess up the pump) for maintenance (such as a new roof). If you want to automate the system, the time would be while you’ve got it open for adding a heater. This also has a gas heater downstream from the solar lines - not a bad idea - if nothing else, it could heat the spa even if the pool season is over. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-heat-a-pool-without-ya-know-buying-a-pool-heater/652874.md?page=2)