How nice is it when your plans work out.

[DaveR]

I know this has nothing to do with CT’s, but, seen as I have done this task successfully, I can seek approval for CT renovation budget increases. So it is sort of CT related, besides, I have to brag to someone.

So what am I on about, well I made my own pool water solar heater system for a budget of $700, plus beers to celebrate.
I did my research, and found there are lots of cheap rubbish and then the cheapest reasonable quality option to suit our needs was starting price of $4,500, plus freight, plus me assembling it.
Some items available are not Cockatoo Proof, or, the internal material deteriorates and turns the pool water black. None of these suppliers offer what I would regard a reasonable warranty.
So I made my Own, and a quick test today showed a reasonable temperature differential which I was looking for with poor sunlight shinning upon the “Solar Collectors” or for us real folk, lengths of polly pipe.


What you see is 4 x 75 meter lengths of 25mm polly pipe or "1 inch Blue Stripe". It is coiled around as 4 separate lengths and the theory is that the gap is to allow sunlight to bounce of the tin roof below and heat the undersides of the pipe as well as what is exposed to direct sunlight.
I found out that the stuff from a green shed is expensive rubbish which is not UV rated, where as Plumber suppliers sell stuff with a 50 year UV warranty. Sweet! Green shed = $52, Real Plumbers shop = $ 67 for 50 meter roll of 25 mm.
My pool is directly behind the Patio, the south side, so throughout winter there is no sunlight on the pool, the neighbors have their pools exposed to sun and are splashing around long before us. I then get 4 x protesters in my ear about it........
I hope this will help, bring us into to line with the neighbors at least. If it aint heating the pool up enough in 4 x weeks, Ill just "Tee"in additional lines to add more exposure as the above photo only show half of the patio roof, but only after the sheet metal guy has done my new fridge box for the CT.....

[GGV8Cruza]

Great job, that type of pipe should last a while and do the job, even in Melbourne when we use it on a building site we have to keep it out of the sun as the water gets too hot for the workers and the chilled water coolers work overtime.

Just a side note, is the roof structure able to cope with the extra weight, I think you may be surprised how much weight may be up there in the coils

GG

[DaveR]

Ah yes, thankyou sir, total weight of my solar heater is 160 kgs over 13.5 m/2
The guy who built it said no worries!!! We made extra supports below for it.

[Kit_e_kat9]

Well ain't that pretty! 

Any chance you can whip up 4 more?  The BF's pool see's about 2 hours of sunlight in summer time and basically FA in winter ...  Regardless I'm pinching your photo and leaving it stuck to a lot of things around his house.

Kit_e

[noel_w]

Did you connect up to a separate pump for the solar?. Also you can get controllers that keep the temp set to what you want. Expensive though. My controller has carked it and I'm balking at the $450 to replace it.


Great show of ingenuity though. Like your style.

[muzza01]

That is pretty clever Dave.  I love 25mm blue-line.  I have put in nearly 200 meters of the stuff at my place but all under ground. I have put in 7 extra taps and 4 upright sprinklers around out block. I still have more to come.

[Pirate_Pete]

If you find you can't get enough heat with that you can also try putting a layer of the clear green house plastic over the top with a small air gap this would stop any wind blowing the heat in the coils away.

[DaveR]

I used the existing pump, just added a diversion valve and either have the water returning back to the pool or up to the roof for heating.
No fancy temperature control, just a thermometer on the before and after lines to monitor it myself.
This system will be used to cool the water as well as in the middle of Jan, the water gets too hot some times. So I hope to simply change the running time of the pump to start at 01:00 am to allow the water to cool off a bit, again, it is a bit of a theory anyway.

Pirate Pete, I like that idea, but sadly I have to make everything storm proof and I lack suitable places to secure the cover, but some breeze protection would be nice as in the low temps of today, the breeze robbed some of the heating I think.

I have got a bit of a pickle with it, not quite perfect. I have the diverter fitted after the sand filer, the added pressure of pumping the water through the extra lines and 3m rise to the roof is showing on the gauge of the sand filter. Yet if I divert the water and heat it before the filter, I will reduce the pressure in the filter but also heat it up which is a lot of mass to heat that sits in my cool temperature shed.
So I have decided to keep it with the diverter valve after the filter but only 50% diverted to the roof, Still had heating of the water today with a cool breeze and scatted clouds.
That will do for me...
Now, wonder how my new box for the trailblaza is coming along to go up front of the CT?