North side pool services

Pool Heating

So after many years of researching and testing out the best solutions for pool heating options, it is clear that pool owners are very limited on choices. There are things such as solar blankets, solar panels and heat pumps. All of these solutions come with a pretty high purchase price other than a solar blanket which in time looks shabby from the sun and becomes brittle.

What about if you do not have the money to spend on a heat pump but would like to still have some sort of pool heating as a luxury?

We have a simple solution which is used to heat koi ponds and jacuuzis and it works extremely well and offers great pool heating.

Now I know what you thinking ” High electricity bill? ” No! the only reason a geyser is high on electricity is because it is constantly switching on and off during the day and night, the same as boiling a kettle or using a microwave.

So what we use is a standard 3 – 4kw geyser element in a waterproof canister which you can get from any pool shop and this is then installed onto your pools return line. It is also installed with a temperature control unit which is adjustable from 10 – 60 degrees Celsius and is switched on using a separate switch which means you only turn it on when you want to use it.

Now the concept is straight forward, your water is pulled in through the weir and goes through the normal channels but instead of it going from the sand filter back to the swimming pool, it will go from the sand filter through the heating canister and then back into your pool, this will then cause the passing water to heat more and more each time it goes through this channel until it is at the desired temperature you require.

There is however one snag to this and that is elements do have the ability to burn out so once or twice a year you will have to replace it but the cost of an element is approximately R300 so it is really not a killer on the pocket.

You will always need to switch your pool on first, let water start circulating and then switch on the heater if this is not done your element will burn out in seconds.

Another downer on this is althou this is an effective solution and does work, depending on the size of your swimming pool it could take 1 -3 days to heat with a cover on and 5-7 days without a cover, again very dependent on the size of your pool but a good example is we tested it on  a 2×2 splash pool and within 6 hours it was sitting at 36 degrees which yes we know is to hot to get in but for the sake of testing it was done.

Lastly the only other problem with this setup is you will need an electrician to do the installation as we had tried numerous attemps before we got it right and if connected wrong remember water and electriciy do not go well together they will either burn or blow so becareful if attempting this on your  own.

Hope this helps all those people looking for a quick and easy way to heat your swimming pool.

Cheers

North Side Pool Services Crew