Description
- SOLAR POOL HEATER – The SunHeater Solar Pool Heating System allows you to capture free heat from the sun’s rays to effectively raise your pool water temperature. It’s an efficient and cost-effective method to heat your pool.
- EXTENDS POOL SEASON – Your pool’s pump pushes the water through the panel’s many tubes where it’s warmed by the sun and then returned into the pool. This system can raise the water temperature 6-10 degrees F and extend your pool season by weeks!
- EASY TO INSTALL – This pool solar heater uses your existing filtration system and has 4 end caps, 2 elbows for flex hose connection, 6 stainless steel hose clamps, 1 roll of Teflon tape, and rubber connector hoses.
- TUBE ON WEB DESIGN – The tube-web-tube design allows the SunHeater to capture the most sun possible, maximizing square footage. It offers rigid flexibility, allowing panels to expand and contract with changing temps, giving it the strength needed to last.
- DIMENSIONS – The SunHeater Solar Pool Heater includes two 2’ x 20’ panels, made of durable polypropylene. It’s a universal system that works for pools up to 31’ round or 18’ x 36’.
Becky –
When I got this it was all rolled up so I had to let it lay on the ground for a few days for the sun to soften it enough to be more pliable. I also had to buy hardware to support it so I purchased some PVC piping which does an adequate job of supporting it. It took a few weeks to get done due to my schedule and the weather, and at first thought this wasn’t a good way to up the temperature of the pool. But once I got it installed it started to do the job. There was one leak in the panel, a small one at that, which I plan to repair with an adhesive to block the tiny hole. But surprisingly I did not experience any other leaks once all the fittings were secure and in place. You definitely want to use plumber’s tape as I have learned with operating a pool over the years!
The installation was challenging, and now that it is set up the panel sags in a few spots (likely due to expansion now that it’s all unfurled) but this will be corrected when I construct a better frame for next year.
I had to add a bypass for the water flow into the pool, especially for cleaning purposes. This is because the water does become restricted in the main tubes at the side to force it to channel the water through the tubes where the sun heats it up. I installed a bypass with a valve so I could control when I wanted most of the water to go through as is to provide the cleaning power in the pool and when I wanted it to go through the solar panels. The bypass added some weight to one side of the panels so I added a pole to provide additional support.
Overall this is a good product but do expect some work getting it set up (and that you need to provide your own frame to support it with). Now that the hot and humid weather finally arrived, we are seeing the benefits of this product. Just remember it will take several days to raise the temperature of the pool by as much as 5 to 10 degrees. Also keep in mind you’ll have to be on top of cleaning the pool as the increased temperature can lead to an accelerated algae growth in the pool if not taken care of properly.
Curt Hollenbaugh –
Last night after the sun went down we were in our 88 degree water with visible steam rising from the surface. It was awesome. The average daily temp in PA where I live has been less than 70 degrees since we filled the pool and about 78 the past 4 days. Last year I might have been able to get the water temperature up to 78 this week had I been very meticulous with the solar cover. So I’m crediting these solar panels with a 10 degree improvement.
The panels were actually the least expensive part of the project. All together I spent about $1000 for this set up, but I had a lot of fun doing it. My house is too far away from the pool to run pipe through the yard and up to the roof. The pool gets only about 4-5 hours of sunlight a day, but the area around the pool gets up to 9 hours of sunlight per day. The problem is this: the area with sun changes from the west side of the pool to the east throughout the day. So how can I capture sun all day long for heating purposes? Build a “roof with wheels”! Despite being 20′ long, I can easily wheel this thing around by myself. The solar panels are connected to the pool with 1-1/4 flexible sump pump pipe. I originally T-ed this into my filter pump, but I found that trying to run it using the same pump as the filter created too much resistance for the filter to effectively clean the pool; so I purchased a separate 1.5 hp pump just for the heating system I also created a separate outlet and inlet for this system so that I could pull colder water from the top of the pool and push warm water in toward the bottom ( on opposite sides of the pool).
It might seem complicated, but it really works well, and we’ve got it down to one move of the panels per day at about 1pm. If you can put these somewhere that the get sun most of the time, and provide sufficient throughput, you will not be disappointed!
Koss53044 –
The instructions are lacking a bit. But overall it’s not too difficult to install. I’ve seen it raise my water temp by up to 4 degrees so far and it’s barely April. I look forward May when there will be more consistent daily sun.
N-consumerguy –
Excelente calentador solar.
Mi piscina de 3 x 6 m con cubierta la calentó a 35°
Rubén Chávez –
Got this system set up and installed only to find the check valve is leaking. So frustrating!!
Fernando Cabral –
I was able to set this up in less than an hour. I purchased one new length of hose for $8 to make it work. It’s like a hot water tap pouring into the pool when the sun is out! Made all the difference for our 12′ round × 3′ deep pool.
shannon –
The media could not be loaded.
Se instalo para calentarnuna piscina, ya había usado esta marca.
Funcionan bien.
Rubén Chávez –
aunque no e logrado subir mas de 3 grados
Curt Hollenbaugh –
Very cheaply made, doesn’t even last the summer. Not worth the money spent. I ordered 2 panels so we could put them together and one of them was defective when it arrived, but of course you don’t know this until there is water going through it , then it sprays everywhere. Although is was easy to install, we had to be shipped a replacement and install the second unit at a later date. Seemed to be ok in the beginning but before our summer was over here in upstate New York (which is not a long season) BOTH panels had sprung various leaks.