GAS GRILL as a POOL HEATER?

[cheezydemon]

Hi Yuri.

I have one of those Plastic Pools that has a small inflatable ring at the top and is otherwise "inflated" by the water.

It has an input and output Male connection on the pool, and has a fairly useless small pump and filter.

I am thinking of fabricating a metal pipe to snake around inside of my gas grill, entering and exiting where the rotisserrie is supposed to stick out, lid closed. The pump cycles fairly slowly, but you can feel some pressure coming out of the exhaust end when it is cycling the water into the pool.

It is more than sufficient to cycle water through the grill and back into the pool.

I don't mean to make it a hot tub, just raise the temp 10 degrees when it is 70F or so outside and the water is 55F or so.

The exiting hose would have to carry relatively hot water, and the intake on the pool woould have to take the temp of the hose and the water.

The pool is 3 1/2 ft deep when full, and roughly 10 feet across, round. It is made of pretty durable stuff, but I have no specs anymore.

Worth trying?

 

[Cakehole]

Sounds like a bit of a hassle to me, but I am not Yuri. That guy can make some amazing stuff out of nothing. He is the HBT McGuiver!! I can just imagine Yuri making a steam-infused portable pool heating keg with train whistle and whirlygigs ! ! :rockin:

I knew some people that took a small fountain pump and circulated the water from their pool through about 30 feet of that black drip system water hose. They zip tied the black hose to a spare piece of styrofoam insulation, painted black and just let that float in the pool. Used the sun to heat the water in the black plastic pipe and did not need to worry about using all the grill gas. If you could find some type of solar powered pump, you would have a completely portable heating system.

Besides, wouldn't it be better to use your grill to cook some steaks rather than heat your pool?

This system actually worked too well and the pool was nearly hot tub temps. They would routinely need to add water from their well to cool off the pool before swimming. But when you live in New Mexico and the sun shines 330 days out of the year, solar heating is very practical.

 

[Bobby_M]

It would waste a lot of gas. A solar cover would probably run you less. Even a black tarp over the water when you're not using it would be good.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I can just imagine Yuri making a steam-infused portable pool heating keg with train whistle and whirlygigs!

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

I don't think I'd use a gas grill as a pool heater. That's an awfully tall order. I gotta say, I'm with these guys - solar power is your friend here. However, if I were to use the grill, I'd make a heat exchanger that would force the water back and forth over the flame several times through a series of straight sections and 180 degree curves.

 

[cheezydemon]

That was my thought. I used the term "snake around" rather than the more specific "180" bends.

Probably not efficient enough. THANKS!

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

The make soalr covers for those and you should be able to google a few up. We had one but it was heavier than the cover that came with the pool making it difficult for one person to cover the pool. And guess who the one person in my home was to cover thepool.

 

[Docapi]

I'd make a heat exchanger that would force the water back and forth over the flame several times through a series of straight sections and 180 degree curves

How about a heater core mounted in the wall or the top of the hood of the grill?

 

[cheezydemon]

Um...no disrespect.....I don't understand. Heat would come from the combustion of propane. Are you proposing additional heat or substitute heat? Or does a core more efficiently store and re-distribute heat?

 

[BigNick73]

+1 on the solar cover/tarp thing. We had one and it was just a big sheet of blue tinted bubble wrap.

U might want to Google homemade solar water heater and you should get some fairly inexpensive ideas.

 

[cheezydemon]

Is this web site great or what?

*so....I need a plastic tarp (not #7) and a length of black hose (not lead lined) and I will let the sun do the work!*(hmmm, grill is sounding easier lol)

A solar pump would top this system off nicely!

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

How about a 100 or 200 feet of black hose coiled and sitting on your roof. Let sit in the sun and pump your water through. No fuel needed and it might raise your temp enough. Hard to say though. I have heard of it being done but not sure for how big a pool and how many degrees.

A variation in that but more expensive isthis special mat/tubing called hydromat that has lots of little plastic tubes in it that you stick on your roof then pup water through.

Or you could get a large satelite dish, coat it in mirrors and focus it onto your pool.....

EDIT: I came across:
http://www.poolcenter.com/heater_solar_fafco_poolstor.htm

http://www.shenton.com.au/solar.htm

 

[shafferpilot]

I say, "go for the grill idea. If you're grilling up some burgers and dogs, you might as well put some heat into the pool water too"

You could also do decoction heating with your brew equipment.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Hey! You could use the warm water from your chiller to heat the pool on brew days.

 

[cheezydemon]

Lol, awesome idea!

For that matter I could just boil 5 gallons on my turkey fryer and dump it in the pool.

The roof hose is interesting too.