Heating a Pool with an OWB

[Wayned24]

Finalized plans to have a 16 x 32 in-ground pool installed at my house in a few weeks. We will have to move our OWB lines to accommodate the pool. I was actually wondering if this would be a good time to install a pool heater through my OWB? I've heard of people heating their pool with wood, but I'm pretty clueless on the process. Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

 

[NSMaple1]

Think that's pretty common. People heat their hot tubs also & should be about the same application.

Would require a heat exchanger (I think a shell/tube type is most common for this), a controller (Johnson A419 is pretty common & adaptable - it may have been upgraded to a different model since I got mine) - and matching pipe routing. Maybe a zone valve if you don't want flow going thru the HX when you don't want to be heating the pool. Thinking you would plumb the filtering flow to go thru the pool side of the HX when the filter pump is running?

Hopefully someone who has actually done this will be along with more input. You'd also want to be very careful about things freezing & breaking in the off season - maybe have it so you could shut off & completely drain that part of the system.

BTW what do you have for underground pipe? Would be the ideal time to asses that and maybe upgrade if you don't have really good stuff, like Thermopex or Logstor or similar.

 

[blackdogon57]

Pretty easy to do. Here’s what mine looks like. Nothing fancy. 500k ( I think but might be a bit less) BTU flat plate exchanger plumbed down line from the pool pump in my garage. No need to drain it in the winter as I also heat my garage. This exchanger is very efficient. Goes into the exchanger 175F and goes back cool. My pool is 16x32 and about 10k gallons.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

Also, think of downwind from your pool. Some people may not want to smell smoke while swimming... neighbors etc who spend more time outdoors may find wood smoke annoying in the summer time.

 

[NSMaple1]

Pretty easy to do. Here’s what mine looks like. Nothing fancy. 500k ( I think but might be a bit less) BTU flat plate exchanger plumbed down line from the pool pump in my garage. No need to drain it in the winter as I also heat my garage. This exchanger is very efficient. Goes into the exchanger 175F and goes back cool. My pool is 16x32 and about 10k gallons.

Ya, a plate should definitely transfer more heat than a shelll & tube type. Might be a bit more prone to scaling problems but that might also be a non-factor anyway.

 

[Oldmaple]

I only use my boiler to heat my pool for the first spring heat up in May. I have lines run to the boiler that run in a copper coil in the boiler. Just drop a submersible pump into the pool to push the water. I do this before opening the pool, after that it stays warm with just the bubble wrap pool cover. Ours is an in ground pool so it's easier to keep warm. 25,000 gallon pool takes about a week to warm it up.