Many people associate swimming in a pool with entertainment, but in addition, water procedures also help improve health. You can get the maximum benefit only at a comfortable water temperature. In case of hypothermia, a person risks getting a cold. If the issue of installing a hot tub has been resolved, you need to think about how to heat the water in the pool at the dacha and to what temperature.
Temperature standards
For comfortable swimming, the temperature in the pool should be about three degrees lower than the air temperature. In other cases, after bathing, a person feels discomfort when the body begins to dry out.
The standard water temperature in the pool is calculated according to the sanitary rules of SanPiN:
- sports – 24-28⁰С;
- health - 26-29⁰С;
- for children over 7 years old – 29-30⁰С;
- for children under 7 years old – 30-32⁰С.
Bath complexes adhere to their own standards. The water temperature depends on the type of pool:
- cold font – 15OWITH;
- hot tub – 35OWITH.
At the dacha, the water temperature in the pool is calculated by the owner individually at his discretion.In large modern cottages, fonts are installed indoors. Due to low heat loss, the water temperature for adults can be maintained between 24 and 28OC, and for children 3 degrees higher.
Indoor pools are not for everyone. Most summer residents install hot tubs on the street. Most often these are inflatable or frame bowls. It is impossible to reduce heat loss in the open air. If you try to constantly heat water to a high temperature, your energy consumption will greatly increase. For outdoor pools, it is optimal to keep the temperature in the range from 21 to 25OC. If the water is colder, turn on artificial heating. In hot sunny weather, heating is carried out naturally. The water temperature may even exceed normal.
The departments that own sports and recreational swimming pools are required to comply with SanPiN water temperature standards. Owners of country pools are not required to adhere to the rules. The data can be used as a guide.
Methods and devices for heating water
There are many ways to heat water in a pool, but not all of them are suitable for a summer residence. However, they should be reviewed for reference.
The most common devices for heating pool water are factory-made heaters. They are of flow and storage type. Water is heated by burning gas, solid fuel or electricity. Any type of heater is suitable for a pool in the country. Due to the complexity of installation and maintenance, gas and solid fuel appliances are less popular. Storage models are inconvenient for installing a large container for hot water. Typically, summer residents prefer a flow-through electric heater.The device is connected to the pool pumping system between the filter and the plunge pool.
A heat exchanger for a swimming pool, reminiscent in design of an indirect heating boiler, is economical in terms of energy consumption. The device consists of a tank, inside of which a coil is sealed. The energy resource of the heater is the heating system. Water from the pool is circulated through the tank using a pump. The coolant from the heating system moves along the coil. The incoming cold stream of water takes the heat, warms up and is sent back to the pool. The heating temperature is regulated by a thermostat, which increases or decreases the flow rate of the coolant in the coil.
A heating blanket allows you to heat the water in the pool without wasting energy. In essence, this is an ordinary tent. The effectiveness of the blanket depends on weather conditions. On a hot sunny day, the rays warm up the awning, and from it the heat is transferred to the upper layer of water. Temperature rises by 3–4OC. To mix the cold and hot layers of water, turn on the pump.
The solar system for the font works on the principle of a heat exchanger, only the sun is the source of energy. The surface of the panel absorbs rays, which heat the coolant in the heat exchanger to a temperature of 140OWITH.The water circulating through the pump comes from the pool, takes heat from the coil and returns back to the font. Advanced solar systems work with touch sensors and automation that regulates the heating temperature.
The heat pump does not require any energy. Heat is taken from the depths. The system operates on the principle of a refrigerator. The circuit consists of two circuits within which coolants circulate. Between them there is a compressor with inert gas. The external circuit takes heat from the ground or reservoir, and the coolant transfers it to the refrigerant located inside the evaporator. The compressor compresses the boiling gas to 25 atmospheres. The released thermal energy heats the internal circuit coolant, which heats the water in the pool.
Water for a small font at the dacha can be heated with ordinary boilers. The method is primitive and dangerous, but summer residents use it. When the boilers are on, you cannot swim or even touch the surface of the water. The tubular heating element should not touch the walls of the bowl, especially if the font is inflatable or made of plastic.
Safe heating of water in a pool with your own hands can be made from dark-colored PVC pipe coils. The energy source will be the sun. The pipe is twisted into rings and laid on a flat area. The heating area depends on the number of rings. Both ends of the pipe are connected to the bowl by inserting a circulation pump into the system.Water from the pool, passing through the rings, will be heated by the sun and discharged back into the bowl.
The video shows a version of a homemade heater for a country hot tub:
Homemade solid fuel heater
At home, assembling a wood-burning water heater for a swimming pool is not difficult. Moreover, you can heat not only with logs. Any solid fuel will do. The water heater device resembles a mixture of a potbelly stove with a heat exchanger.
The assembly order consists of the following steps:
- The basis of the design is any container. You can take an old metal barrel with a capacity of 200 liters, weld a tank out of sheet steel, or simply lay out something like a stove out of red brick.
- Inside the container there are grate bars and a blower. A chimney is installed to remove combustion products.
- The heat exchanger will be a steel pipe bent like a snake or an old heating radiator. It is better not to use a cast iron battery. Between the sections there are rubber rings that will quickly burn in a fire and the heat exchanger will leak. It is better to use a steel radiator.
- The battery is fixed inside the tank so that a space for the firebox is formed between the heat exchanger and the grate.
- Metal pipes are connected to the radiator outlets, extending beyond the body of the homemade stove. Further connection to the pool is made with a plastic pipe.
- The hose from the inlet pipe of the heat exchanger is connected to the outlet of the circulation pump. From the suction hole, the intake pipe is lowered to the bottom of the font. To prevent the pump from pulling large debris from the bottom of the bowl, a filter mesh is installed at the end of the hose.
- From the battery outlet, the hose is simply laid to the font and lowered into the water.
The heater works simply.First turn on the circulation pump. When the water from the font goes through the heat exchanger in a circle, a fire is lit under the radiator. At normal burning 10 m3 water will warm up to a temperature of +27 within a dayOWITH.
Homemade water heaters can be made portable or even on wheels. It all depends on imagination and the availability of materials.
