Warm swimming pool.

[anotheruser]

My swimming pool gets a lot of sun and is becoming too warm. Does anybody have any experience using any type of pool cooler? Any suggestions of a good supplier in Thailand? Any advice on different types of coolers? The pool is 14x10 metres x 1.8 m deep. If I did the math right that is around 250,000 liters.

Thanks for any information you may have in advance.

[IMHO]

Shade is the best way I know of to cool our pool - yours is a big area to create shade for though.

[anotheruser]

I already have planted many trees and expect in the next few years that shade will be sufficiently established. The problem how ever is that it is a public swimming pool and people like to sunbathe. So I am looking maybe for something like a Glacier pool cooler or some other method of cooling the pool down. I see many resorts that have pools in full sun so there must be a solution for this short of fully shading the pool.

[crazygreg44]

Maybe there's a company near your area, that delivers slashed blocks of ice to restaurants and the fish market. If you could hire one and drop a truckload of their ice into the pool, it might work for you.

[sappersrest]

These package units are a bit smaller and neater looking than the glacier unit.http://www.certikin.co.uk/plunge-pool-chillers.html

If you contact the people below, they should be able to spec one for you.,Note if you are running a salt pool it will become more expensive as the exchanger has to be corrosion resistant Also you will have to keep the water in perfect balance, by testing daily. A good test kit essential, as is having an understanding of the Langellier saturation index. In a nutshell if the water is too corrosive it will eat away the exchanger and also if it is too scale forming it will block the exchanger.

A really good refrigeration company may be able to make a bespoke one for you.

[anotheruser]

Thanks for the info Sapper. As far as trying ice take a quick google of the subject and you will see that I would need like 10,000 pounds of ice to cool a pool that size for maybe 40 minutes.

[sappersrest]

The guys at Certikin are very good they have an export division, and will probably steer you in the right direction another company that I would recommend is Waterco, they are based in Malaysia they should be able to help.There is a growing market in cold plunge pools so what you are asking is not to of the world it is just you will need a large unit. good luck if you need any more help please do not hesitate to contact me.

[Torrens54]

Maybe there's a company near your area, that delivers slashed blocks of ice to restaurants and the fish market. If you could hire one and drop a truckload of their ice into the pool, it might work for you.

As an alternative, I have a spare 240 Volt Upright Freezer we brought back from abroad, using a long extension cord, you could drop the Freezer in your pool, flick the switch and see what happens.

Sorry about being "silly" but REALLY!! This Is Thailand, tends to get a tad warm.

[crazygreg44]

Thanks for the info Sapper. As far as trying ice take a quick google of the subject and you will see that I would need like 10,000 pounds of ice to cool a pool that size for maybe 40 minutes.

that's a real eye opener. Never thought of that.

So maybe the cooler described is the right way to go.

My Bangkok buddy has a 5 by 3 pool, with a jet. in the mornings the pool is shaded,

after the noon hours, the pool is out if sunlight.

Maybe you should position your pool better, so the sun's impact becomes irrelevant.

Not rocket science, though.

What about a roofed pool shader on wheels ? Steel construction ?

[IMHO]

What are the water temps that are being considered too high? What is the ground temperature at say 1M deep, 2M deep, 3M deep? If there's enough differential, some extra subterranean piping on the returns might do the job.

In the hot season (now) the water temp from our returns is always cooler than the pool temps, and for us the difference between "too warm" and "just right" can be just a couple of degrees only.

[ksamuiguy]

Evaporative Cooling, add spray head above the water line to basically spray the water like a lawn sprinkler.

Don't know your pool, be inventive, it works I did it in Florida. Do It Your Self, most will say it won't work!

Pool inlets generally will take PVC just pushed in to them (gently).

Now your problem will be high water loss due to the evaporation.

[xen]

Our pool at the condo is quite a lot warmer in the evenings after a day in the sun . I use it for hydro-therapy exercise and ideally the water should be around 30 degrees for maximin effect . Swim in the morning for refreshment, Exercise in the evening . Just make use of the conditions that will otherwise be expensive to alter . Just one way of looking at it.

[mikebell]

A guy I know bought a 2nd hand freezer. He installed a coil of copper tubing & a pump. He bored a hole in the bottom & fed the copper to another coil in his pool. He would call his wife as he left work & she would plug in the freezer. When he got home his pool was never too hot.

[anotheruser]

Sappers,

Thanks again for the suggestions. If you ever get to southern Laos you have a free night, dinner and tour of your choice free of charge at my guesthouse. It is just simple thatched bungalows with no air con if you decide to take me up on that. There is however a very nice pool to cool down in... oh wait.

Torrens,

This seems like the most reliable, efficient, fool proof way to address the problem. Free admission to the pool for life for you once I have your system in place to ensure the water is cool enough. Sorry for being a tad silly but the fact that Laos gets a little warm is the precise reason a pool is desirable REALLY!! I am also just joking around here too.

Greg,

Designing a retractable shade system out of steel for a 10x14m pool surrounded by formal dining tables, loungers, and over sized sunbrellas would be a bit bulky. I hear what you are saying about pool placement and you are right it is a no brainer. So I am going to do a hybrid version of your solution and make a steel frame on wheels underneath my pool. That way I can move the pool around at my every whim and avoid the sun. Obviously I never gave one thought to where the pool would be. LOL

Shade is one possible solution but the logistics make it tough to use it as a complete solution.

IMHO,

The temps are above 30 in the pool. I don't know precisely what they are at the moment because I am out of the country. Underground pipes could be a solution but would be tricky to do as there is no underground plumbing of any type from the pool. So hiding where underground pipes would enter the pool is tricky. It is a Desjoyaux pool with no plumbing or holes of any kind. Just three modular pump units that hang from the side. I am planning to extend the pool with a 5x5m diving pool that would be 5 meters deep. Maybe I can do something when I add the pool in later on.

Ksamui,

I am thinking about adding water features and doing something with evaporative water if I can. Evaporation doesn't bother me as I have free access to all the water I can use from the Mekong river. I have heard that this method doesn't work well in humid climates but it couldn't hurt and I kill two birds with one stone if I get say a nice waterfall going into the pool out of it.

Xen,

The problem with this idea is that this is a public swimming pool and bar. It is and will continue to be quite an extensive project. I do not mind putting a bit of money into it to ensure the comfort of my guests and make sure that it remains the most luxurious pool in the south of Laos.

I think I will try to use a combination of solutions to solve the problem. Evaporation, establishing more should although I already have a small fortune of sunbrellas, underground piping or solar panels and run the water through them at night. From solar I can also use for hot water in my bungalows and heat the pool for the cold seasons like December.

When the new diving pool is added which will be attached by a channel through the submerged seating are in front of the bar gets built I am hoping that the water in the deeper area will be cooler and can be circulated into the shallow end of the existing 10x14m pool. I could also completely shade that pool as it is just a baby in comparison to the larger pool. If I can get a pool cooler from one of the companies mentioned earlier in the thread for a few thousand dollars I wouldn't consider it a waste as this is a business investment. Although with the plans for expansion maybe I can fix the problem with out going that route.

This pool is sort of my baby and I want to make it the best pool in southern Laos. It is the only pool on the island but others are being built so I want to keep ahead of any competition to keep it the most luxurious pool in the entire area. I don't want to waste money but also am trying to avoid anything that looks too amateur or like a cobbled together DIY job. I probably don't even have to cool the pool as it is okay as it is but am looking to give it that extra bit of decadence.

Everything around it is all high end furnishings that you will find in current installations in places like the Oriental or Marriott. I want to make sure the pool itself reflects the investment I have poured into it. So I don't mind using high end solutions if they give good results. Unfortunately I am just a small investor and can not hire the professional help that those places can so I have to do things the best I can. Knowledgable people are hard to find in this area money aside. If the pool was just for my personal enjoyment I wouldn't bother even worrying about it but I want to make it the very best that it can be for my guests. It is something that I am really enjoying and am learning through trial and error what works well and what doesn't.

Anybody have any thoughts on syphoning out a volume of water at night and refilling from a well in the morning to cool it if need be? I would guess this would cost a lot in chemicals would be the problem to keep the water right for swimming.

Thanks everybody for the helpful replies. Sorry for not using quotes but it said I couldn't quote that many people.

[sappersrest]

"Anybody have any thoughts on syphoning out a volume of water at night and refilling from a well in the morning to cool it if need be? I would guess this would cost a lot in chemicals would be the problem to keep the water right for swimming. "

Not a bad idea if you can get free water of a decent quality that is most important, if you do it on a daily basis there would not be such a great need to keep high residuals of free chlorine around 1ppm should suffice.

There is a large holiday park in the UK, they sort of do it in reverse they pump all their outdoor pool water inside to keep it warm overnight.

Us old time pool engineers have a saying .The solution to pollution is dilution, so should work well for you.

[anotheruser]

Not sure what the water in the ground is like. After a few meters it is bedrock under the ground. I have never had a well in Asia but I have had one that went into rock in the states and the water was pretty good. Will go test my neighbors well water is he is in rock as well and see what it is like when I get back over there. Sort of an extreme measure but for a month or so when it is really hot and there are a ton of people wanting cool water could be a stop gap measure.

Thanks again for your useful posts.

[IMHO]

It all seems like a lot of expense/effort when just a little shade will do the job?

[anotheruser]

It all seems like a lot of expense/effort when just a little shade will do the job?

I have just explained in detail that I am trying to establish shade. I have set up 16 3x3m sun umbrellas, planted fast growing trees, etc. You must be missing the point that expense is not my main concern. Consider at a public pool that many people wish to sunbathe around the pool so too much shade isn't really desirable either in that circumstance. I do get that shade helps but it is only a partial solution. The bright side is that I have heard the rains have begun already and the pool is nice and cool again.

Many of the things which seem expensive are taking place anyway with expansion projects. If you have some way of creating shade that is any quicker than what I have just done that doesn't involve a pool cover I am all ears.

[kelboy]

My problem

is my pool is to cold and yes i have a roof on it.

[Naam]

I already have planted many trees and expect in the next few years that shade will be sufficiently established. The problem how ever is that it is a public swimming pool and people like to sunbathe. So I am looking maybe for something like a Glacier pool cooler or some other method of cooling the pool down. I see many resorts that have pools in full sun so there must be a solution for this short of fully shading the pool.

the Glacier system won't be very efficient in Thailand because of the high ambient temperatures even when the chiller is running at night. using a freon heat pump you will pay for electricity through your nose if you want to experience a noticeable temperature reduction.

for a correct load calculation you'd have to post your desired temperature in ºC or ºF and the existing temperature which you feel is too warm.

35 years ago i designed a system for a Saudi friend who's pool went up to 38ºC in the summer months using a big block aircon chiller (192,000 btu/h) and a huge titanium heat exchanger. getting the pool water in the hottest months down to 32ºC required a 24/7 run time drawing 26kWh. in Thai electricity price that would equal ~95,000 Baht per month.

[Naam]

A guy I know bought a 2nd hand freezer. He installed a coil of copper tubing & a pump. He bored a hole in the bottom & fed the copper to another coil in his pool. He would call his wife as he left work & she would plug in the freezer. When he got home his pool was never too hot.

either an amusing fairy tale or the pool was the size of an average bath tub

[Naam]

My problem

is my pool is to cold and yes i have a roof on it.

i have the same problem and heat my pool even during the hot months to 29ºC to make the Mrs happy.

[Naam]

It all seems like a lot of expense/effort when just a little shade will do the job?

I have just explained in detail that I am trying to establish shade. I have set up 16 3x3m sun umbrellas, planted fast growing trees, etc. You must be missing the point that expense is not my main concern. Consider at a public pool that many people wish to sunbathe around the pool so too much shade isn't really desirable either in that circumstance. I do get that shade helps but it is only a partial solution. The bright side is that I have heard the rains have begun already and the pool is nice and cool again.

Many of the things which seem expensive are taking place anyway with expansion projects. If you have some way of creating shade that is any quicker than what I have just done that doesn't involve a pool cover I am all ears.

for best shading engage a voodoo practioner who specialises in generating clouds

[Don Mega]

Put a couple of these on your roof.

[innerspace]

I understand your need to avoid too much shade but surely a partial shade would be the perfect.

Shade at one end lowers temp and reduces sunburn risks for farrang. Open at the other end pleases the sunbathers.

One time cost rather than tremendous running costs for many cooling solutions.

Also, this is Thailand... most Thais will go to great lengths to avoid sun and stay light skinned so your sunbathing claim is not fully correct.

Positioned right the roof would cool enough water and give plenty of sunny and shaded seating for people to choose.

[Naam]

Positioned right the roof would cool enough water...

i beg to differ Sir because roofs and shade do not cool water

[IMHO]

Positioned right the roof would cool enough water...

i beg to differ Sir because roofs and shade do not cool water

OK, sure, they don't cool the water - but they sure do mitigate the sun heating it up

[Naam]

Positioned right the roof would cool enough water...

i beg to differ Sir because roofs and shade do not cool water

OK, sure, they don't cool the water - but they sure do mitigate the sun heating it up

add "partly" in context with mitigate and i might agree

[Gumballl]

Positioned right the roof would cool enough water...

i beg to differ Sir because roofs and shade do not cool water

OK, sure, they don't cool the water - but they sure do mitigate the sun heating it up

add "partly" in context with mitigate and i might agree

All one has to do is toss about 10 bags of ice from the local mom&pop vendor into the pool (after the sun is directly overhead of the roof)... and voila... slightly cooler water.

[Anthony5]

Put a couple of these on your roof.

I notice the source is Alibaba.

Can you order them online and will there be free shipping with China Post?