Ultimate DIY Pool Heater | Part 1 - Construction & Setup

Part 1 of a 2 part video series discussing what I have constructed and use to heat my 12,000 gallon pool up to 10°F in a single day.
Part 1 Contents:
- Opening Statements
- Heat Exchanger construction
- Flow Diverter Construction
- Setup Process
- How Not To Use It
Part 2 Contents:
- Heat Exchanger Performance Measurements
- Pool Heating Capability (Based on Real Data)
- Parts List/Cost Breakdown

[@davidparvu9402]

Want to know what I appreciated more than anything? You didn't shy away from showing a mistake you made, instead you used that to teach other people and make sure that they were safe if they decide to tackle this on their own. Kudos!

[@byzantinex]

This was one of the best DIY videos I've ever seen! Thank you so much for detailing this whole process! I've got my barrel, now I gotta do the rest! 😁

[@desireesingleton2615]

I've been using your method for 2 years. It works. I actually added a heated fountain to flow into my pool rather than placing the hose directly on the bottom of the pool. It's safer and very effective. The water flows very warm water not steaming hot water. I did not attached this via my main water filter system; I decided to use an extra A-frame ladder as part of a decorative water feature. There was no need for me to drill holes into my pool or disurpt my orginal filter system. The burn barrel has 2 discreet lines from the fountain ladder to the burn barrel with an awesome strong submersible pool pump hidden at the bottom of the pool behind the ladder. Thanks again for your idea.

[@richkibbie5250]

Thank you for all the CAD and detail. Your info was very helpful. Great job Sir!

[@markberning9142]

Got my barrel assembled and did my first burn in it. One tip is I did not straighten the bottom of the coil until I did all of the other holes and clamps. I just let it coil against the outside of the barrel. I also roughly placed the clamps and moved the coil up and down as needed. Then I made sure as I was cutting the holes for air or clamps, I just held the coil out of the way. I drilled a pilot hole and then used a metal step bit to cut the 1/2" holes. I plan on cutting a 4-6" door in the very bottom of the barrel to allow use a leaf blower to start and/or super heat and allow a way to clean the ash out.

[@liesefox]

Dude...that was so thorough; amazing! 👊🏼

[@LostLeftyLimb]

Your diverter is a great design. I’ll definitely be using this one. Great video.

[@buttacupss7495]

We used your ideas and a couple other people's and man wow. We have a 17,000 gallon pool and we are getting one degree per hour. Thank u so much

[@ABESuperKiteDay]

Great ideas here. Awesome. I really like the diverter idea to ease pressure. Definitely going to do that too.

[@District0fMisery]

This is so badass and the instruction is even better 🔥

[@just_observing8248]

Ty found my weekend project!

[@cmacfirestarter]

Yes. This video. Just yes. 🙌🏼

[@cholito1949]

Excelent !!!. Thank you. I have seen many videos for heating water in pools. It's the best !!! Congratulations for your video. I will construct the same idea for heating a jacuzzi. Best regards from Colombia

[@ashow13]

This design works very well for hot tubs & jacuzzis. Since those are only a couple hundred gallons you can heat the entire thing in probably an hour or two.

[@BargainAgent]

One of the best I've seen

[@philplasterer1547]

WELL DONE SIR!!!!! Thank you for making this video.

[@felipebarbieri8375]

Thanks. Great video!!!

[@shmagle23]

After watching this video a month ago I decided to build the same setup. Certainly a great idea! I had 3ft of heater hose connected to the stainless pipe on the outlet side with a hose adapter on the other end to hook up to rubber garden hose. The water was coming out so hot it melted the rubber washer on the garden hose. The rubber garden hose is supposed to be rated for 160 degrees and i was just burning sticks i was picking up in the yard. I guess I need to turn the flow rate up to make the water a little cooler. Thank for the great heater idea!

[@ashow13]

I had to buy a silicone hose because my vinyl hose melted. The water can easily reach 160F. My silicone hose is rated for 390F.

[@JohnButtino]

I’m hoping to build one

[@jagboy69]

Here in west Texas, a friend of mine embedded a shit ton of pex tubing in his pool deck. After water was filtered, it flowed through the deck and back to the pool. It worked very well most of the year and in winter months the 400,000 btu natural gas heater would heat it from 55 to 90degrees in about 24hrs. The pool was around 30,000 gallons would be my guess. Instead of burning wood, convert to an oil burning setup. Look up the Kwiky burner here on youtube... I use one to melt bronze. This thing will burn diesel, used motor oil, veggie oil or propane. Even on used motor oil, it burns with no visible smoke or odor.

[@rebelfrog3]

Very comprehensive, thanks for the time making the video. I had a similar idea and anyone please comment if you think it would work or flop. Basically making the same heat exchanger with the barrel and tubing but using a salamander heater as the heat source. A hole cut in the side of the barrel with the salamander blowing straight into it. I thought of using a barrel with the clamp on lid so you could put a simple sliding damper on top to control the heat. Any feedback is welcomed

[@aquampool]

Great project. My only thoughts as a pool guy is possibly gapping your tubing from the walls somehow, and making sure to get your tubing down close to floor level. That being because the surface area of the water and the ground work as a much better insulator than it being so close to the surface where it doesn’t mix well and immediately begins to cool.

[@peoplesambassadordm8279]

I may actually try that concept

[@daniellewis2043]

Having a hard time finding a 100ft coil of 316 stainless, any suggestions? Great video by the way , super detailed, love it!

[@mroakarm]

Great video!

[@MrGeminijay313]

This is thee most detailed video ever. Thank you so much

[@ellemarta]

Hi mate can you use any stainless pipe to do this or need use special stainless pipe thank you ...

[@peoplesambassadordm8279]

Very informative

[@Mosern1977]

Very nice video!

[@mini_worx]

Great info. Thanks

[@Biscuitabuse]

Love the idea, one thing I would recommend is putting the tubing in a separate internal chambered wall so it doesn't get covered in soot/carbon and become inefficient.

[@andreashabeck1155]

But wouldn't putting the tube in an extra chamber make it inefficient?

[@Biscuitabuse]

@@andreashabeck1155 Initially yes, but only a small percentage, and the performance would stay consistent throughout the life of the stove rather than work awesome for a while then become inefficient. It's like having a really fast car that works great but blows up after 2 months vs having a normal car that'll last you 2 decades.

[@FreeSCV]

Thanks for showing this barrel heater. I have a HUGE pond I need heat for. I have a playlist called greenhouses that has a red shirt guy doing solar water heater and he did series of straight up pipes w t connections for better flow rate, manifold he said. Wondering if that could be made inside barrel for 10-12 straight up pipes...

[@flaviusioan69]

Great info...

[@jotajota2009]

Its important to mount the coil to the barrel because the barrel is a huge source of heat

[@user-dn5yx3fm3t]

How many meters of copper pipe did you use

[@OneFishHawk55]

Great video. love the assembly details. QUESTION: I can only find 50 1/2" SS coils. Will the shorter length compromise the efficiency much? If so how would you suggest joining 2 50ft coils?

[@joshuasmith4521]

Great idea my only question is why stainless and not copper ?

[@markberning9142]

After a season of using this, it is awesome! And YES I can raise the 13,000 gal pool 10 degrees each day. After opening the pool it was a cool 65 degrees. While waiting 3 days for pool chemicals to settle, I was heating the pool. The next day it was 76 degrees and then 84 the following day. Some improvements from this one: use 1/2 PEX instead of vinyl. It wont melt and won't whip wildly if/when steam happens. It supports much higher temps and pressures than vinyl. Also I used standard pool hose connections instead of the rubber reducers. I am also thinking about putting an additional y and piping the hot water back into the pool water return. Probably much safer and cleaner looking.

[@geoffrey1988spijk]

I have the same thing. Only my inlet is 1M away from the barrel. I used 32mm brass tule connector. Connect at a 32-15 brass connector that on my 15mm pipe in the barrel. Going out (heat water) the connection is from 15mm tot 22mm. And with a 22rvs316 pipe to my pool. It can not explode. At the inlet and outlet of the barrel i also have a valve. Safety for something happens. And to maintain what flow goes in and out. Just to get 90C° water comming out. And no steam. I had normale hoses before. But because of the heat it melt zo fast. Thats why i when save and used 22mm rvs316 pipe. Also laying the barrel on his side. In the front feeding door. And in the back pipe for gasses. Will give much more efficiency warming the water. I have 50M 15mm copper pipe roled on the outside of the barrel. And 100M 22mm copper pipe inside. And 10M 15mm inside the outlet gas pipe. Resulted a pool 8M x 3M x 90CM 21.600.00L is warming up from 14C° to 45C° in just 2.5 hours👍👍👍 My next project is gonna be heatstove/barrel. To reduce the amount of materials that need to burn to get hot water. I hope you can do anything with this information to upgrade yours.

[@e.vasquez9946]

Thank you

[@miguela8333]

Can 1/2 O.D x .20 be used?

[@Mikkeyboyy]

can you still use barrel without heating pool will it damage coil if no water is circulating

[@MrDon967]

will the irrigation hose work for 2700g pool?

[@mattjones4143]

Will the wall thickness make much difference? Such as .035 instead of .028

[@KA-ob8jx]

How would I make the connections with an in ground pool?

[@discovermico]

Is there a reason why you went for stainless steel tubing as oposed to copper tubing, since copper is more heat conductive? Thank you for this detailed video!

[@mmarte1622]

He said that copper doesn’t go well with chlorine

[@leeholland2177]

Looks great. What power is your pump? How many gallons per hour?

[@MGszamanVlog]

Hi can I use part of your video to my compilation homemade inventions ?

[@Plzreplyhello]

Where do you buy the pipe or what do they call it.

[@harizismail314]

Have a 15’ x 42” easy set and just one works great even though 3 are recommended. 76 degrees to 86 in 3 days and maintains. I’m in nw Ohio and I’m happy with my $20

[@grandadgrandpaa1739]

Amazing Maaann thanks:))

[@josephhiggins4036]

I am planning to build this for the summer and I can not find the coil, if anyone could link me it that would be great

[@michaellloyd8460]

this is the best thing i have every come across.. i am looking to build the same thing so i was researching and here it is. I want to do this but put the heat exchanger in my ceramic grill/smoker, due to the fact it can hold 300 deg. for almost 12 hours. Any comment on this? do you think that is hot enough? also my pool is inground. 33000 gallon. i realize my results will be minor compared to yours. i have a feeling you have to feed that bonfire ALOT? yes/no? have you ever tried a few bags of charcoal? would that work? it would last longer. thanks so much for the info. and the math was ridiculous!!! fantastic job.

[@ashow13]

A 33,000 gallon inground pool will be very difficult to heat. If your heat source is only 300 degrees you would need either a very long coil or very low flow rate to absorb enough heat. I just use scrap wood from around the yard to keep my fire going. I have not tried charcoal.

[@Plzreplyhello]

They make stainless steal hoses. This is cool i think i can make this better. Thanks for the idea

[@waterfluid9546]

Thank you !!! :)

[@osterman0127]

Question bro you think the tubing 316-1/2-.020 will work ? The .028 is sold out

[@rdek7578]

So pex and sharkbite fittings didnt withstand the heat. Used 50 ft copper. Same type diverter. However, added inflow diverter aswell. Always has flow, just got toooo darn hot. Return will full flow was beyond bouling so keeps popping the inflow lines

[@mitchdaniel5605]

Love this how to. Question: the 100ft is out of stock, but I do see 50’ or 3/8” in 100’. Would either of those measurements work do you think?

[@dudley810]

see part 2 -- no it won't work

[@michalchamila1317]

What is the thickness of the stainless steel pipe wall?

[@jhonnreis]

It's no joke! If your pool pump has a timer make sure to disable it or at least reset it before it turns the pump off.

[@leahrodriquez1349]

How long can copper pipe hold up to being burned?? Sorry if it should be already self known info, but i have no idea!

[@joelnatividad1209]

Hi there! Just want to ask about the stainless steel, you said it is 100 feet it’s that? Can I use 50 feet instead !Thank you for your answer

[@davidparvu9402]

Joel, I made a smaller version because I just have a 1,000 gallon pool at the moment. 50' will work, just understand it's going to heat the water less than 100' will since the water will spend less time in the fire. For my pool, I raised the temp 10°F in about 6 hours or so, and that was not tending to the fire religiously.

[@ericjackson2229]

I have a stone, woodburning, fireplace about ten feet away from my pool. I was thinking about doing this as an alternative to buying a heat pump. My question for you is, how long do you think this steel coil will last? I watched another similar video to this where the guy used copper coil around and inside a drum and he ended up have to replace it. The fire was so hot it slowly, over the span of a year, melted parts of the copper. My thought was this, put the coil in the fireplace, place a small submersible pump in my pool, and just fire it all up. Sure, it's a bit more electric, but I don't want to cut into my PVC at the pool filter/pump which is also about 100 feet away from the fireplace.

[@beebob1279]

The more holes you put in a pool or plumbing system, the higher chance of having leaks

[@tediggs42]

That's what I was thinking. Why do the flow divider? Why not use a submersible pump to the coil?

[@ashow13]

A stainless coil will have a higher melting temperature than copper. You could eliminate the barrel from the setup and just place the coil directly into a fit pit. I don't have a fire pit which is why I built mine in a barrel. You could buy a separate pump to feed water through the coil, but for me it was easier to just branch off of my existing pool circuit and avoid getting an additional pump because the pump I have can do the job. Some pumps may not be powerful enough to send water through the hoses and up the coil in which case you would want to get a separate pump.

[@NationFirstGreenville22]

@@ashow13 Hey there, not sure if youre answering questions at all but Im almost built on my backyard version; smaller pool to make it heat up faster but Im concerned that my pump will start shutting off once I get the pool hot enough...Now Im looking for filter pumps that are "meant for high temperatures" or "rated for spa/hot tubs" but Im not seeing results. Am I searching the wrong way on this?

[@PatentIllustrator]

Genius

[@carlylelaurent9435]

Nice

[@lamontalston1989]

I have a 13,500 above ground pool , i want to try this

[@Jai_Gauranga]

I'm sure you could fix a pressure release valve

[@349322]

Thanks ,,, can you use copper coil for this

[@ericvickery6357]

copper and chlorine don't mix..... google it

[@beebob1279]

I like the idea but you burn a lot of wood for a few degrees of heat. How about checking into a rocket stove with a mass heater to warm the coils? Just an idea. Less wood burned and longer warming of the water

[@Professional_Youtube_Commenter]

or a propane tank system. It's fine to use propane for a short while

[@markberning9142]

What did you use to cut the holes in the barrel?

[@ashow13]

Just a normal drill with a 1/2" bit.

[@helpimlost84]

What kind of tube did you use going from fire to the pool?.. wanna try this scared that the heat will melt any plastic tube I would use

[@tiffanybarnett6601]

You can use a radiant heating tube like PEX. It can withstand up to 200°F.

[@ashow13]

I used a high temp silicone tube, the heated water might melt cheap vinyl tubing.

[@jguk2597]

Can you not put the coil outside the barrel

[@DDevianceth]

How about using a mega magnifier lens on these copper coils?

[@NationFirstGreenville22]

youre talking about a fresnel lens, right?

[@tiffanybarnett6601]

I built it just as instructed but can't get the water to pump through the hose. It comes out of the ball valve when the hose isn't connected but once I attach the hose, no water comes through. My filter pump is pumping as well. What am I doing wrong?

[@ashow13]

If you built the diverter like I did try closing off the PVC ball valve a bit to force more water through the brass valve. Also, make sure your barrel isn't at a higher elevation so you aren't fighting gravity.

[@kendraarmour2149]

My husband discovered and not enough water was coming through in here to change the setting on the line that was going in the pool we have a sand filter so it allows you to determine how much water pushes in from the filter see if that works. Ours works like a charm Also I plastic hose is all the way to the bottom of the pool so the hot water is being feed to the bottom. The heat is coming up and helps the pool warm up faster and stay warm.

[@sed6]

How much does a pool heater cost 🤔

[@dentmanmatt]

Is there a reason you didn't use copper tubing over the stainless? I would think the copper would be more effective in heating. Let me know your thoughts, thanks.

[@ashow13]

Not 100% sure of any scientific reasons why one might be better than the other, but at the time I built this the stainless coil was just cheaper and easier to source.

[@dentmanmatt]

@@ashow13 Thanks for your reply. I'm gonna try it with 50' of copper and see how it does. Also where did you find the 1.5" OD tube? I'm having difficulty finding that.

[@dentmanmatt]

Nvm, re-watched the video and see that its steel. Thanks again.

[@DoDgeSwaG]

@@dentmanmatt chlorine and chemical imbalances corrode copper very quickly. You’d have to be on your PH and total chlorine levels or you’ll get calcium build up or hardness even faster..keeping your pools chemicals perfectly balanced 100% of the time is impossible because people’s bodily oils and dirt alone will affect the levels in just one day, or even rain.

[@NationFirstGreenville22]

@@dentmanmatt hey man, seeing if you see this notification and wondering how your version worked out

[@MrMedicalUK]

Any issue with this i know hoses shouldn't be used with hot water

[@rxw5520]

You should make these and name it the Jeff Foxworthy pool heater

[@scottblackburn8707]

why stainless steel and not copper?

[@libe609]

I was planning on ordering the tubing coil .. but what a surprise, it cost almost 300 dollars Twice as much when you uploaded the video 🥲

[@newzealandfromadjimini2cor452]

well done ….. however there are some very basic flaws in this design …. having the drum standing upright means that most of the heat energy is going straight up as a total heat loss …. turn the drum horizontal and you increase the heat transfer greatly … of course you will need to add a chimney a burn hearth and a door … but it will save a huge amount of wood / heat loss. Have fun!

[@NationFirstGreenville22]

incorrect, as usual

[@covidBS4populationReduction]

this must be most expensive Stick i ever seen :-)))) Usually i use knife to round up the end

[@transcendentparty2103]

Can you build me a flow diverter? I’d gladly pay for this. Lbvs

[@Superman-xr1oh]

Use a solar blanket

[@cuz8776]

Hello, You need a pressure relief valve. If you don't use one and your filter or pump are restricted or face a reduction in flow you've created quite the bomb. Stainless steel and the barrel material are quite effective as pressure propelled shrapnel. Be very careful, anytime you introduce intense heat to liquid in an enclosed system it will eventually rupture. Pressure relief valves are inexpensive and effective. Rupturing due to chemical interaction, (stainless steel, sodium hypochlorite and electricity/pool motor generates stray voltage)This is especially true when you have water which contains sodium hypochlorite (Pool Shock/ Chlorine). When it decomposes and is present in a pool system which inherently contains stray voltage you create explosive gases [Hydrogen based]. I bet your burn barrel isn't bonded. This is a bad idea on several fronts, good luck. Put it far away from humans and buildings.

[@markberning9142]

I like the Idea of a pressure relief valve, and actually was thinking the exhaust would go back in the barrel - essentially putting out the fire. My burn barrel is 30ft from the pool.

[@jlchristman1]

Why use stainless over cooper?

[@sergeyivanovish85]

copper can melt or get bridle

[@rubennequiz5182]

Cooper works, while water it's flowing.

[@ericvickery6357]

google copper and chlorine reaction

[@danielscarel1018]

If I wanted a hot tub I would have bought one

[@Mark-os1gq]

Would be easier to wrap it around the outside of the barrel. Your going to get the same amount of heat anyhow

[@Iamphuster]

I have this idea, but can't afford to buy enough materials to scale up the experiment to pool size.. The ability to heat OR cool pools and ponds.. And yes, pools can get so warm they are not enjoyed, and pond life is happier near 70-75 degrees.. Email me?

[@courtneynewman3316]

Burn $60 worth of wood to heat your pool one-time brilliant idea

[@davidparvu9402]

Who said anything about buying wood? Depending on where you live free firewood is virtually every where. I can go on Craigslist right now and pick up a truck load today. I would have to split it myself, but it's something I enjoy personally.

[@platinumpepe8626]

Imagine buying wood

[@jefftrotter5802]

Shit can burn someone.

[@skimaticsnz]

you don't need a water pump

[@Inmate533]

Pool heats up 30 degrees. Everyone in the pool is choking and puking from the smoke. Neighbors all hate you for burning wood all day and filling their houses with smoke in the middle of the summer. I don't hate my family or neighbors enough to do this.

[@DoDgeSwaG]

Dude all you have to do is heat the pool up to a warmer temp, usually 6 degrees cooler than the outside temp feels great. Not too warm not too cold. I find 86 degree water is perfect. Once you reach this temp, put the damn fire out with a bucket of water and your pool will hold that water temp for a few days as long as your pool gets good amounts of sun during the day and unless there’s a cold snap at night that lowers the pool temp. Either way, the sun alone on a hot day gets my pool water to 79-83 degrees so you don’t need to burn a fire all day to get the water temps up to at least 86. If you’re looking to swim before and after regular pool season, just get a jacuzzi 😂

[@AnonymousAnonymous-yj2eq]

@@DoDgeSwaG if you add water to the hot metal its a great way to corrode and ruin the metal quicker. Never do that. Instead empty the barrel from the bottom if possible

[@jetg2059]

Way too much work and looks unsafe

[@jamescurnutt1628]

Man...I am sure it works great--but that has got to be crazy dangerous--even more so if you have kids or pets around. Metal handles on a fire drum? An easy 3rd degree burn on an unsuspecting child. Think I will pass on this one. LOL

[@Tony-nl6pf]

Highly doubt it would heat a real pool.

[@ashow13]

Part 2 of the video shows the performance of it. This design can produce 3GPM of consistent hot water. It's not as good as a commercial pool heater would be, but works better than solar heaters, covers, lilly pads, and other DIY methods I've come across on KZbin.

[@kendraarmour2149]

This is the 1st time I have posted wanted to say thanks and let everyone know my husband and I built this and we have 22x52 bestway pool. This does work as long as you keep a hot fire going which is easy we have lots of cut wood and down branches. It is not hotbed hot but it is not ice cold like it was last year. Need to allow like 24 hr as advised I live in Georgia and my pool has trees over it so does not get much sun. I did get the coil off of eBay and it was cheaper I only paid like 55 bucks for it and I got a drum for $20 off next-door neighbor and I got the rest of the pieces from Home Depot so I roughly spent about 110 bucks and it does heat my pool. Running It once a week to keep the pool at a nice temperature and I love that the diverter because it does allow me not to have to disconnect anything just close the valves. Also sorry if this is in the wrong place. Older and this is not my thing.

[@markberning9142]

I can honestly say it does work. I get 120F - 160F out of the hose. I have not had to run it all summer just during the opening. I will definitely use it near the end of the season.

[@markberning9142]

@@kendraarmour2149 Do you have a link for the stainless coil on Ebay? Burn barrels usually can get for free or less than $10.

[@Professional_Youtube_Commenter]

aka how to give your family 3rd degree burns

[@baze7545]

Genius