Wood Burning Pool Heater - Upgrade and Update

We have loved having this pool heater available to boost the pool temps a bit in the spring and fall. It has worked great although over the last year and a half has lost some efficiency. Taking the advice of some great feedback on the first build I am going to try a few new ideas with this and see if I can't get a more efficient heat transfer and boost the temps up even more!
The most common feedback I received was "Why don't you wrap the copper tubing around the outside of the barrel?" This is a great idea and one that I had considered before I started the first version of the pool heater. I ended up deciding to put the tubing on the inside of the barrel because I wanted it to be engulfed in the flame with no tubing exposed to the outside air and I also didn't like the look of the tubing on the outside. In the end this is what I have found..
The coil on the inside is much more efficient at absorbing the heat; however, it does not hold up as well over time since it collects soot and creosote over time and becomes less efficient. Overall this is the best approach but you will need to take the coil out each year and clean it up.
The second approach was to wrap the coil around the outside of the barrel. This also works very well but in order for it to be most efficient it will need to be covered in some sort of insulation to keep the heat around the tubing. I noticed that the outside area of the tubing is actually working like a heat sink and cooling the outer side. With good insulation wrapped around the barrel with the tubing in between the heat would be trapped and provide the best heat exchange to the water. I am currently looking for some good outdoor insulation that I can use for this application.
In the meantime I have both the coil on the outside and the one on the inside in use and the temps I am getting are fairly close to what I had when I first started the project last year.
This has been such a fun project to work on and experiment with and I am excited for the winter season so I can test it's use heating my garage again! Stay tuned for updates on that and thanks for stopping by!
Soldering equipment -
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[@Scrap5000]

Omg when she comes over and hugs you...heart melted

[@ziggy129]

The little lady steal the show!.

[@TheFidget99]

Man is it just me or does anyone else LIKE the way the copper looks on the outside? gives it a kinda steam punk feal to it.

[@chrisjbrunson]

I remember probably 35 years ago, my dad doing something similar. We had a wood burning stove in our basement and my dad routed the water to run back and forth over the stove, (it was more a square stove than round) before it went to our water heater, I am not too sure what he saved by doing this, but the goal was that the water heater would last longer and we would save on the bill to heat that water. I was given the task of keeping the wood box full. It was a good job for me and taught me responsibility. I checked that box every morning before school because I never wanted that task to fall to my mom or my dad.

[@vicarofrevelwood]

Like any Boiler, it must be disassembled once a year, cleaned, and put back together. next time try a 3/8" black iron pipe, tube bundle. installed in the top section of the firebox. run it through the back through a hole covered with a 6" stack cap. punch holes and put several loups from back to front, (make the 180° turn with street elbos,) and back out the rear. connect them with flex pipe like under your kitchen sink. cover the inconsistencies in the holes with KO Wool. (ceramic wool). at the end of the year you can pull the entire bundle in one shot, save the wool and clean it! easy peasy!

[@karlalton3170]

Thats the best helper ive ever seen she's gorgeous bless her 😍😍👍👍

[@Neicorr]

Art and science can bond, got the cash and this could be a beautiful copper art heater. This is the heart, just add the art!

[@nandenee8492]

Congratulations, you know what I like the most about your video is the great love you have for your daughter, you remembered me when I was young I had 4 women and 3 boys but the girls stuck to me, very good yours.

[@mountainman7449]

I've been considering a pool but was interested in reducing the expense of heating the water. I came across your video and found it most helpful! The creosote buildup can be made into ash by burning a hotter fire (a flue fire). This will occur when the stack temperature exceeds 270 degrees. In lieu of a small chimney fire, the addition of softener salt periodically will also help to convert that buildup to a brush-able ash. I've read several of the other comments and I agree that wrapping the tubing with a non-combustible insulation will greatly increase the efficiency of the operation. I have a good supply of wood so this could be a very viable solution to my application! Thanks!

[@charlesgoede2809]

Thanks for posting the video. I would like to someday build a hot tub heated by solar and wood as needed. Learned a lot from your work!

[@jamesorrison889]

I was thinking of doing something like this several years ago, but with a twist. Placing a 30 gallon drum, wrapped with copper coils, inside the 55 gallon drum. Then filling the space between with a high temperature mortar mix. It would still transfer heat, but would offer protection for the coils. Never had the opportunity put it to a test

[@aniaklementowicz2800]

Give her a hug old chap.

[@edbelavitz6477]

Thanks for the update!! I built one similar to yours but opted out of putting the coil inside, I looped mine over the top 3/4 or the barrel and my remaining copper I coiled up the outside of the chimney! Then I wrapped the coils with aluminum foil to help capture as much heat as I could!! My water comes in at the chimney area first and then to the coils wrapped over the top of the barrel! Has been working pretty good this far, just fired it up again today trying to get one more swim in this weekend!!! Thanks for your great ideas!!

[@stcldcrzy1]

great vid! a sealed box with a coil in it , inside the burn chamber , wrap the outside with a 50' coil backed with flashing and insulate, insulate the underground lines really well. do it all in 7/8 copper and you should see a significant difference .

[@bobhiatt84062]

I completely missed your intro! Your adorable daughter stole the show! Ha ha!

[@thesilvermerlin1713]

Very cool build vid 🙌. One other way to prevent creosote build up on your internal coils would be to put them inside a secondary burn chamber with a heated fresh air feed, sort of like a rocket stove/ mass heater. The burn temp inside that secondary chamber should be high enough to prevent build up 👍

[@geraldharper330]

necessity is the mother of invention....way to go..

[@patmalone4262]

Thanks for the update!

[@genewileyopa]

Looks good thank you for sharing

[@williamalston4660]

this answer some questions i had about heat collection from a wood heater... i am still working on a design of my own... thanks for sharing... william