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other uses for a boiler

Homeowner
Homeowner Member Posts: 22
in THE MAIN WALL
This may sound like a wild idea but could I pipe the water from my swimming pool through a boiler to heat the pool water? What would the temp be (approx.) on the outlet side of the boiler at say 5 gallons per minute flow? If this is possible I would like to mount it on a trailer and advertise as a mobile pool heater, for parties and special events when the prospective customer's pool might be too cold for the occasion.
Steve

Comments

  • kevin coppinger_4
    kevin coppinger_4 Member Posts: 2,124
    that would be...

    a NO if it was a cast iron boiler...it is always best to use a pool heater w/ the proper heat loss.Boilers are usually meant to be used under pressure in a closed system. A lot of variables here...pool size, boiler size,pump size.kpc
  • Homeowner
    Homeowner Member Posts: 22


    Would it work if I restricted the flow? I am looking for something that would heat the water faster than a pool heater.
    I asked the guy at the local plumbing store how hot the water would come out of the boiler he had for sale and he said "as hot as I wanted it to". Maybe he was just trying to sell me a boiler.
  • kevin coppinger_4
    kevin coppinger_4 Member Posts: 2,124
    A boiler rated at...

    125,000 btu will not heat water any faster than a pool heater w/ the same 125,000 btu rating,regardless of flow rate. You could use a heat exchanger ,pool type, off of a boiler to do this. kpc
  • Fred P
    Fred P Member Posts: 77
    most pools

    use flexible plastic or rubber hoses, you would have to be careful about melting them! Im not sure how how much heat they can take, but my pool get to about 85 degrees max during a heatwave and thats gradual without the use of any external heater.

    Sounds like you have a cool idea, I dont know how practical it could be. Consider some ingrounds contain 30 to 40 thousand gallons of water....
  • Homeowner
    Homeowner Member Posts: 22


    Thanks for your comments. I am always trying to think of different and better ways to do things. I said it might sound like a wild idea. Thanks again.
  • Dan Peel
    Dan Peel Member Posts: 431
    Physics wins

    There's no magic avaiable. It requires 1 btu to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree F. A 10 degree rise in 100 gallons requires the same energy input as a 100 degree rise in 10 gallons. It does sound like a fun business - instant pond warming........ Dan

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  • Mark Eatherton1
    Mark Eatherton1 Member Posts: 2,542
    Ya mean...

    1 GPM @ 100 degree rise does the same as 100 GPM @ 1 degree rise:-)

    Merry Christmas Peeler!

    ME
  • Dan Peel
    Dan Peel Member Posts: 431
    Um

    You keep on confusing me with logic Mark!
    Look after that arm. Do you have to set the beer down to type or are you using the corner of the bottle?
    Wishing only the best to you all and your all during this holiday season and beyond.
    Be careful out there.......Dan


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  • John@Reliable_5
    John@Reliable_5 Member Posts: 76
    Dan, he has one of those 2 can holders on head w/ straw!

  • Homeowner
    Homeowner Member Posts: 22


    If I pumped 60 degree water thru a 125,000 btu boiler at the rate of 10 gallons per minute how warm would the water be coming out? The reason I thought of using a boiler is they are quite a bit cheaper than a pool heater. I was thinking I would run a seperate line to and from the pool, without using the existing pool lines.
    Thanks for all of your input.
    Steve
  • Dan Peel
    Dan Peel Member Posts: 431
    gallons minutes and rise

    OK, back on topic, 125,oooBTUH (net output) condensing boiler to handle the low temps involved. That's just 2083 btu per minute. The weight of your 10 gpm (usg) flow is 83.3 lbs. Your single pass rise is 25 deg.F. 60F in 85F out. Enjoy....Dan

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  • kevin coppinger_3
    kevin coppinger_3 Member Posts: 13
    Dan....

    the 125K used was just a number I through out there to make a point...I have no idea what size boiler he was talking about using....merry Christmas...kpc
  • Homeowner
    Homeowner Member Posts: 22


    I was thinking about using as big a boiler as I could find or afford. Thanks for the info guys.
  • John Ruhnke1
    John Ruhnke1 Member Posts: 154
    Wild Ideas!! and Inventions....................

    Homeowner,

    Sounds like you want to be an Inventor. Ideas are nice! Everyone has ideas. Tom Edison once said Inventing is 1% inspiration and 99% persperation.

    First off if you use a boiler you will need to have a heat exchanger. Otherwise the boiler will rot out from oxygen corrosion, won't last a year. Second the pool water will come back at a real low temperature and condense the flue gas which will cause all the smoke pipe and burner tubes to rot out. So that is why we use a pool heater because it is designed to handle the rough conditions that the pool water provides. If you wanted to use a boiler, by the time you got done with all the special controls you will have exceeded the price of a pool heater. Thus that is why pool guys install pool heaters. Yes there are specialty boilers like condensing boilers that might work, but they to cost more than a pool heater.

    Now it will take about 400,000 btu's and roughly 12 hours of running time to heat a average pool up to a useable temperature.

    A mobile pool heater trailer may cost a dealer somewhere around $30,000 a unit. He would need to drop it off the day before and leave it for a minimum of two days. He may have to charge around $2000.00 for a two day minumum to pay his expenses. Some people may be interested in that.

    It could work. First you will need to write a business plan. Figure well over 6 figures just on the first prototype. You will need at least one million dollars, to start the first franchize. Building, trucks, employees and such. After that you can ask a Venture Capitalist to invest more... maybe 20 million.

    John Ruhnke
    President of the Inventors Association of Connecticut
    Email me if you need some more advise...
    JR@Inventus.org

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