| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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It Works!,
August 3, 2009
By debbyks007
from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
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Pros: Doesn't cost you anything after initial purchase
Cons: No Sun = No Heat
"We purchased the deluxe package with 2 solar panels. We attached them to existing lattice panels on the deck so they would get more direct sun. After a week of gloominess & rain, the sun finally came out. Within 2 days the water temp was up to 78* from the 70ish that it had been. It did take 4 adults many hours (and 2 trips to Menards) to assemble & hook everything up, but it was well worth it!"
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Review 2 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 500 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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works great,
August 1, 2009
By DOITYOURSELFERJESSIE
from Bucks PA.
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Pros: free heat, cheaper than gas heater and dont have to pay for gas.
Cons: unheats in rain,have to build a rack to put them on
"Got 4 pannels for my inground pool, used above ground pannels due to space restictions around pool and no south faceing roof near pool. built a rack onto wood pool fence to lay pannels out off the ground.the rabbits around here like to chew on plastic. best not to lay on ground anyway the ground is prity cool it would suck the heat out as fast as the sun puts it in.had to install a three way valve in discharge of pump, pannels cant handel that much water flow. anyway they work great, 18000 gal. inground pool is at 85* in about two days.it rained the next day lost 5* cold rain will cool the water.so I bypass the pannels on rain days, the heat stays in with pool cover.maintains a constant temp now.I will likely get a solar controler so i dont have to bother with rain days.would be nice if they sold an erector set rack to mount them on, it would look nicer.something like the picture maybe?"
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Review 3 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Excellent Product,
August 1, 2009
By Summerisgreat
from Mahanoy City, PA
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Pros: Efficient product & easy installation.
Cons: None-to-date
"We purchased two solar panels for our above ground pool. The weather has not been cooperative due to the extreme rainfall this year. The past few days it has been sunny and the pool has heated to 84 degrees. This water temp is only with a few sunny days. If the weather does cooperate, we assume our pool will be much warmer, but 84 is pretty good. We always purchase products from In the Swim due to their performance and outstanding customer service. No one beats their service in our opinion. Thank you."
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Review 4 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Hot water!,
August 1, 2009
By Weswim
from Ohio
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Pros: We now have warm water!
Cons: Takes up space
"When we use our solar cover & the solar heater we have temps of 84-88 degrees! It's been great for the kids this year. No more shivering!"
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Review 5 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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5
out of 5
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great product,
July 25, 2009
By poolman75
from vincent ohio
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Pros: This product works as well as expected.
Cons: I need additional pannel for my 24 ft pool two was ok
"Overall the pannels work great to raise the pool temp. I do think if i had went with 3 it would be better and raise faster even on the cooler days. But we have been able to raise the temp 10 degrees using just the panels. With the solor cover in place we even have broken 84 degrees in the pool. Great product will look at buying more pannels next sping."
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Review 6 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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Great product,
July 24, 2009
By desndamon
from Mogadore, Ohio
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Pros: works well when its sunny
Cons: cannot heat up pool on cloudy days
"We finally decided to purchase one of these because we were tired of losing so many swim days because of cold water. It really does raise the water temp when its sunny. I think its a great investment and will really give us alot more swim days."
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Review 7 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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Really Works,
July 22, 2009
By FranktheTank
from Southside Chicago, IL
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Pros: Warm pool water
Cons: somewhat involved set up (8 hours)
"Purchased 2 panel kit for 24' round pool 7/5/09 due to the unseasonally cold weather (55 at night) we are having in hopes that when a 75-80 degree day does arrive we can enjoy relatively warm pool water. Works like a charm. Here is what you need to know: You WILL need to pruchase additional hoses (30 feet for me). If you pump hp is greater than 3/4 - you WILL need to either build or purchase a manual bypass system to divert some water back into the pool, bypassing the panels in order to prevent backpressure on your pump. I built the valve myself for a third of the price using the schematic on the manufacuters website with some parts from Home Depot and hose adapters from the local pool store. You WILL need to create some sort of platform to set the panels on. I used cinder block and (3) 4x8 treated plywood panels to rest the panels on. I run the pump daily from 10am-4pm, peak sun hours and use my csolar cover at night. it really makes a major difference. I anticipate an extension of the swim season. Easy to bypass 100% if the weather really heats up to 95-100 in order to prevent water that is too hot."
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 500 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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3
out of 5
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No heat,
July 18, 2009
By Taz32
from Anderson CA
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Cons: They do not heat a pool very well
"I picked these up to try and heat my pool. I went with this style as I do not want to do a roof mount. When I connected these panels to my pool pump the water was going through so fast it could not heat up very well. So I went and purchased a waterfall pump that is much smaller and would not pump the water as fast, then I was to get a little bit of a temperature difference. I get sun on my panels from 8:30 in the morning until about 6 pm. Yet my water temperature is not very significant to waht is going in and coming out of the panels. I get better heating from the bubbled solar covers. Yes my temperature here in the day usually reaches about 110 in the summer."
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Review 9 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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1
out of 5
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nothing like the photo,
July 12, 2009
By coldswimmer
from nothern ohio
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Pros: does heat some
Cons: looks like really bad & needs allot more than supplied
"it does not look any thing like the picture and they dont sell any thing to mount like pictured it looks really sloppy and hilbilly ish and slows down the flow on the pump you need the plumbing bypass too"
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Review 10 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 500 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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well worth the money,
July 7, 2009
By tamandjake
from Springfield, MO
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Pros: Works very well
Cons: does require additional parts
"We hooked up in the evening and within 24 hours our temp incresed 12 degrees. I dont get a full day of sun on it but average about 6 - 7 hours of full sun on the heater. I have one solar heater for a 15' x 48" above ground. I live in the midwest so we have warm summers. It has actually gotten the pool temp 6 degrees above outside air temp. I had to shut the heater off and run the pump without heater for over two weeks to get temp back down. You need 2 extra hose clamps and additonal hose to hook unit up. But still well worth the money. I also use a Silver insulated cover int the cooler evenings."
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Review 11 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 250 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Excellent heating,
June 27, 2009
By DACM
from Jacksonville, NC
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Pros: Easy to use
Cons: storage
"I live in N.C. so we do have alot of sun in the afternoon most days. We've used this product for 3 years. We have an 18' round, use 2 panels and a solal cover. Our pool stays between 84-94 degrees. Don't run your filter overnight. You cool the water. I didn't purchase the bypass valve. I don't know what it is. I made my own pvc/ball valve set up and I can adjust my water pressure so I can also run my Zippy(works with exhaust) vaccuum. Our panels sit up on 2x4 framing that we built ourselves and face to the south. My only complaint is we can't repair a hole or seam crack. It cracked being stored last winter. I guess we'll bring them in this year. We are able to use the pool from May 1 til Oct."
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Review 12 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 250 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Great heater,
March 6, 2009
By molli1961
from Montrose,Pa
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Pros: Works well when sun is out
Cons: needed 6
"I used 1 on the ground on a rack for 10 years and it worked ok. I live in Northeast Pa, and it is cold here, at night the temp drops and during the day we don't get many days above 84 degrees. We also have alot of trees.
Last summer I bought 2 more 4 foot by 20 sets and mounted them on my tin roof, we also made it so I could turn it off and on, and had it on a timer.
I have never been in a warmer pool in the Northeast.
At night when we took the solar cover off, I would have steam/mist coming up out of the water. THe average water temp was around 84, It did get up to 90 a few times
It works great. The pool size is 15 by 24."
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 250 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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worth the money,
December 3, 2008
By kyreb
from Waynesburg, KY
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Pros: extends swimming season by months
Cons: need platform
"I bought 3 panels for my 28ft 3 years ago. I am able to swim by the first week of may every year. You can feel the difference when in operation. I did develop a hole in one of the panels this year and will need to replace or find a repair kit. I would say this was a wise investment for us."
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Review 14 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 1000 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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3
out of 5
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worked well,
December 2, 2008
By cjbiss
from michigan
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Pros: it worked.
Cons: it needs to have a rack to be on.
"it work somewhat, it should be off the ground."
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Review 15 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 1000 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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really does help,
November 28, 2008
By Anonymous
from Napoleon, OH
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Pros: We really like these they work really well
Cons: could use one more for the size of our pool
"Had a little problem hooking this up but contacted customer service and we had to order another part and now it works great."
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Review 16 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Solar heaters,
November 27, 2008
By mudpuppy
from Pine Grove, CA
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Pros: effective, small and easily handled
Cons: none
"Unlike other solar heaters these are only a couple of feet wide so they are easy to drain and pack up for winter but they seem just as effective at heating the water."
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Review 17 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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worth the price,
November 27, 2008
By justpoolme
from S.Paul ,MN
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Pros: heats my pool a good extra 10 degree's
Cons: winter storage can be a bit of a pain
"this is my second set of solar heaters, my dog put holes in the first set ( live and learn) and i am very satisfied with there perfomance on my 24 foot above ground pool ( 2 Panels)"
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Review 18 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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worth the money!,
October 12, 2008
By suebee
from the I-70 corridor in Illinois
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Pros: will increase temp by about five-ten degrees
Cons: takes a while to work
"We have an 18 ft. round pool and the book recommended 2 of these panels for an 18 ft. We got only one and put it on an elevated banked piece of heavy plywood. The elevation kept us from having to use a bypass or diverter valve. It takes more hardware than the book says to install this so that it does not come apart at the intake and out-take ends. It took about five days to raise the temp from the high 70's to mid 80's. With a solar cover, it's great! We like the water at 85 or above and it worked."
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Review 19 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
| Overall Rating: |
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2
out of 5
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solar panel,
May 17, 2008
By blum
from Delta, Iowa
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Pros: they heat al rite
Cons: don't roll the panels up and store them in a garage
"We rolled ours up for the winter and the panels cracked we found this out by hooking them back up this spring so know we have buy another one."
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 20 for Solar Pool Heaters for Above Ground Pools
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Top 250 Contributor
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Good supplemental heat,
May 8, 2008
By garyv
from Central Illinois
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Pros: Adds heat with no extra costs
Cons: Slower to warm pool than a fueled heater. Tricky to winterize
"I bought this system for an 18' AG pool a few years ago so I've some experience with it. I have it installed on a tilted platform at ground level in an unshaded area facing south so it probably picks up the maximum heat possible on sunny days. I don't have any accurate way of telling exactly how much heat it gains but I know that if I put my hand in front of the inlet the water coming into the pool is markedly warmer than the water in the pool. It doesn't seem to add any strain on the pump so I'm convinced that it's extended our swim season without costing extra money.
Just a couple of things that you should know. Heat gain is very much dependent on the sun shining and even on a bright, sunny day it doesn't warm the water as much as a gas heater. So, it will take longer than a fueled heater to bring the pool up to a comfortable temp. Also, I've found if very difficult to get all the water out in the fall so I'd suggest that you bring the panels inside in the winter. They are stiff and hard to roll up but it will save the tubes from freezing and splitting.
All in all, I'm very happy with it and I think it was a very good investment."
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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