Heating the pool

[Guest3]

What is an 'Abri'?

[Lesblancs]

Crystal,

An abri is a shelter, so I would assume that in respect of a pool it would be a plastic/glass cover - the posh ones slide back to make it an outdoor pool during the day.

Enjoyed the Xmas break in the UK - back in Brittany now!

Disaster, left the bacon in our freezer in N. Wales

Robert

[la vache!]

Crystal if you look on the 'outside' page of my website, you can see a picture of the cheaper version which lifts off.

[Ju]

Susan

Your "pool with abri" photo is not showing on your website. The other photos are there, but that one is just a blank square.

Ju

[la vache!]

Ju, thanks for that, what browser are you using? it shows for me in Firefox and IE. Just realised that none of the picture headings show in Firefox either!

[Ju]

Susan

I'm on firefox too, but I still can't see it! I can see the title though.

No- I've got it back now!

Do you really think it makes a difference to your bookings? Would it be worth the money?

Ju

[enid]

I really want to heat our pool to extend the swimming season a little for me as much as for the clients!!
I don't like the look of abris much and think that there is just another maintenance cleaning job in them - those 2 reasons plus their cost have put an abri on the no pile. Heat exchangers look good but I'd really like to use solaire heating if possible. Has anybody any experience of that?

[la vache!]

Ju,
I'm pretty sure it is that fact that the pool is usable in April/May that has given me bookings then when previously they were few and far between. From chatting to guests last year they couldn't find anywhere that had a pool heated from the 1st April except ours. I've already taken lots of bookings for April and May 2007, more than for July! That is for French guests as well as UK ones. However, if I had the money I definitely would have gone for a telescopic abri (around 17,000€) as opposed to the one I have, which I managed to negotiate down to around 7000€ in the end. If I didn't live on site and wasn't there to raise and lower it every day there is no way it would be a viable option as I could never expect guests to do that. Cleaning it isn't a problem - I have a Karcher at the pool and that soon cleans the dust off of it. A lot of people actually enjoy swimming under it when it is down in cold weather - it is like a sauna underneath!
I still think the pool looks a lot prettier without it, but in (an often) cold, wet Brittany an abri is quite a useful thing to have - if I had a pool in a warmer climate I wouldn't have one.

[Alan Knighting]

Enid,

You and I are in the same general area so our temperatures will be almost identical.

Some of my friends have heat exchangers and some have solar heating. The installation costs appear to be pretty much the same. The running costs of heat exchangers is perhaps a little higher than for solar heating in that heat exchangers contain both a fan and a compressor.

However, there are two details which might be in favour of heat exchanges.

Firstly, they are very much more compact than solar heating panels which do occupy a large area.

Secondly, they do not rely on direct sunshine and continue to be effective at temperatures much lower than is the case for solar panels.

My friends assure me that whichever you chose you will be delighted with the results. During the “shoulder months� I struggle to keep my pool above 25°C whereas theirs are at 28°C or more. During “high season� they have to shut down their heating otherwise the temperatures can rocket to over 30°C and that is simply too hot for comfortable bathing.

It’s up to you but if you can afford the installation costs and you think having a heated pool will extend your letting season I would say “go for it�.

BTW. I cleaned the pool today; the water is as clear as gin but it’s only 12°C.

Fluffy

[enid]

Thanks for that Alan

It's a glorious day here too today.

[Alan Knighting]

It's a glorious day here too today.

Isn't it just? Lingering mists in the valleys, blue skies overhead and lunch on the terrace. One could almost become lyrical except, “it’s par for the course around here�. Don’t you just love it?

Fluffy

[la vache!]

Stop it you two! You're making me jealous. We've got grey skies and a lot of wind and rain, as per every other day so far this year!

[Alan Knighting]

Susan,

Sure, but one of the delights is the variability and unpredictability of the weather.

In the South West the weather is just as variable and just as unpredictable as it is in the North.

At least you’ve got the sea at hand, we don’t and that makes a big difference to a Brit.

Fluffy

[Guest3]

We've had glorious sunshine all week with highs between 20-22C and people swimming in the sea! The pool has been a steady 26C....but the guests who departed yesterday (thank goodness!) still complained that the pool was too cold as they couldn't take their 4 month old baby for a swim! who would want to take a 4 month old swimming in an out door pool (albiet heated) in Winter!

[Ben McNevis]

Here's a thought:

Keeping a pool warm involves more than just adding heat. It involves reducing heat loss too. I was reading up about this a year or so back looking into ways of getting the water warmer in our communal pool in Gran Canaria where unheated pools are the norm. One possible solution is a product called "Tropical Fish" but it doesn't involve having any fish swimming around the pool.

It is a liquid chemical which disperses in the water and when the water surface is still it forms a very thin layer at the top, thus preventing evaporation of the water. Apparently it can prevent much of the heat loss while the pool is not in use.

If you google for "tropical fish evaporation pool" you find a load of people selling it. Whether it really works... I don't know. It sounds almost too good to be true!