Anyone with a pool... (Smithfield: how much, where to buy, cost) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina (NC) -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

claud605 · 06-21-2010, 03:49 AM

OK this heat is crazy, and it's not even summer officially yet. Anyone with a pool know where to buy those big blocks of ice that people would use for an ice sculpture...yes I am thinking of getting a couple to put in the pool so it doesn't feel like a tepid bath. OR does anyone know another way to chill the pool; like those 'chillers' - do they work? How much are they?

fester600 · 06-21-2010, 04:22 AM

Would a bunch of bags of ice from Sam's Club work? At $2 a pop, purchase 50 of them, I would think that would do the trick...

Note: I do not have a pool

claud605 · 06-21-2010, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fester600

Would a bunch of bags of ice from Sam's Club work? At $2 a pop, purchase 50 of them, I would think that would do the trick...

Note: I do not have a pool

Well that's the Plan B if I don't get a response from anyone who uses a chiller or big blocks! Thanks.

AmazinGracie · 06-21-2010, 05:21 AM

You might try calling local ice companies who sell block ice. Reddy Ice is just one I found.

Reddy Ice: Good times are in the BAG!

Sherifftruman · 06-21-2010, 12:50 PM

Off the top of my head, I would say that this would require a huge amount of ice to make any difference and would probably not be very economical.

A little googling found this. Can Ice Cubes Cool Your Pool? - Tad Fallows - Slate Magazine which seems to confirm my gut.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slate article

So to lower the temperature of a 20,000 gallon pool of 90 degree water by 10 degrees, you would need about 8,750 pounds of ice...

Most places recommend running a fountain at night to cool the pool. It will cause more evaporation, but will cool the water down some.

zthatzmanz28 · 06-21-2010, 01:20 PM

I have seen those giant ice dispenser machines have a 12 or 15 pound block option.

Think they are $2 or $2.50?

Also Sonic and Smithfield Chicken sell ice rather cheap. It's less than $2 but not sure the weight.

North_Raleigh_Guy · 06-21-2010, 01:36 PM

I don't think using ice to cool a pool is realistic. It would take way more ice than you think and cost a ton of money.

StanFischlerHockE · 06-21-2010, 01:48 PM

I am not trying to knock you but this will not work. If it did you would see Al Gore investing in Ice companies and dumping chunks of ice into the Atlantic.

bmwpilot · 06-21-2010, 05:18 PM

I use a fountain in the pool. If you run it at night it will likely drop the temperature by 5 degrees maybe more.

RDUBiker · 06-22-2010, 07:14 PM

My wife likes it warm

But we do swim mostly at night so I guess that's somewhat nice. The solar heat can get it to 90 or higher, but that's TOO warm.

Using ice to cool it may work, but it will heat right back up again in a day or two. I don't have any experience with coolers, although people who have solar panels like mine are known to use them at night as coolers. Whether this works I do not know.