Intex Eco-Friendly Solar Heating Mat for Swimming Pools #28685

These work really well once setup correctly, I run mine off a pond pump independent of the pool filter and have have put them on my shed roof. Attached image is from 10am before the sun is direct on the mats, pool temperature was 15c so the water is being heated by a good few degrees. By 5pm pool is always 20c+ (and sometimes more). Fiddly to setup correctly with hoses and connectors it they definitely work to take the chill out of the pool. For reference my pool is a 1.5x2.2 Intex rectangular pool. For larger pools you would want more mats.

This is the second pool heat mat I have bought. The first is installed and I have just added a new one.I didnt use the pool filter pump as the big pipe is on the wrong side of the pool for the sun.Our pool is in a big shed so cant be moved without emptying.IF you are thinking of using a standard hose with it, be warned, the inlet and outlet are ready to accomodate the pool pipes which are way 32mm. I bought 2 adaptors to go from the 32mm to a 16mm barbed to take my hose and Im feeding the water to it via a 12v submersible pump running from a power station.When the second mat came(today), I used the short piece of hose they supply for fitting to your filter pump, to instead join the mats together. This was easy to do, taking only a few minutes .The leaky bits are where you push the big hose onto the gasketted inlets. The gaskets pop out and you have to very carefully push them back and twist till the hose end fits over and on.You get some plastic hose clips to make it tight once on.I'll update once the weather is a bit warmer with some proper temp measurements.Its only May now so hopefully warmer swims to come.The weather today has been around 17c with the pool temp going up to 16c from about 14c (with the one Mat).The instructions do say it wont work under 26 degrees,It works but you have to be able to slow the flow down or stop and start it to allow the water in the mat time to get warm.

Having used this type of mat for 3 summers in a row, I have to say that it only works for couple of hours a day and only when the sun is really beating down.I have 3 of them connected in a row and run a pump through them, but for a 4m wide pool this is barely enough.I'll have to sell them soon, as do not find them efficient enough.

Works fantastic, when the sun is out, heats quickly, with enough bags and does a super job. Just take up space so it's good if you have a place to pack them out

It doesn't say anywhere you need a pool filter for it to workI just wanted to heat my kids paddling pool. I typed that into the search "kids paddling pool heater" and this came upLoad of crap. It also doesn't heat anything below 26 degrees anyway lol

Not the best product. Poor instruction. Don't think it would do much to heat the water. Needs to hold more water to make any difference

These are a budget way to get some heat into your above ground pool. Simple and easy to set up and quiet functional. It dosent get the pool hot but does a good job taking the chill off it.

I have the pool pump on a separate circuit, since I believe from reading these reviews that the filter pump's flow rate is too fast for these panels and is likely to damage themSince early April, I've had two of these solar panels, slightly raised above the pool (due to the layout of garden), and a 12v Whale (caravan) pump powered by a rotating/tilting solar panel. It's only an 8ft pool as my patio won't take any bigger. I have a floater thermometer for the pool, and a probe thermometer in the solar panel outlet (both Inkbird - I recommend, can view remotely on phone app).On a sunny day, the flow is like a kitchen tap on 70-80%, and the output is 5 degrees higher than the pool. With sun all day, it can raise the pool temp by 7-9 degrees C (bearing in mind it only really works from 11am to 6pm). Depending on the overnight temp, it drops 3-5%, so I spend a lot of time praying for 2+ days of consistent sun. This week, the pool is up to 27 degrees (C), which is lovely.I didn't use the tubes provided since I purchased heavy duty reinforced PVC hose a while ago to replace the Intex corrugated tubes that crack after one summer. I have gym mats underneath the panels, and I've just brought garden staples and tent pegs to try and prevent the warping mentioned by another reviewer.Photos taken 6:17pm 26/06/24Edit May 2025: Upgraded since last year. Since the solar pads destroyed the grass in 2024, I built a raised platform approximately 1.5m above the top water level of the pool; 2.4x2.4m, big enough to take 4 of these panels. Used 2"x2" timber and polycarbonate sheets to place the pads on. I'm using two 12v pumps (Comet VIP-Plus) and an upgraded 50W PV solar panel (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yusat-Efficiency-Monocrystalline-Charger-Charging/dp/B0DCDRTNB7) to power each one, in order to deal with the pressure required to pump that high. Having been blessed with an unusually sunny Welsh spring for once, the pool's already been above 32 degrees on several occasions. Oh and I used decent non-kink hose (https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEWENWILS-SwivelGrip-Flexible-Lightweight-Hosepipes/dp/B0BTP3NCXB) for the whole system.I'm not going to say it's an easy or cheap setup, but if you or your kids enjoy spending time in water (my daughter lives for it!) then it's a worthwhile investment.