Pump for solar heater on roof

[GreenEnvy22]

Hi all,
We have a 14" intex above ground pool. I built a simple solar heater using 200ft of black 1/2" irrigation line, coiled in a 4'x4' wood box with plexiglass cover on it.
This is mounted on roof of the kids playhouse which is right beside the pool, about 10-12 feet up.
I'm an IT guy, so I'll have a smart thermometer in the coil box, and when temp gets above a certain point it will turn on the pump to circulate water.
I know this small heater won't help a lot, but if it even extends our swimming season a few weeks I'm happy (near Toronto, Canada).

I currently have a little vivosun 800gph (24W) pond pump, which I had onhand for my beer brewing (pumps cooling water). This is powerful enough to raise the water the 10 ft and still have a good flow, but once I hook it into the heater coil it flows basically zero, maybe a tiny trickle if I lay the coil flat (have it at a 30 degree incline usually).

So I think I need a new pump. I'd prefer one that can sit outside the pool (this one sits in the pool, but I don't like 120V line sitting in the pool), under the raised deck, and just have a pipe going into the water to pull it up to the pump, and then up to the coil on the roof. I believe I'd want a check valve on the input side of the pump, correct?

I'm looking for suggestions on pumps. I'm not sure if I should try just getting a more powerful pond pump (some 50w ones), or look at a different style. I know now all pumps are designed for continuous operation, not all can handle chlorine, etc.

Any input is appreciated.

[Denniswiseman]

It's the frictional resistance in the 200 ft of 1/2" pipe that's the problem (a larger pipe would have lease resistance)
Have you tried keeping the coil on the ground so that it doesn't have to overcome that 10 ft head or try 2 x 100 ft
A check valve would keep the pump primed

[GreenEnvy22]

It does work on the ground, but I don't really have anywhere at ground level to put it.
Would it be less work if I put a "T" inside the box and had it run two separate 100ft loops? they'd still be fed by the same single 1/2 pipe though.
I'd imagine two 100ft loops would also provide less heat output than a single 200ft, less time exposed to the heat, right?

[Denniswiseman]

You would be better off running a larger pipe to the "T"
Solar panels work on getting a good flow through the water ways and extracting more heat from the panel
You may get a larger cooler flow through the panel rather than a slower hot flow
As you get hotter the heat exchange slows down

[Brody]

You guys look closest to discussing my question so thought I'd jump in for some advice. Posting broadly as well but thought you two might know best.

Wondering if I definitely need a dedicated pump for the same kind of coil heater GreenEnvy built for above ground pool, or can I use hose adapters to run the outflow from my primary pump through the coil and then back into the pool? I have 15' x 42" intex pool with 1000 gph intex pump. It has 1 1/2 inch clamp hoses. I was looking to buy 200 feet of 1/2 irrigation hose as well and also build 4x4 wood box w/plexiglass cover. I was going to leave it at pool-top height, not elevate it 10 feet.

Assuming I can find adapters to redirect the 1 1/2 pump outflow through the 1/2 inch coil, can my intex pump do the job? Or is that going to mess up all kinds of pressure and flow rates since the coil is so much smaller diameter? I'm just trying to do this without spending too much additional money.

If I have to buy separate pump, what's my best affordable option? I don't want power cord in pool either. Cheapest real pump I saw was $70ish?

Thanks!!

Seth ("Brody")

[Denniswiseman]

Already answered in your other post but you would have to get some adaptors from your intex hose to solvent weld plastic and form a header flow and return