How to Heat Your Intex SPA Jacuzzi With Sunpower and Clean It in a Breeze

An unconventional but cheap and easy way to heat with sunpower and clean effortless your Intex PureSPA.

For the solar heater:

At the department Sanitary:

1. A 90-degree DN50-DN40 pipe elbow

2. A DN50-DN40 rubber-reducing ring

At the department Leisure:

7. An Intex solar mat (you need just the mat, not the circulating pump)

8. needed length of 38mm Pool corrugated water hose.

For the underwater vacuum cleaner:

At the department Sanitary:

1. A second 90-degree DN50-DN40 pipe elbow

2. A second DN50-DN40 rubber-reducing ring

3. A DN40 pipe cap

4. A DN 40 rubber-fitted sleeve*

5. A piece of DN50 pipe (8 cm is enough)

At the department Household:

10: A mop broom (plastic or stainless steel, e.g. Ikea Pepprig)

11: Some pan cleaning stainless steel scourers

At the department Electrics:

7. 3 m corrugated flexible electric sheath 25 mm

8. 1m stiff electric sheath 32 mm (to be used as a broom)

* initially I have tinkered an adjustable bypass to that sleeve

(as seen on the picture) but that isn’t required, you may use the sleeve as bought.

We will use the outlet from the circulating pump of the jacuzzi to feed water to the solar mat.

The problem to solve was to find a match to the water outlet thread of the filter pump.

It is an non-standardized thread size between one-inch and one-and-a-half inches.

As I could not find a suitable thread, I solved the problem by using a rubber sleeve (1) and the reductive elbow pipe (2).

First, mount the rubber sleeve on the water outlet by matching it as closely as possible (the length is a little short) then turn the rubber sleeve a few turns so that the rubber gets caught in the thread.

Then you can apply the reductive elbow; it should hold firmly, but you must hold it every time you fiddle with the sleeve.

You can then push the corrugated pool hose (8) into the elbow (2) if should just fit.

N.B. the lower fittings are intended for the underwater vaccuum cleaner described later.

On the other side connect it to the solar mat (7) as shown on the cover picture.

Start the pump.

The solar mat works better if it is roughly just above the height of the water in the pool.

I let the water just flow down to the pool fountain-like. But you may also use a pool hose for the return path. You have to, if your mat is below the water level !

That’s it !

Enjoy the water warming up 3°C an hour under bright sun.

We will now use the filter pump as an underwater vacuum cleaner.

Remember, I offered to buy some more stuff from the sanitary dept:

1. A second 90-degree DN50-DN40 pipe elbow

2. A second DN50-DN40 rubber-reducing ring

3. A DN40 pipe cap

4. A DN 40 rubber-fitted sleeve*

5. A piece of DN50 pipe (8 cm is enough)

   and a scourer.

Force-pull the stainless-steel scourer (which will serve us as a dirt filter) into the piece of DN50 pipe. (like #11 of the BOM pictures)

Use the rubber-fitted sleeve as a joint between the pipe elbow and the dn50 pipe.

Screw the filter away and mount the rubber sleeve and the reductive elbow on the water inlet like you did on the outlet for the solar heater. Remember: by doing that, hold firmly the elbow since it is not screwed and only holds on the rubber to the outlet thread.

By the way: that stainless steel filter is almost as efficient as the expensive Intex paper filter and must never be replaced.

*originally I have foreseen an adjustable bypass on that sleve, which proved to be unnecessary, so dont be surprised if my picture has that bypass tinkered to. You just need a stock sleeve.

Drill a hole in the DN40 cap and find a way to glue/fit the corrugated flexible electric sheath and some watering hose in that hole. This will be our vacuum cleaner broom.

Force-pull the stainless-steel scourer (which will serve us as a dirt filter) into the piece of DN50 pipe. (like #11 of the BOM pictures)

Use the rubber-fitted sleeve as a joint between the pipe elbow and the dn50 pipe.

Screw the filter away and mount the rubber sleeve and the reductive elbow on the water inlet like you did on the outlet for the solar heater. Remember: by doing that, hold firmly the elbow since it is not screwed and only holds on the rubber to the outlet thread.

Take care that the vacuum cleaner broom is filled with water before starting the filter pump, else the pump will suck air and disconnect.

Start the bubbles for a few second to detach the dirt particles from the walls and bottom and mix them to the water.

Now begins the fun part of the cleaning!

Walk a few turns in the water to bring the water to rotate slowly. Wait a few minutes, the vortex effect will coalesce all the dirt at the centre of the SPA !

You can now suck all the dirt from the centre and also the dirt trapped in the air ring with your underwater vacuum cleaner.

If the sides and the bottom of your SPA get glitchy, you may need an additional step:

Clean the bottom and sides with a plain household Ikea mop (yes, under water!)

Remove the dirt and the glitch coating from the walls and the bottom with the mop (you will be amazed how much dirt comes out!) Another part of the dirt ends up suspended in the water.

Repeat the step 6. (Whirl and vacuum-clean, then whirl again and wait for 20 minutes for the dirt to coalesce to the centre. )

All the dirt will aggregate at the bottom in form of lose flocks and can easily be vacuum-cleaned again.

In less than a minute vacuuming, all that dirt ends up in the scourer and your pool is spotless!

You may then unplug the DN40 tube containing the scourer, put your Intex filter back and continue filtering and heating…

Then pull the scourer out of the pipe and rinse it in your bath sink.

That was a very light cleaning, you may get a LOT of brown dirt and particles!

With a cleaning of this type every three days, and a little bromine/ plus a tiny bit of bleach, my water is still spotless after two months!

Another advice: the blue Intex filter can be washed by the washing machine together with other fabric items

That way a single filter makes it easy to a whole season ...

My Intex PureSPA is working that way since three years, without any problem.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Intex, who surely will not endorse the hack.

You are solely responsible to whatever you do with this description.

It worked well for me, your mileage may vary.

And here the result after 12 weeks with the same water.

I am now using no more Intex filter at all: only the 2 inox scourers pushed into the PVC tube.

I used during these 12 weeks two long-time bromine tabs in a swimmer and a total of 0,5 litre chlorine.

Done an underwater cleaning every second day, a mop cleaning every week.

That, including 3 weeks manual cleaning interruption during my holidays (with the pump working 3 hours a day) !

Upon my return from vacation, the water was green and had some algae, the bromine swimmer was exhausted, but everything returned to normal after a mop cleaning of the bottom and sides, 24h pump cleaning with several scourer cleanings (deep brown at the beginning, then soon clearer), I used a new bromine tab and did a few vortex-vacuum cleaning cycles.

I am still with the same water...