Glacier pool coolers. Are they worth it?

I had a very large pool at my last place. In July and August it would damn near be unbearable due to no shade. I made a "wand" that would screw into one of the pump recirc outlets and lie even with the surface of the water.

It was in the shape of a "T" and made of 1 1/2" PVC. I drilled a 1/8" hole every inch or so from where it "T'd" off to the end cap on both ends (it was about 6 ft long). This would spray water into the air about 6 ft or so. I ran my pump exclusively at night to the cooler night air would cool the water as it sprayed.

It was amazing how much it cooled the water off. Easily 10 degrees or so. I had to control the volumn of water by partially closing a valve on my pump system to keep it from shooting water all the way out of the pool.

Took a little playing with to get it right but it worked great.

Works. Some at least. It will blow off CO2, raising ph, will need to add acid far more frequently

The sprayers work. Mine will drop temps into the mid-80s if I run it wide open, which is cool enough to give you a slight chill when you get in. I had priced out a chiller and am glad I tried the sprayer first. It works by evaporative cooling so you do need to be mindful of level over time but eyeballing it I don’t top off the pool any more than I already was when it’s hot and not raining.

I have a Glacier and installed it when we built our pool a couple of years ago. I love it and honestly wouldn't use the pool in August or September without it. Our pool gets direct sun all day and will get to 93-94 in the afternoons.

My only grip is the fan is somewhat loud and you really need to turn it on the day before so it can run overnight for at least one night. I've got a variable speed pump and it requires at least 2000rpms to get the flow rate right. Other than that, the costs to run are minimal.

is your pool a saltwater pool? If so , the fountain system is going to drive up your ph

I went the PVC sprayer route when I had my pool and it made a huge difference. Ran the pump almost exclusively at night and this time of year would bring the temp down enough to make it not feel like bath water. My pool got no shade at all, and left alone would get to 94-96°. I could keep it in the 87-90° range if I ran the sprayers from sunset to sunrise.

It was worth the extra maintenance of having to lower the pH.

Chlorine

I run a Raypak dual function heat pump in think it was a few hundred bucks more than that but can heat and cool. Can pull my pool down 8 degrees overnight and hold it there with only about .5 degree creep in 98-102 degree weather.