I got tired of overloading circuts w a bunch of 300 watt 120 volt heaters, plus it was never enough to keep the 2100 gal pool warm enough. So being handy w electricity I thought to run another 240 circut dedicated to a heater. My 1st thought was to wire a hot water heater but of course that cost more than I wanted to spend. So I thought why not just use the element? So I bought a 4500 watt 240 volt bolt in element (there are screw in types but I figured the bolt in was easier), and 3" pvc pipe, a cap, a coupling, a flush plug, and 2 3" fipt adapters. First I installed a new 240 volt circut, installed the receptacle, and made a 240 volt extension cord. Unless you're competent with electricity, hire an electrician to do this part. I then drilled a bunch of holes in the pvc pipe, pre-drilled the screw holes to attach the element to the plug. Then I used a jig saw to cut a square hole in the middle of the plug to accept the terminal block on the back side of the element. I drilled a hole in the cap, ran the wire and hooked it up to the element. Once that was done, I screwed the element to the plug. I screwed the plug halfway into one of the female adapters, the screwed the other female adapter onto the other half of the plug. I capped the top, put the pipe on the bottom, and she was ready!! Before I put her in the water, there was the issue of not electrocuting my fish. I used a square styro lid from an lfs fish box and a piece of pipe for a template to cut a hole in the middle of the lid. I then drill two opposing holes in the sides of the pipe near the cap. I cut up a plastic clothes hanger to use as supports to keep the heater in the lid. It floats perfectly and so far no probs!! Of course, I have to monitor the temp as there is no thermostat (I'll work on that part in the future), but on the coldest nites the temps have been steady 80 deg with it on overnite. Plus it pulls less then 20 amps as opposed to the 35 plus amps with the multitude of 120 volt heaters with more wattage!!
