GAME 4721-BB SolarPRO Curve Solar Pool Heater, Made for Intex & Bestway Above-Ground and Inground Pools, Includes Intex Adapters, 2 Hoses & Clamps

UPDATED REVIEW 6/17/2025:I have upgraded my original review from 4 to 5 stars. Now that we are looking ahead to a full season of using this product, we are so glad we added this item to our pool.Eleven days ago we had to replace our above ground pool liner and have a water delivery to refill it. The water thermometer reading was 63 degrees.In the 10 days since then, we've had overcast days, partly sunny days and cool nighttime temps (mid-50s).We set up the solar collector and move it where it could receive maximum sun on it. Today the water temp was 81 degrees and it was wonderful! First time my husband was in the pool this early in the season....seriously! He does not swim when water temps are in the 70's.All the improvements listed below are actually working as we had dreamed.Yes, we keep the solar cover on each and every night to minimize evaporation and keep the warm temps.This really will extend our (Midwest) swim season and regulate temps during the heavy summer swim months.ORIGINAL REVIEW:FIRST OF ALL, I want to thank all of the reviewers who posted their positive and (many) negative experiences. We seriously took their input into account and adjusted our installation and expectations accordingly.Ultimately, we chose to add 1 of these solar panels to assist in improving the temp of our 18' dia. above-ground pool. We're not looking to consistently hit 84 degrees in our Midwest location. We want to eke out a few more days of swimming in early/late season and keep consistent comfortable swimming temps.We always keep a bubble solar cover on the pool when not in use.The panel itself was well packed and is a solid piece of equipment. We think this panel system has a lot of merit and that is why we chose to undertake this "grand experiment".We hope you find some of our suggestions helpful.WHAT WE CONSIDERED FOR OUR LOCATION:--Slower water movement through the solar panel should result in warmer temps coming from the output back into the pool...and it does appear to be working in theory.--We wanted to eliminate usage of our pool pump which would move too much water through the panel at a high speed. Also adding to higher utility bills.-We wanted to maximize our sun exposure on the panel due to tree cover and our pool's orientation, which led us to a moveable panel/utility pump installation.IMPROVEMENT #1:To alleviate the failed/broken legs issue many reported, we securely bungy-corded the panel to a sturdy (wheeled) hand truck which can be moved short distances to maximize the sun exposure. (The panel's legs are folded back and not used at all.)We then have the hand cart handle secured to our railing (bungy cord) which keeps the unit on an upright angle to take up less space on the pool decking while having maximum sun on it.IMPROVEMENT #2:We acquired a separate 1/4 HP utility pump (approx. 1200 GPH at 5' height) which sits at the bottom of the pool. In the process of plumbing the intake and output connections (lots of trial and error to step down to the panel's fitting) we also included a SHUT-OFF valve where we can control the speed/amount of water going into the panel.This pump is on an outdoor timer and currently runs 6 hrs. during the day with maximum sun exposure.RESULTS AFTER 1 WEEK:--I have been tracking pool temps at start and end times of the pump/solar panel and I see about a 1 degree rise each day (if lots of sunshine). It is July, so it is expected to start the pump day at somewhere near 76 degrees and end around 80 degrees. The real proof is when we open the pool at the end of May when there are more temp fluctuations. I will update this review next spring.--What does surprise me is that the water temp stays very consistent (77-80 degrees) even after inches of rainfall, cooler overnight temps and overcast days with little to no sunshine.ADDITIONAL NOTES:--The panel came with 2 bags of mostly useless, black plastic plumbing connectors. Depending on how you hook the panel(s) up, you may use some, or none of these pieces.--The 2 3 ft. long hoses are a joke. Trash them and get 1 longer length of hose to fit your installation/location.--The utility pump (water INTAKE to panel) we purchased is connected to a hose (13FT x 1" Suction Hose Kit) that is found on Amazon. This gives us plenty of flexibility to move the panel/cart short distances to access full sun.--We UNPLUG THE PUMP from the electrical timer when someone is in the pool.--Once we made a couple of trips to the hardware store to finalize our necessary connections, everything went together well and NO leaks were experienced.

I have 2 directly in the sun for 8 -9 hours and I get very little heat. my pool is an in-ground about 10k gal. I have a varible pumb, thank goodness, and I run between it between 700-900 but might turn it down even more. My water comes out around 1 degree warmer. I have a solar cover as well. I would recommend saving your money and going with the flat panels that you can put on your roof or ground. I had 3 that I used for my pool in PA and it worked great. they have smaller tubes vs. the larger tunes on this one. assembly wasn't bad, ran I to the same issue as everyone about leaks. I went and purchase more clamps and I have 2 clamps per hose. seems to be working. I have a very small drip coming from one but that's ok to me, I'll mess with it another time. I did have to purchase a longer hose as well. so, again, my recommendation is don't buy, go with something else. Also, I live in Palm Bay FL so yes, I get plenty of sun.

I bought this solar panel for a above ground 15 ft round pool. This thing has been great! After 1 day it was keeping the pool at 82 and by day 4 the pool was up to near 90! I will say that if you want to keep that heat though, you must have a solar cover so that your heat doesn't dissipate to badly at night. The last two days, we have had very little sun and cooler temps in low 70's and the pool was still sitting between 80 and 82. Our pump is also less than 1hp so the water flows through it at a pretty decent rate and still warms up nicely as it goes through the coils.Some things to note thoughThe hoses are not long at all, so if the panel needs to be placed somewhere away from the pump in order to get full sun, you will need to buy longer hoses.We have an Intex sand filter and had to get creative at the local big box home improvement store to make adapters to accommodate longer hoses. No stars dinged for that though, because if you just used everything that came with it and you are able to put it right near the pump, you wouldn't have to do anything special. Mentioning this though because many people will be at the mercy of where the sun shines and you will most likely need longer hoses.Did I mention the sun.. because you will need full sun for the better part of the day if you want to see those pool temps rise. If your panel is only getting sun for a couple hours, your going to have a bad time. Our panel gets a full 8 hours of sun where it sits and our pump runs 6 to 8 hours during that time. Partly sunny days keep it at 82 to 86, full sun days get's our pool near 90, and cloudy days it can drop to 80 if overcast conditions last a few days.If you have a bigger pool, invest in more than one of these. One of these heats our 15 ft pool nicely, but I would think that if you have something bigger than a 18 ft or even a oval pool, 2 would be your best option. The longer the water stays in the coils, the more it will heat your pool.I know I mentioned it up top but it is worth mentioning again, you need to have a solar cover. A solar cover is not just for helping heat your pool, it's best use is for keeping that hard earned solar heated warmth in at night. You can easily lose like 5 degrees of heat at night without a cover. If you have this panel and it never seems to get warm or stay warm and you don't have a good solar cover, that's not the panel's fault... that is your fault for letting all that wonderful heat escape into the night.Overall, this panel delivers as long as you do your part to make sure it can do it's job.

Pretty good wish it had smaller pump recommendations I have the fastes pump it can take and if my pump was slower it would work awesome but works pretty good if u get the right size solar cover to hold heat in at night then u will be happier with this product I do recommend but the price is high for such cheaply made product . I have had to replace cause a soccer ball cracked it then replace again when tipped over in a wind storm and the output and inputs cracked off . I suggest having no kids if you have this lol