Solar blanket question

[halds]

I have a naive question. I have never had a solar blanket before, nor had seen one on a pool.

Anyway, we decided to try one this spring. I purchased one on ebay from a reputable pool seller. 18' x 36'. I thought it would be one uniform piece, but it came as 3, 6' sections seamed together. My problem is that the panels do not seem to be 'glued' such that the blanket will lay flat without bulging in some areas. This also makes it difficult to roll up smoothly.

Is this normal or did I get a defective product?

I want to know what I am talking about before I contact the seller to complain.


Hal

[CarlD]

I have a naive question. I have never had a solar blanket before, nor had seen one on a pool.

Anyway, we decided to try one this spring. I purchased one on ebay from a reputable pool seller. 18' x 36'. I thought it would be one uniform piece, but it came as 3, 6' sections seamed together. My problem is that the panels do not seem to be 'glued' such that the blanket will lay flat without bulging in some areas. This also makes it difficult to roll up smoothly.

Is this normal or did I get a defective product?

I want to know what I am talking about before I contact the seller to complain.


Hal

They should lay flat, completely flat. Usually, if they don't, they are too big somewhere and don't fit. I always have to cut mine to fit. However, if it's not seamed correctly, it won't lay flat.

[halds]

So it is standard practice for the blankets to be 6 foot panels seamed together?

The pictures typically shown in the ads do not appear to be seamed panels. I guess that is how I got the impression that it should be one large sheet 18 feet wide....

Hal

[prh129]

I have a 24' round solar cover and there are seams - it would seem reasonable that it would be difficult to make the material too wide in terms of handling etc.

As long as the seams do not look like they are coming apart, that should be normal. My cover bunched up until I trimmed it to fit the pool. When it lays out in the sun, that should also help it flatten out. It was probably rolled up pretty small when it was new so it will take a little time to work out the wrinkles from where it was folded.

Peter

[Brock]

The widest I have seen in one piece was 12 feet (which is a bummer on a 14x28 pool), but often see them in 6 foot sections as well. All of the ones we have had lay flat, even at the seams, unless they weren't cut to the correct size and were bunching up.