Do you think a solar pool cover needs to be "air-tight" to work at all?

[troykristoffer]

Hi there!

I was getting ready to buy a new pool cover for the purpose of cutting up and making "pool ring" style covers instead of the traditional blanket, but before I did, I decided to come ask what you guys think.

I got to thinking that these (http://goo.gl/GX6Zoe) solar ring things would be much more convenient and easy to manage than our giant bubble wrap blanket, but they were really expensive (for quantity) and have bad reviews. (A blanket reel is not possible due to the pool setup. :mad: )

So I found this tutorial (http://goo.gl/S5AoRp) where basically you take hula-hoops™ and cut out circles from plastic and use them. I decided I could just take our existing solar blanket and cut the circles out and use that... but then I pulled it out this season after not storing it properly, (because we're lazy) and it was all rotted and stuff. So I was going to buy the new one and use it...

But then I got to thinking... will it really be effective if the water is exposed between the circles and around the edges if it isn't a blanket which is not cut to the shape of our pool and "air tight"? I mean, I'm sure there will be SOME efficiency loss, but I'm afraid I'll spend all this money and effort and it won't work at all. What do you guys think? Anyone got any experience using those real commercial rings?

In the end, I wish we could just get a reel. Stupid landscaping.

[mas985]

The primary purpose of a cover is to reduce heat loss through evaporation which is proportional to surface area coverage. So having it air tight is not necessary. 90% covered will prevent about 90% of the heat loss through evaporation. Keep in mind though that a cover mainly reduces the evaporation heat loss and has a smaller effect on convection and radiation heat loss so even with 100% coverage, the pool will lose some heat.

[Watermom]

This is what I use on my pool:
http://www.solarroller.com/products/solar-roller-cover-stick.html

Through the years, we have struggled with the solar cover and its inconvenience. We tried several things before I found this solar roller 2 or 3 years ago. It works pretty well.

[nefretrameses]

If you're making your own, I suppose you could cut them in shapes other than exact circles. You could taylor the cuts to conform to the shape of the pool and to each other. Of course then each one needs to go in the right spot every time. Not sure if attachment to the hula-hoops (TM) becomes a problem then. Great idea though.

[Watermom]

Here is a thread that shows another one of our ideas before we found the solar roller cover stick. There are some pics in post #6. But..... I still like the solar roller better.

Watermom's Solar Cover Solution for her24' AG Pool (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?12970-Solar-Cover-Reel)

Hope this helps.

[troykristoffer]

Wow! Thanks for all your great responses! :)


The primary purpose of a cover is to reduce heat loss through evaporation which is proportional to surface area coverage. So having it air tight is not necessary. 90% covered will prevent about 90% of the heat loss through evaporation. Keep in mind though that a cover mainly reduces the evaporation heat loss and has a smaller effect on convection and radiation heat loss so even with 100% coverage, the pool will lose some heat.
Well, last year with a custom fit cover that fit snugly the pool just kept getting hotter and hotter over the summer topping out around 95 degrees. While amazing to me, this wasn't refreshing to swim in at all, so I'm ok with some heat lost, just not all of it. Mostly I noticed that we lost heat rapidly when the cover was left off for a couple days because at night it gets fairly cold even when we're really hot during the day (kind of like the desert) so, as long as I can mitigate that loss for the most part, I'll be happy.


This is what I use on my pool:
http://www.solarroller.com/products/solar-roller-cover-stick.html

Through the years, we have struggled with the solar cover and its inconvenience. We tried several things before I found this solar roller 2 or 3 years ago. It works pretty well.

WOW! This is amazing and looks like it would really fix our issue. We have an odd shaped pool surrounded by some tight landscaping so a standard reel wouldnt work. This is an amazing share. I bet I could even make one. Thanks!


If you're making your own, I suppose you could cut them in shapes other than exact circles. You could taylor the cuts to conform to the shape of the pool and to each other. Of course then each one needs to go in the right spot every time. Not sure if attachment to the hula-hoops (TM) becomes a problem then. Great idea though.

Thanks :) I thought about the custom shapes, but they are very mobile in the pool when the pump is on, so I don't think they would stay in place. The circles work because they just kind of float around and don't get stuck anywhere, or "belong" in a certain spot. After making 12 of them I'm really pleased with how they turned out, but I really under estimated how many I'd need. I ordered 3 more cases of hula hoops. LOL I also only used about 20% of the solar blanket so I have to make more rings. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.

[mas985]

The solar rings don't get very good reviews. A lot of people find that they pile up at one end of the pool when the wind blows even though they have magnets to keep them together.


http://www.backyardcitypools.com/Images/PCS/Solar-Sun-Rings.jpg

[troykristoffer]

The solar rings don't get very good reviews. A lot of people find that they pile up at one end of the pool when the wind blows even though they have magnets to keep them together.

Yeah, I know, that's why I am not 100% this will work. I do know that these hula-hoop ones are better than the commercial ones about piling up. The rigid ring around the edge really keeps them from moving around. The commercial ones are inflatable and often get soft, lose air or become damaged.

Well, here's my first batch:
http://i.imgur.com/0FJ7JjN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tapG1Ha.jpg
(PS: Anyone now how to resize images on this forum? Normal BBCode syntax doesn't seem to work. Sorry for the large images)

I'm really pleased with how they turned out, but I really under estimated how many I'd need. I have to make a bunch more. We'll see if they work. Today we're about 71° F.