Solar Covers

[Piney]

Greetings--

Im in the market for a new solar cover. My old one finally fell apart. We dont heat the pool, but have had good luck extending the season by a few months using the cover.

I've looked at several sales sites-- and am confused. I see what appear to be similar covers, same thickness, 20x40 size for $75 up to $160.

What's up with the large difference in prices on what appear to be similar covers ??

Suggestions ?

[Poconos]

Difference in price could be due to many things which include thickness and bonding techniques for the seams. Of course there is always the big PROFIT variable. On solar covers in general, consider getting 3 years as gravy. Usually they start getting brittle from the chemicals and sun exposure and the bubbles break. When one has reached end-of-life as the primary cover, I cut it up and use good pieces to cover areas in my oval that the single rectangular won't cover. Pieces are also good cushions on concrete deck for laying the rolled up cover.
Al

[PoBoy]

Poconos hit the nail on the head...there is a BIG profit variable on these. However, do look at the shipping costs...some sites include part of the shipping cost in the price of the cover. I get mine from aquasuperstore.com for a whopping $8 in shipping. I highly doubt $8 covers it. Anyway, we love the Magni Clear covers. We went from 62 to 75 in 3 days. Last summer the pool got up to 106 - hotter than a hot tub. Of course we took it off when we realized how effective it was. The clear covers definitelly add a few degrees by letting teh sun hit the bottom of the pool. http://www.aquasuperstore.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=48

[nater]

Hey PoBoy, how long have you had your cover, and how's it holding up?

[PoBoy]

This one (that we just cut - see "I cut more cover into fours" thread) is brand new. We killed our last one by leaving it out of the pool and sitting in the AZ sun when the pool got up to 106 degrees. Dumb move...lesson learned: dont leave cover out of pool in the sun for a month. As a result, I cannot give a lifetime test on it...all I can say is that it works VERY well. If it only lasts a year (which I doubt) the $120 is more than worth it. Aquasuperstore is also on eBay and has a bunch of good feedback on the Magni Clear covers.

[jmcst25]

The clear covers definitelly add a few degrees by letting teh sun hit the bottom of the pool. http://www.aquasuperstore.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=48

Will chlorine burn off faster with a clear cover that it would with a opaque cover? Is there a difference in blue vs clear - which is better.

[darrin]

I actually have 2 solar covers. One has a blue top silver bottom and the other is clear. The clear cover heats the water much better than the darker cover.