msjulian
06-03-2008, 10:38 PM
I have a "L" shaped pool. The long side is 18' wide and 43' long. I just bought a cove and plan to cover only this section. I will have an area of 18' x 10' uncovered. Will I see enough temp gain to make it worth using the cover? I really don't want to have to piece something together if I don't have to.
Water_man
06-03-2008, 11:36 PM
I have a "L" shaped pool. The long side is 18' wide and 43' long. I just bought a cove and plan to cover only this section. I will have an area of 18' x 10' uncovered. Will I see enough temp gain to make it worth using the cover? I really don't want to have to piece something together if I don't have to.
Solar cover works. I can tell because I have one. It doesn't work by "temp gain" but rather by preventing heat loss caused by evaporation, which is about 70% of the total heat loss.
Your partially covered area is 81% of the total pool area. This means that you'll be protecting 56% of total heat loss, as compared to a 70% heat loss shield, had you covered the entire pool.
How's your pool heated? if you use a heater than fully covering your pool means an additional 20% energy savings. Do the math and see if buying an additional cover is worth it.
If you wait for the water to warm up without a heater than you'll need to wait longer, and the water temp will fluctuate more as the air temp changes.
If I were you I'd cover the other part too. Since it's only 18 by 10 and you already bought the big piece, possibly with a matching reel, you may skip buying another reel for the other part.
Hope this helps.