Solar cover questions

[s0undone]

Hello,

I'm a first time pool owner and am having a Oval 21'x43' AG pool installed on March 28th. I'm hearing conflicting info on whether solar covers are effective enough to warrant getting one or not. I live in upper middle Tn. The summers are nice here and I would like to get a solar cover if they will truly hold the temp at night and add to the temps during the day resulting in a few more weeks of swim time on each end of the season. Can any one share their experience of this in similar climates? Also I can't seem to locate the size i would need, any one know where i might try? Are cover reels a plus in ease of use or are they in the way?

Thanks in advance for any feedback,
Dena

[MaxxFusion]

The solar cover is more for holding the heat in the pool than heating it. You may want to look at the solar panels to extend your swimming season. I installed my pool last year and have started getting ready for this season. I have a solar cove reel and a set of 4x20 solar panels waiting for the weather to break so I can get it all installed.

I bought the reel and solar panels off ebay.

[rdietman]

i have a 40 foot oval with a gas heater. i use the solar cover always. mostly as max said, to hold the heat in over night. if i dont put the cover on it steams at night . brings tears to my eyes as that cloud slowly rises over the clear blue water. looks like dollar bills just floating away. i tried the cover for a week or two when i first got the pool. what a pain in the a@# . you will not want to wrestle a 21 x41 solar cover on and off that pool. it is so easy with the reel . i do it myself most of the time . just roll it up and pivot it to one side. no grass from pulling it off and floppin it on the ground. its a must have.....just my opinion. ron

[Watermom]

Solar covers really do make a difference. Especially if you use a solar heater to pick up heat during the day, having a solar cover will keep the heat in during the night. Without it, you end up losing most of the heat you gained during the day. Mine got torn up mid-summer last year and we didn't fool with a replacement for the rest of the summer. It reminded me how effective it was. Hope to get a new one for this year.

Watermom

[Islander2C]

This will be our third summer coming with our 27 round pool. We had a solar cover from the start. I too find that it doesn't really heat the pool, but it definetly keeps the heat in during the night. We purchased a solar reel mid way through last summer and it was the best investment we made. It was a pain taking the cover off and on without the reel.
Congrats on your new pool purchase! You are lucky you will be able to use your pool year round! Unfortunately I live in Canada and only get about 3 months of use out of ours. Cant wait until June comes!

[rbutera]

We have a 15x30 AG. We live south of you (Atlanta).

The cover is a necessity for keeping heat in at night. Especially in the late summer when the nights start getting cool. In fact, we have found that leaving the cover on during the say appears to actually impede pool heating. So starting in May or so, we religiously take the cover off in the morning and put it on at night.

Our pool is surrounded on all sides by a deck, so we use a reel for an inground pool. It works great, and one person can put the cover on/off.

Our swim season (for me - mid 70s water temp or higher) is all of June/July/August. It should be longer, but our backyard has limited direct sunlight. I have calculated that a +10 degree boost by solar panels would probably add May and September to our swim season. My daughters don't care --- they swim in 65+ degree water. I'll only join them in a wetsuit ...

The irony is that my backyard facing room (south-west) gets a LOT of direct sunlight all day. In a year or two we are going to go with panels, but I've got a lot of pipe running to do before that will happen.

[wingertom]

I live in the far northern part of California. I have found that in my 18 AG my solar cover that it not only holds heat in durrng the day but that there is an aprox. 10 degrees difference the first 6 incher or so and @ about 18 inches, where I take my test water from, So it not only keeps my pool warmer durring the day but tends to heat it too. (evaperation happens day or night) My cover says specifily to make sure and put the bubbles down for the best results. I almost forgot I get sunlight only about 4 or 5 hours a day, my swimming season is around June through september or October. My pool temp went from about 71 degrees to about 85 with in a month.

[hrsdennis]

Hi Dena, A solar pool cover should give you an extra month of swimming at the beginning and end of each season. As was mentioned above, about an extra 10 degrees is normal. The biggest advantage comes when you use an additional hear source. Either a solar heater or conventional heater. The solar cover will hold the heat in over night.

The solar cover reel. A must have item in my book. So much easier. An above ground version can be mounted in the center of the pool or an inground version can be mounted on poles at one end of the pool.

Best of luck, Dennis

[justinharlow]

Just a caution to potential solar blanket users: stay on top of your algaecide application! When we first got our solar blanket, it took me the next 3 weeks to get the giant algae bloom back in remission. I now use about 5 times as much algaecide (read $$$$) as I did before the got the blanket.

[Sherra]

Just a caution to potential solar blanket users: stay on top of your algaecide application! When we first got our solar blanket, it took me the next 3 weeks to get the giant algae bloom back in remission. I now use about 5 times as much algaecide (read $$$$) as I did before the got the blanket.
If you keep your chlorine level up where it should be (depending on your CYA level) you shouldn't even need algaecide.

[Aranon]

From what I have read, including the US Gov site on energy and others, your pool loses 70% of it's heat through evaporation and conduction. If you look at the statistics of how much heat you will need or energy you will use with a gas pool heater, they will give you figures with using a cover and not. They are almost twice as high if you don't use a cover. So even if you don't get that much heat from the sun to actually heat your pool, the blanket will save the heat you already have. Especailly at night when tempertures can be 10 to 20 degrees cooler than during the day. And remember standard Physics is that heat always moves to something colder. I'm in refrigeration and that is how our refrigeration systems work in a walk-in or ice maker..etc. The heat in the walk-in will jump to the refrigeration coils because they are colder and the heat (energy) is then moved to the outside. Energy can not be created or disposed of, it can only be moved. So the heat (energy) from you pool will move to the cooler ambient air unless you have a cover to stop it. If you can stop that process with a cover and actually add a little (move some) into you pool with a solar cover, that would be even better. So I would get a solar blanket because you need a cover anyway. Just my two cents. You don't have to take it. Hope this helps some.
Aranon