New Solar Cover Needed

[MaxxFusion]

I am looking for a new solar cover for my 24' ag pool. Is there anything anyone can recommend? What mil cover should I look for?

Right now I have a black/blue cover. I have seen blue and clear.

[huskerfan]

I use a clear Magni Clear solar blanket which I believe is 12 mil. Going on my 7th season with my AG 18x34 pool - and have replaced it once due to the bubbles coming off into the pool. I must admit that was not solely the cover's fault as I roll my blanket up onto a reel/pole system I have set up just outside of my pool, and sometimes the blanket gets caught under the top rail when I'm rolling it up. Also- I used to pull on the very end of my blanket when pulling it off the reel/pole back onto the pool when finished swimming, and I found this was hard on my blanket, along with the fact that it also picked up water on the top of the blanket while doing so, so now I actually pull the blanket out from the reel/pole about 6 ft or so and fold the end back up and over the blanket in the middle first- then flip/fold each side up and back over the blanket, then pull it across the pool. Then just unfold it when you get to the end and it doesn't accumulate any water on top and doesn't harm the blanket as you're actually pulling on 2 layers of blanket instead of just one when you pull directly from the end. Also, some of the bubbles may have come off due to my chlorine level being a tad higher than the manufacturer's guidelines. The clear blankets don't stay perfectly clear- they turn kinda white after a while, so they're not as "pretty" as the colored ones, but mine does an excellent job heating and holding the heat in my water, and is easy to handle so I would highly recommend the Magni Clear/Clear cover. Also- I'm surrounded by trees and the solar blanket is a life-saver in helping keep my pool clean. Good luck.

[huskerfan]

Just double checked- my Magni Clear is actually a 14 mil, not a 12 mil as stated in my last reply.

[CarlD]

Since I find covers are only good for 3 years whether I buy a cheap blue one or expensive 16 mil diamond clear, I gave up and now buy the 12 mil blue transparent ones. The warranty on a solar cover ONLY covers de-lamination of the assembly strips, not the failure of the cover when the bubbles pop off in the 3rd year. Having been burned twice, my current cover was a cheapie and, in its third year, is probably done, too. It works nearly as well as the expensive one at insulating, and rolls up SO much nicer than a 16 mil!

Carl

[MaxxFusion]

Thanks guys. I had to make a quick decision and ended up placing my order before these replies. I ended up getting a standard clear cover that is 16mil. I got it for a good price on ebay so I figure I couldnt pass it up. My first cover lasted about 5 seasons. I stayed clear of the diamond cover since my bro in law has one and had a lot of issues with it.