Solar Cover and Reel Recommendations?

[valentij]

Looking for new solar cover?

Is it worth the money to go with 16mil as opposed to 8 or 12 mil.

Also...

The reels are so expensive... any recommendations on reels and where to get a good one cheap?


Thanks!

[poolmikecalif]

I have a 12 mil cover from Leslie pools. Seems fine after one year. I use a aluminum reel with the metal ends and wheels. Again, OK after one year. Leslies has supplies on sale regularly.

[matt4x4]

Better solar covers last much longer, you get what you pay for.
I had my reel custom made by a local guy who uses 4" aluminum tube, makes his own round handles and bearing seats, I'm really happy with the result and it cost less than half of any on line deals.

[kaybinster]

I have used both high quality solar covers, and real cheapo ones. My analysis is that the cheapo ones are a better value. Sure they don't last as long, but the most I have gotten out of the "best" ones is two seasons. So, I have been buying the cheapest I can find, usually under $100 for my 20' X 40' IG and I get about a season and a half out of it.

[MaxxFusion]

I got a Oddessy M800http://www.odysseysystems.com/abovegro.htmI got it at the end of last season so I need to install it this year.

[matt4x4]

It sounds like you keep your solar cover on during the daytime hours or you keep a very high concentration of Chlorine in your pool. (am I correct on either?)
Solar covers (unfortunately for them are named wrong), should only be on your pool at night to stop heat from escaping, they do not help in attracting heat into your pool during the day, rather, a lot of the heat that could be gained gets bounced off the cover and back into the air.
Proper use of a solar cover means rolling it up during the day and allowing the light to filter through your water, bouncing off the floor and walls of the pool, that way, the floor/wall absorbs heat and puts it into the water, the water will also absorb a small amount from the rays travelling through it, but since water is almost transparent it is very minimal.
The cover should be rolled up and covered, many people sew a few bedsheets together and make a clip on cover to place over the roller, white bed sheets reflect the sunlight better that a blue cover, helping your cover last even longer.
I have a medium grade solar cover that is still like new after 2.5 years (and it stays on teh reel over the winter), mind you, my chlorine level is extremely low thanks to this forum and that probably has a lot to do with it. I do not follow proper solar cover ettiquette because I just don't have the time to remove it every morning.

[huskerfan]

What size is your pool? AG or IG? I have a brand new (tested a few times only) Odyssey reel I'd sell pretty reasonable. I have 2 reels; long story .

[matt4x4]

Hi Carl,
Well said, I too agree that an opaque solar cover is probably the best of all worlds since it allows the rays THROUGH as well as stop evaporationa and evaporative cooling - my entire argument though was just based on the fact that leaving a regular cover off does NOT decrease the warming effect on a pooll, rather it allows more energy to get into the water causing more heat buildup from the bottom up which is probably your best case scenario, yes, some is lost again due to evaporation etc, but in the grand scheme of things the WHOLE pool gets warmer with the cover off.
Now all this said, I'm mainly oing off my pool experiences and those i read about over the last few years (all AG), I don't read much of the IG stuff - it has no bearing on my pool, unfortunately, having an AG pool, I don't have the luxury of taking my cold water from below and mixing it in above - it stays below, (probably a whole different scenario with a whole different set of parameters giving a whole different set of results) the only mixing that occurs is on the top, so leaving the blue cover on causes a 2" warm spot on top with a 4 foot darn cold area below.
Oh, and pointing my return down to help mix things up doesn't work well with my pool, I end up with bad circulation over most of the pool...

[huskerfan]

The reels are so expensive... any recommendations on reels and where to get a good one cheap?

What type of pool do you have- AG or IG, how big?? I have an extra reel that is only tested- brand new I'd sell reasonable.

[MaxxFusion]

What type of reel is it? I may be looking for one for a 18' Round AG.

You can shoot me an email at frank@maxxfusion.com

Thanks,