Can you shock w/ solar cover on?

[denanbob]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but I have absolutely no experience with pools (never had one, never even knew anyone that had one....LOL). I don't think I can get that cover off by myself and I wanted to shock the pool this morning to keep the chlorine level up. So can I put the shock in the skimmer even though the solar cover is on or no?

Also, on a hot day, do you want your cover on or off if nobody is swimming in it (my cover is blue). My thought was to leave it off to let the sun warm the water and then put it on at night to hold the heat in. DH says the lady we bought the pool from (homeowner, not store) told him to leave cover on for a couple days during hot weather to warm the pool up. So which is it? Thanks all!

[Simmons99]

It is generally a good idea to remove the cover when shocking (high chlorine levels).

If it is a solar blanket it will heat the pool during the day.

[tenax]

fyi, what i do is put the bleach in and let it run for at least 2 hours so it's not sitting on top when i put the cover back on. the solar blanket in the high sun position of the day adds about 3 degrees celcius of heat to my pool versus the morning.

[jrv331]

You should remove the solar cover if shocking. The high chlorine levels will eat away at the cover. As to leaving it on - I leave mine on all the time when not in use, it helps keep the chlorine level up by blocking the sun.
JOhn

[vanman2501]

I always left mine on and it never seem to hurt the cover. I have found that if you turn your pump off over night it holds the heat better. I don't use my solar cover anymore I found by turning off the pump I lose less water to evaporation and the heat stay in. Less work then putting the solar cover on and off.

vanman2501

[prh129]

With a blue cover, you will probably get more heating with the cover off because the sun's rays can reach the bottom of the pool and heat from the bottom up. With the cover on you are transferring the heat from the cover to the top few inches so you will still get some heat that way. The tradeoff is that it's a pain to keep pulling the cover on and off. If you know it will be mostly sunny then that would be a good day to take the cover off. A solar mat might be something to consider - it's a big black mat that hooks up to your filter so water is pumped through it and the sun warms it up before it goes back in the pool.

Peter

[cajunfla]

solar mat? any idea where I can get info on this product?

Thanks

[NWMNMom]

See all the prior threads on solar panels (mats) -

[prh129]

Look in the Pool Equipment & Operations section for threads involving "solar heater". I called it a mat since that it what it basically is but it's actually called a solar heater.

Peter

[cajunfla]

Oh, I have seen the infor on solar panels. I thought solar mats were something different. maybe something to lay on the decking while not in use with ability to remove quickly and easily.