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Thread: So a solar cover, do I need one?

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  1. #1
    bbb is offline Registered+ Thread Analyst bbb 0
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    Default Re: So a solar cover, do I need one?

    Quote Originally Posted by Simmons99
    I'm worried to use a solar cover - afraid of kids falling in - won't it wrap around a person and sufficate them? - hard to swim with a bunch of plastic wrapped around your body. Maybe I am just a paranoid mommy
    What shape is your (soon to be) pool? Since you are just installing it you could install a sliding electrical safety cover. I have no idea how much they cost, but it is an option you can look into. Here is one example. I personally use a solar cover, and instruct kids to be away from the pool whether a cover is on or not. Solar covers save on heating costs, chemical costs (Yes, Bowlin, that means less bleach), and water costs - so they are a huge environmental asset to pool ownership. If I was building a new pool and could afford one, though, I would seriously consider an automatic safety cover.

    However, since you are in NC (and also Simmons99, Florida] you have less of a need for one than those of us who live further north or in dryer climates (where there is lots of evaporation!)
    Last edited by bbb; 07-07-2006 at 02:59 PM.
    bbb = bleach, borax, & baking soda

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    elsie is offline Registered+ Thread Analyst elsie 0
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    Default Re: So a solar cover, do I need one?

    I had an automatic (electric version) pool cover installed last spring, and a month later had it uninstalled. The sales material on the cover touted "less work, more swimming," but I found just the opposite. Yes, it did act as a solar cover, keeping the water temps higher and as well cutting down on the amount of bleach used, and it would be great to use when tropical winds from coastal hurricanes are in the area (I'm a couple hundred miles from the gulf coast), obviating the need to have a 2nd hand to put the manual cover on when these huge storms roll in.

    After it was installed last year, we had a very rainy period, getting some rain every day. It is much more time consuming to clear the cover of debris and water than doing so in the pool directly. Anything not cleared from the cover gets dumped back into the pool when you re-cover it. Since the cover pump cannot pump out all of the water (can only evacuate down to a certain level), you have to use a bucket to bail the water out or, alternatively, wait for it to evaporate. If you get a bit of rain on an ongoing daily basis, of course it never evaporates.

    I got my money back, except the $2,000 that it cost to run the underground electrical, so now I have a $2,000 spare electrical outlet.

    Total cost was about $7,000. It would've cost another $1,000 to have a nice cedar box built to cover the unsightly reel. Honestly, the exposed reel, at least in my application (beautifully landscaped, lots and lots of trees, etc.) very much detracted from the beauty of the pool.

    My two cents worth!

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