Tonight we hit 80 Degrees!

[CarlD]

Congrats for a good start. I also started the pool dip on Memorial Day Weekend. Temp was brought up from 64 to 80 in a day. My solar cover saves lots of gas bills
but the trade off is mess with leaves and more work for covering and uncovering.
Can you please give more details about your solar panels? What fraction of your pool surface area are they? Where are they mounted? How's season opening and closing? Do you use the pool's pump or a dedicated
pump? I think I can get a system at Costco for about $600. I wonder if it's worth it.
Thanks in advance.

I use a unique system that's called FantaSea and is solely marketed by Poolsupplies.com/leisureliving.com. They are 2'x4' hollow panels you can walk on--they are my deck around my pool. I have 30 or 32 of them--not sure. They form a surface area equivalent to three 4'x20' solar panels--240 square feet. My pool surface is 16'x40' = 640 square feet.

They are permanently mounted--you need a well-supported 2x4 under each long side--the whole 4'. The ends and the center don't need support. They connect to each other like a set of dominos. Any that spring leaks I have to replace, but since the whole pool is a FantaSea, they send me new ones free.

I simply have a Tee off the main return to supply the panels. There's a valve that allows them to be off, on just a little, or full-on. With my pump on low-speed they can be full on, but not when it's on full speed. No need for an extra or different pump unless you plan on mounting them on a roof.

The great thing about the roll-up panels is that if you plan for expansion, you can start your system with one or two panels and only expand if you find it's not adequate. I personally think 1/3 of your surface area is plenty for summer use, and you only need more if you want to SERIOUSLY extend your season...assuming you get enough sunshine. I've found the normal recommendation of 1/2 your surface is really over-kill.

Again, my parents had a 13,000 gallon oval that only got 6 hours of direct sun a day. I added a 4'x20' and a 4'x10' (same as a 2'x20') and, even with only 6 hours of sun the pool went from 78 to 84/85 for the whole summer. That's 540 square feet of pool to 120 square feet of panel--23%, not even 1/4.

So...See how you like one or two panels and plan for adding more if you need them. I THINK the panels (4x20) run about $200, but you'll need more for fittings and connections. A tee off the return with a valve to control the panels (in addition to the ones they provide) plus all the hosing and fittings to the panels may increase your cost by about $100...but don't hold me to it.

[CarlD]

I love those solar panels! We opened the pool this morning after a chilly night to 82 degrees. By the time I turned off the panels that water was 87/88 degrees! Wonderful!