Sunny Day - solar cover on or off?

[mithesaint]

I'm a pool newbie, and am somewhat disappointed in the temperature of my pool so far. I have a nice, 12 mil solar cover, and paid extra for the blue/black option. I think it does a good job keeping heat in at night, but I think there is minimal temperature gain during the day.

I have a 18x33 oval above ground pool that gets 8+ hours of sun, and it's only 82 degrees. I've been leaving the cover on at all times when I'm not using it, but I'm beginning to think that's wrong.

Does anyone pull the cover off during the day? I know I'll use more chlorine, but I'm ok with that. My liner is royal blue, if that helps.

Thoughts?

 

[borjis]

only 82? that's not bad at all.

no cover during the day might raise it up a bit more....maybe try it out if you don't mind topping off the water line every week and burning through more chlorine daily.

I like to leave my cover on all week and only take it off for swim time on the weekdays, but usually keep it off all day sat/sun.

I've found the blue cover I have to be very much a requirement. It keeps the heat in and the evaporation and daily chlorine loss low.

 

[JVTrain]

I keep my blue 8 mil cover on almost all the time. REALLY reduces chlorine usage on sunny days and keeps it warm at night. 84/85 degrees today. I've found I gain/keep temperature when it's a calm sunny day with the cover off but even if it's sunny I don't gain as much if it's breezy. I've actually switched to running my pump a little during the daytime hours when the cover is on to help more heat transfer to the water. Not sure if I gain more heat that way but I would think so due to keeping the water mixed and exposing the cooler subsurface water to the warm cover.

 

[mithesaint]

only 82? that's not bad at all.

no cover during the day might raise it up a bit more....maybe try it out if you don't mind topping off the water line every week and burning through more chlorine daily.

I like to leave my cover on all week and only take it off for swim time on the weekdays, but usually keep it off all day sat/sun.

I've found the blue cover I have to be very much a requirement. It keeps the heat in and the evaporation and daily chlorine loss low.

We got spoiled the first two weeks after we got the pool installed. It was really hot and sunny, and the pool was almost 90 degrees. We got used to that, then it cooled down to more normal levels and it's been hovering between 80-82. If beggars could be choosers...84-85 would be nice. At 82 degrees, the wifey rarely gets in. Guess it might be time to start researching heat pumps. I'm on propane, and already have a 220V circuit in the area from where the AC used to be mounted.

 

[chem geek]

With a darker cover that doesn't let sunlight through, it is very important to have good circulation near the surface of the cover so pointing returns slightly up. If you don't have good circulation, then the water near the surface of the pool heats up and thermally radiates more back through the cover than if the water were well mixed.

This assumes that the dark color is on the underside of the bubbles -- that is, on the part of the cover touching the water. If the cover has dark color on top and bubbles underneath, then you won't get much heating from that cover and the cover design is not good.

 

[mithesaint]

Good info. Thanks. The cover has the black part touching the water, and the blue part facing up.

I'll change the pump timer to have it run more often during the heat of the day, rather than in the evening. Thanks.