I know this has been beat to death, but anyone using one comment on it. Lifespan of bubbles,heat,CL retention and etc. . Ready to purchase, just looking for final input. Thanks.
Black Solar Blanket
- Thread starter wimpy
- Start date
Why black? I would think in PA you would want to get sunlight into that pool to warm it up, not block the light.
It is the light getting into the pool, not the black cover warming only a few mm of water at the surface.
I just switched from the light blue to clear. Definitely running warmer, and no change in chlorine usage.
It is the light getting into the pool, not the black cover warming only a few mm of water at the surface.
I just switched from the light blue to clear. Definitely running warmer, and no change in chlorine usage.
With 9hrs of full sun and cover on for day's at a time(away on buisness) i understand you can run into algea problems fast with clear. Also looking for max UV protection to min FC loss. My dark liner heats up quick with sun and i bump it up if i have to by heater. Looking for UV block and heat retention mainly.
You get more pool heating from the sun with a clear cover since 60% of the sunlight heats the pool in a white plaster pool (even more in a dark pool) with no cover, but you are right that such a cover would still have the chlorine loss associated with sunlight. An opaque cover would cut down chlorine loss from sunlight, but even a black cover will only somewhat heat the pool unless 1) the black is at the pool surface while a clear insulating layer is above it and 2) there is good surface circulation in the pool. Otherwise, it's mostly the water surface that gets hot and heats the cover which convects heat back out into the air.
I have a mostly opaque electric safety cover that is relatively thin compared to bubble-type covers and I did notice a heat gain when switching from a light tan to a dark blue, but it's only a very small incremental heating improvement. The cover is better at retaining heat through elimination of evaporation. A bubble-type cover insulates about twice as well as my safety cover.
I have a mostly opaque electric safety cover that is relatively thin compared to bubble-type covers and I did notice a heat gain when switching from a light tan to a dark blue, but it's only a very small incremental heating improvement. The cover is better at retaining heat through elimination of evaporation. A bubble-type cover insulates about twice as well as my safety cover.
I have a black one - on my second. first one lasted two summers.
When Its on the pool I lose virtually no FC, heat retention is the same as other types I've used in the past. I recommend it.
When Its on the pool I lose virtually no FC, heat retention is the same as other types I've used in the past. I recommend it.
We had a black cover and when it de-laminated we switched to a clear cover.
Your questions with my answers:
1. Lifespan of bubbles: we didn't even get two full seasons out of the black cover - by July, we were getting black dots in the pool from de-lamination. We are on our fourth season with the clear cover and it's just starting to delaminate. The black cover got extremely hot once it was rolled up out of the pool and it definitely needed a cover put over it to keep it away from the sun's rays.
2. Heat: during the day the black cover would heat the top of the water to a higher degree than the clear one did. However, the bottom of the pool remained cold. By the time top and bottom mixed, the extra heat on top was canceled out by the extra cold water at the bottom. Actually, I had done a bucket test several years ago where I set three clean cat litter pails filled with water the same temp into the ground and covered one with some bubble wrap, one with an extra piece of the black solar cover, and left one without a cover. The next day I mixed the water and took the temps of each, and the bubble wrap won by a couple degrees.
Since it's sun that warms the pool, we decided we wanted the clear cover that would let the most sun in (but it does decrease the sun's rays by 30% as opposed to a pool with no cover on it), so it still helps with less chlorine loss but allows the most heat to enter pool while keeping it covered). We've maintained our chlorine levels properly and haven't had a problem with algae.
3. Heat retention at night: since it's evaporation that causes heat loss, the color of the cover doesn't matter.
4. Looks: (my own question) we agree by far that the clear cover looks the best on the pool - it almost looks icy which is a neat look.
Hope this helps you to make up your mind!
Best, Jan
Jan
Your questions with my answers:
1. Lifespan of bubbles: we didn't even get two full seasons out of the black cover - by July, we were getting black dots in the pool from de-lamination. We are on our fourth season with the clear cover and it's just starting to delaminate. The black cover got extremely hot once it was rolled up out of the pool and it definitely needed a cover put over it to keep it away from the sun's rays.
2. Heat: during the day the black cover would heat the top of the water to a higher degree than the clear one did. However, the bottom of the pool remained cold. By the time top and bottom mixed, the extra heat on top was canceled out by the extra cold water at the bottom. Actually, I had done a bucket test several years ago where I set three clean cat litter pails filled with water the same temp into the ground and covered one with some bubble wrap, one with an extra piece of the black solar cover, and left one without a cover. The next day I mixed the water and took the temps of each, and the bubble wrap won by a couple degrees.
Since it's sun that warms the pool, we decided we wanted the clear cover that would let the most sun in (but it does decrease the sun's rays by 30% as opposed to a pool with no cover on it), so it still helps with less chlorine loss but allows the most heat to enter pool while keeping it covered). We've maintained our chlorine levels properly and haven't had a problem with algae.
3. Heat retention at night: since it's evaporation that causes heat loss, the color of the cover doesn't matter.
4. Looks: (my own question) we agree by far that the clear cover looks the best on the pool - it almost looks icy which is a neat look.
Hope this helps you to make up your mind!
Best, Jan
Jan
