Pool cover & solar cover : Need help

[totalnoob]

Hello ever helpful folks:

I am new pool owner, who is now using BBB method to take care of the pool on my own. Thanks to all the wonderful folks on this forum, I am managing my pool now, something that I never thought I could do on my own before I found this site.

We have a bean shaped pool, with rocks (for small waterfall) on one side. I am thinking of getting a pool cover for winters so as to prevent leaves, dirt, etc getting in the pool during winter months. Can someone suggest as to what should I use? Will a tarp (regular or special??) work for this? Do I need a roller also, or that just makes the life easy?

I live near Sacramento, California where the temps commonly reach around 100F during the summer. This week, we are sitting right at 100F....but I am not complaining

Any recommendations on a solar cover? Do they actually work?? I am thinking that if I can extend the swimming season by the use of such covers, then it will be a worthwhile investment. What's the life like on these things? Anything that I need to be aware of?

What effect, if any, these covers (pool & solar) have on pool chemistry?

 

[Christian]

With that kind of pool your best bet for a cover for winter is probably a custom safety cover made to fit your pool. A solar cover is easier you just get one larger than your pool and then trim it down to fit. Solar covers are great because most of your heat loss is due to evaporation and they stop the evaporation so your pool retains far more heat than without a cover. The life on a solar cover varies depending on the thickness of the cover. The thicker you get the longer it will last. Though thicker covers are harder to maneuver and may not work well with a cover reel if you plan on getting one of those. If you have any CC in your pool having a cover on will slow the oxidation of the CC. I live in Sacramento myself and a solar cover will definitely extend your swimming season here.

 

[totalnoob]

Thanks Christ!

Any idea where to get that custom safety cover, and approximately how much are we looking at?

Is it a good idea to have a cover reel, or one can just manually remove the cover? Is it too hard to do that manually?

Any recommendations on where to get that solar cover?

TIA.

With that kind of pool your best bet for a cover for winter is probably a custom safety cover made to fit your pool. A solar cover is easier you just get one larger than your pool and then trim it down to fit. Solar covers are great because most of your heat loss is due to evaporation and they stop the evaporation so your pool retains far more heat than without a cover. The life on a solar cover varies depending on the thickness of the cover. The thicker you get the longer it will last. Though thicker covers are harder to maneuver and may not work well with a cover reel if you plan on getting one of those. If you have any CC in your pool having a cover on will slow the oxidation of the CC. I live in Sacramento myself and a solar cover will definitely extend your swimming season here.

 

[Bjarni]

I purchased my solar and winter covers from http://www.solarcovers.com/. Fast delivery and the items were good quality. I personally got a reel for the solar cover because I put it on and take it off several times per month and folding/unfolding up the cover can cause wear and damage over time. The reel also helps it drain well so I don't get a bunch of junk growing in it.
I'm not worried about the winter cover so much. Its much heavier in construction and folding/unfolding it up for the summer/winter is a one time deal.

I also strongly suggest you either make or buy a cover to place over your solar cover when your not using it. The UV light from the sun can be hard on it when its just sitting out.

 

[totalnoob]

Any pointers to make or buy a cover to place over solar cover??

Any recommendations on where to buy that cover reel? How much do they run? Solarcovers has them listed at about 100-200..is that normal price or better deals are available?

I purchased my solar and winter covers from http://www.solarcovers.com/. Fast delivery and the items were good quality. I personally got a reel for the solar cover because I put it on and take it off several times per month and folding/unfolding up the cover can cause wear and damage over time. The reel also helps it drain well so I don't get a bunch of junk growing in it.
I'm not worried about the winter cover so much. Its much heavier in construction and folding/unfolding it up for the summer/winter is a one time deal.

I also strongly suggest you either make or buy a cover to place over your solar cover when your not using it. The UV light from the sun can be hard on it when its just sitting out.

 

[Bjarni]

Any pointers to make or buy a cover to place over solar cover??

Actually they shipped my solar cover with a black plastic cover that was intended to be used as a cover. I decided to ask the wife if she could make something a little more substantial as the plastic cover was just extra thick "trash bag" type plastic. I'm sure it would have been fine for 1 season though. She basically sewed up a simple rectangular piece of canvas with the right dimensions to cover the reel, and then attached a couple of pieces of velcro to hold it in place. It isn't anything fancy.

Any recommendations on where to buy that cover reel? How much do they run? Solarcovers has them listed at about 100-200..is that normal price or better deals are available?

When I looked around for reels everyone appeared to have about the same prices. I don't think there's a huge amount of places that sell them anyway, so your going to be limited on who to buy them from. Your mileage may vary though.