Solar Cover "Alerternates"

[PMellin]

OK, so just for some background, we have a 30k gal free-form pool with attached spa (I haven't been 'allowed' to put up pics yet; the wife won't let me until it's 'perfect'). There is obviously no standard solar reel that will fit this thing so after a little research, I found two alternates. One is this 'Swimming Pool Solar Pill' that you put in a skimmer and then claims to "Prevent pool water evaporation and heat loss with an invisible layer of non-toxic biodegradable film". The other are these 'Solar Sun Rings' which, as far as I can tell are just small circular inflatable pieces of regular solar cover material.

I'd love to know if anyone has had experience with either of these products and what their feelings about them are and also what might be the best way to cover the pool, traditional reel, alternative or otherwise.

Looking forward to your replies!!

- Patrick

 

[yeggim]

I have those solar rings. I've also tried the those solar pills. The solar pills in my opinion are not worth the money. They work, but in breezy conditions the film just gets blown down wind and hugs the wall. It fails when it's most needed. Better then nothing but I would not buy again.

Right now I'm using solar rings. I find them a decent substitute for a real solar cover. So far they've held up pretty good for two seasons. Downside is they don't completely cover the pool and don't stay put in stiff breezes and will flop over on themselves occasionally. In storm winds they will blow out of the pool. I would rate them much better than nothing.

In a pool your size, that's a lot of rings. They're not cheap and though not as cumbersome as a real solar cover they do take time to place in or remove from the pool. More tedious than difficult. Since they're round, figure on them covering about 70% of your pool. When mine bite the dust, I'm going back to a regular solar cover because I want 100% coverage. The rings were a concession to family members who hate wrestling with a full solar cover.

 

[phonedave]

Not sure if it helps, but when i was a kid my neighbor had a free form kidney shaped pool.

Any solar cover he bought would have had to been odd shaped and had a lot of waste.

His wife worked in the shipping department of some company and "acquired" a large roll of "Bubble wrap" and he made his own cover that consisted of 3 or 4 seperate peices. I remember helping to put it on and take it off as a kid. It was pretty easy to do.

-dave

 

[Bluegrassman]

I have seen posts where users with similar pools bought a cover to fit the pools length x maximum width. Pull it straight out across the length of the pool and trim to fit. Once that is done, using it with a standard solar reel of proper width should be a piece of cake.