solar cover, cut or no cut and flow for best heating

[*ryan]

i bought a solar cover this year,clear, 16ml, as my pool was always very cold
wanted to warm it up a bit if possible (i do not expect the 15* they say it will do)
the cover will most likely live on the pool cept for occasionally on the weekend when i jump in it to relax with a beer

now i have an irregular shaped fiberglass insert pool
seeing how it is just myself moving it and putting it on, and taking it off, seems like maybe keeping it rectangular would be easier? :?:

i would imagine that if i cut it i would have better surface area touching the cover which would be better for heating? :?:

also what would be the best way to optimize heating, :?: i don't expect the cover to heat the pool to a balmy temp, but a few degrees would be nice

should i put it to pull mainly on the main drain, then have the vents shoot towards the cover? :?:
or have it pull mainly from the skimmer and have the vents shoot down more towards the bottom of the pool :?:

and just to double check, bubbles down in the water right? :?:

thank you

 

[JohnT]

Bubbles down, though it makes little difference. The primary effect is preventing evaporation, so it really doesn't matter.

If the cover is too large for the pool, the wind will catch the edges and pull it off of the pool. I'd think a reel would be mandatory with that heavy a cover.

 

[cramar]

Dittos, the cover dosn't generate heat, it helps retain heat.

You can cut it in any manner you like so long as it has coverage over the water, I cut mine into 2 overlapping peices so it was easier to take off.
If your after heat you may want to consider a solar heat set up.

 

[supercanadian]

If you cut your cover into multiple pieces i am curious how you store it when not in use? do you not use a reel anymore?

 

[ping]

I switched to a reel this year, but before, I cut my cover in thirds and folded the cover and set it aside while swimming. When it was time for storage, I removed one section at a time, cleaned it and let it dry, then folded it up and stored it in the garage. I use my cover from early March to the end of May, and then again in late September through November to get an extended swim season.

 

[Speedo]

I just cut mine this season, I ended up cutting about 8" out of the center after cutting it in half since it was slightly too big and the overlap of 8" kept getting blown up by the wind. I'm using twine to connect the two halves, in 4 spots, bow tie it to easily undo when I'm rolling them up and taking it off.

I'm planning to find some plastic washers and gorilla glue them to the cover so the holes won't stretch too much, but if the wind isn't getting under it, stretching might not be an issue. I also push the edges down to get some water sitting on top to help hold it down. Which of course will be gone after a day of sun.

This was done entirely to make handling easier, as for retaining heat -- the best way to go is doing whatever you can to keep your water covered as much as possible. Before I cut it the wind would bunch it up quite often.

 

[*ryan]

well decided to leave mine alone and not cut it

i bought 2 10' pieces of sch40 pipe 3" and a coupler

glued them all together
at one end of the pool i ties the tarp to the fence
at the other i attached the solar cover to the pipe
i just roll it up on itself now
with it not cut this is good as it allows me to move all the water and debris down to the fence attached side
i can pump out the water and just roll all the crud off the cover
keeps it from getting in the pool

when im done swimming unroll it out

also water was a nice 78* yesterday alot warmer then it has been all of last year
so the cover is deff helping and warming the pool