Solar Covers-The Ins and Outs

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Glock30

Glock30

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 30, 2012
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Massachusetts, USA
All,
I live in New England and am looking at purchasing a solar cover to keep in heat gained during the day.
The sun is on my pool from @8:30 until about 4 pm.

Questions:
*Is thicker better (more heat or heat retention) other than the warranty or longevity?

*Anyone in New England with a similar setup as mine get good heat retention from solar covers?

*Has anyone had good luck with the ones from In The Swim or should I look elsewhere to buy?

*Does color matter?

*who invented liquid soap and why?

Thanks
 
The liquid soap (as you call it) forms a layer on top of the (still) water, and prevents water evaporation, which is how a lot of heat is lost. I hear it works, but have not tried it myself.

Thicker covers are harder to handle...I have one myself. We get good heat retention in Upstate New York unless it gets super cold at night. I'll leave the other cover questions for others to answer.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
Well, no joke, there are a couple liquid products that are supposed to perform the role of a pool cover. Never heard them called soap, but joke or no, you are pretty close to what really exists to fill this purpose.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
Well, nobody else has answered, so I will restate what I have heard here before.

A cover is a cover is a cover. The primary purpose is to prevent evaporation. No matter how thin it is, it will do that.

The primary benefit of thicker covers is they should last longer...in theory. In practice, there is little meaningful difference in cover life. Thicker ones are heavier, so thinner ones are easier to manage, the "the experts here" tend to think thick covers are not worth the effort or cost.

Not sure on the color question.

You WILL get good heat retention from a solar cover.

Others here...feel free to tell me I am wrong on any of the above, if I am. I am basically parroting what I have previously read on this site.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
I will third what they said ... find the cheapest cover you can. Color and thickness make little difference in performance. On a calm day, you will actually get more heating to your pool from the sun with NO cover on it. The cover primarily prevents heat loss due to evaporation at night or due to wind/low humidity.
 

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peterdaly said:
Well, nobody else has answered, so I will restate what I have heard here before.

A cover is a cover is a cover. The primary purpose is to prevent evaporation. No matter how thin it is, it will do that.

The primary benefit of thicker covers is they should last longer...in theory. In practice, there is little meaningful difference in cover life. Thicker ones are heavier, so thinner ones are easier to manage, the "the experts here" tend to think thick covers are not worth the effort or cost.

Not sure on the color question.

You WILL get good heat retention from a solar cover.

Others here...feel free to tell me I am wrong on any of the above, if I am. I am basically parroting what I have previously read on this site.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This is super insightful, thanks!

I just moved into a house that has a automatic safety cover. Presumably its a thick vinyl. I was thinking of getting a solar cover to enhance the heating properties of the cover (e.g. I was under the impression that a transparent cover would allow light the pass through and warm the water, vs the opaque cover which just prevents evaporation and limits algae growth). Am I off base on this? Is there any benefit to having somethings transparent that lets the light through?
 
I've owned both blue and clear covers and I would say there is not much difference between the covers to make a noticeable difference in temperature. The clear cover might even lead to a little more chlorine loss than the blue cover. On sunny days it is best to leave the cover off so the water absorbs more heat from the sun and then keep it covered at night. Being that you already have an automatic cover I would think it would be a lot of extra work dealing with a solar cover. If you want to experiment with a solar cover I recommend buying the cheapest one that will fit your pool, they all seem to last for two seasons or so before the bubbles break down. By the way, welcome to TFP!
 
I have a thin cover (cheapest I could find) that is on its fourth year. After I open the pool (21'x41' vinyl liner) and the water is balanced and clear (and 50F this year!) I put the cover on and leave it until mid-late May when I turn on the heater. When the temp gets up to a comfortable level I take the cover off for the summer.
 

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