Solar Cover Help

[pb4uswim]

I bought a solar cover two years ago and it is already falling apart. I started seeing plastic in the pool a couple days ago. I looked at the site and the cover is warranted for 10 years however it seems to be basically worthless. The first two years they will replace it but after that, the warranty is a discount off a new cover and the discount isn't all that great. Plus, it appears I've voided the warranty because I did not cover the cover (to keep direct sunlight off it) but seriously - who does that? Anyway, my questions is whether or not I should just replace the cover with a cheaper one. If they're only going to last two years, I could save almost $100 by buying the cheaper one. I can't see me covering the cover when it's out of the pool. That's just not realistic.

Opinions on a solar cover would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Donldson]

Standard recommendation is to go cheap on a solar cover and treat it as expendable. Stores love selling the higher priced ones on the back of the warranty, but it's just the old extended warranty game all retailers play. If there's going to be a covered failure it is most likely going to happen quickly because it was a factory defect. The failures everyone sees, bubbles breaking down and the cover tearing, are not covered and are inevitable. Really the cheap ones tend to last about as long as the more expensive ones when cared for similarly.

So don't fret it, get a cheap one and use it as you see fit and if you get two or three seasons out of it then you did well.

 

[SoCalTFP]

Yup, cheap seems to be the name of the game for these since they all degrade in 1-3 years and the main goal is to minimize evaporation which doesn't rely on thickness. An added bonus is the thinner covers (I just picked up an 8-mil) are very easy to work with.

If you have somewhere that sees less direct sunlight you can store when not in use that would be ideal, especially if you go thin and it's easier to move the storage location. That's assuming you don't have a reel or something that would prevent that.

 

[pb4uswim]

Yup, cheap seems to be the name of the game for these since they all degrade in 1-3 years and the main goal is to minimize evaporation which doesn't rely on thickness. An added bonus is the thinner covers (I just picked up an 8-mil) are very easy to work with.

If you have somewhere that sees less direct sunlight you can store when not in use that would be ideal, especially if you go thin and it's easier to move the storage location. That's assuming you don't have a reel or something that would prevent that.

Yeah, mine is on a reel. It’s a 16x36 rectangle so it has to be rolled up. I guess I should find an easy way to cover it as I’m sure the sun shining on the rolled up cover generates a lot of heat. Oh well, sounds like cheap is the way to go. Thanks.

 

[Newdude]

I guess I should find an easy way to cover it as I’m sure the sun shining on the rolled up cover generates a lot of heat

Mine would literally boil itself on the reel. The water in between layers of the cover would steam on sunny days.

I eventually was off for 2 weeks and was too lazy to put the cover on/off and left it on the reel for that time. Most of the bubbles were popped off when I finally unrolled it. I was just as happy to see it go though. I didn't replace it.

 

[SoCalTFP]

I mean a huge roll of bubble wrap on a giant reel is kinda an eyesore either way, would tossing a cheap tarp on it really make things any worse? I don't use a reel so can't comment either way but probably worth considering.

 

[pb4uswim]

I mean a huge roll of bubble wrap on a giant reel is kinda an eyesore either way, would tossing a cheap tarp on it really make things any worse? I don't use a reel so can't comment either way but probably worth considering.

I don’t cover it out of lazyness. I never really thought about how it would look.

 

[SoCalTFP]

I don’t cover it out of lazyness. I never really thought about how it would look.

Ah makes sense haha. Laziness, or as I like to call it "efficient usage of my time", drives a lot of my home/pool care activities as well. Probably worth considering though, although I've got a bunch of covers sitting in the garage for my patio furniture because it's not an efficient use of my time to put them on so I wouldn't spend much on whatever you try if you go that route lol

 

[pb4uswim]

Ah makes sense haha. Laziness, or as I like to call it "efficient usage of my time", drives a lot of my home/pool care activities as well. Probably worth considering though, although I've got a bunch of covers sitting in the garage for my patio furniture because it's not an efficient use of my time to put them on so I wouldn't spend much on whatever you try if you go that route lol

I guess the point is that I could become less lazy if I thought I’d actually get a significant increase in the life of the cover. If it would last 2 extra years by covering it, I might be inclined. I’d also prefer it to last longer so I don’t create as much waste. But, the increase would have to be noticeable.

 

[pb4uswim]

I just got a response from the seller. The warranty doesn’t cover bubble failure. Pretty convenient as I suspect the bubbles are the main point of failure. I read the warranty and it does state that it doesn’t cover the bubbles. Guess I’ll go ahead and buy the cheapest one and expect to replace every couple years. I did ask them if they offered any discount for a replacement. We‘ll see if they throw me a nugget.

 

[Kathe]

I push my cover (sort of does an accordian pleat thing) to one side and bungee tie it in several places to hold it there. Works great. No reel needed! Never gets hot as it floats on the water.

 

[kul]

The warranty on solar covers is usually trash. My cover lasts 4 or 5 months with heavy use. I just buy the cheapest available and deal with whatever happens.

 

[EK Place]

My first solar cover started going bad in the second year. For some reason I just didn’t think about a “cover cover”. Finally I covered it on the reel over the winter with the dark side out. After buying a new cover I am taking the one or two minutes required to cover it with the reflective side out during pool season. It has velcro to hold it on and I tie the end strings to deck pickets when I know it will be there for awhile, in case a windy storm occurs. The solar cover was covered and on the reel most of July and all of August this year. Really, covering it and uncovering does not take much effort. The cover is thin and hardly takes up any room in a deck box. I agree with others, that the solar cover is just an expense, not an investment, so there is no need for me to overspend on it.