Hi everyone,
Just joined this forum and hoping for some advice and guidance.
I recently bought a house in sunny California with a pool - the pool shape is rectangle with arches on each side and has a spa that pours the water into the pool (pictures attached)
[attachment=0:2x0o9u9b]genTmb_F1821589_17_0.jpg[/attachment:2x0o9u9b]
The pool is quite big - with arches it measures 22.5' by 40' and the spa is an additional 8' by 8'.
It seems that the previous owner disconnected the heater from the gas line (does not look like the heater has been used for a while or that it works). Either way, from going through the forum's threads I understand I need to get solar covers and I was hoping to get your advice on it. since the pool is big, I am thinking of going with a clear solar cover of 24' by 40 ' for the pool that is 16 mil -(think the cheapest is at http://www.Solarcovers.com - anyone ever bought from them?). This cover should be durable and retain heat. Would you go with a thiner cover (12 mil or less?)? also, how important is it that the cover does not have any wrinkles as it spread on the pool (as I mentioned that pool has a bunch of arches)? is it more important that the pool is completely covered or that the solar cover does not bunch?
As for the reel - I was thinking of either buying one or making one using mount bearings and an aluminum pole (based on the matt4x4 design). My concern is the sag as few indicated in various threads - will an aluminum pole hold (with no sag) a 16 mil cover of 24' by 40'? with diameter of a pole should I get and where is a good place to get it? I looked online and it seems that building the reel (assuming a pole costs about $100) will end up costing something close to $175 - should I just buy a reel?
In which case, I saw this one (http://www.solarcovers.com/cgi-bin/shop ... reels.html) on the solarcovers.com - would the 20' suffice for the 24' (which will be more like 22' once I trim it if needed) or should I go with 25'?
Any insight / advice / pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Udi
Just joined this forum and hoping for some advice and guidance.
I recently bought a house in sunny California with a pool - the pool shape is rectangle with arches on each side and has a spa that pours the water into the pool (pictures attached)
[attachment=0:2x0o9u9b]genTmb_F1821589_17_0.jpg[/attachment:2x0o9u9b]
The pool is quite big - with arches it measures 22.5' by 40' and the spa is an additional 8' by 8'.
It seems that the previous owner disconnected the heater from the gas line (does not look like the heater has been used for a while or that it works). Either way, from going through the forum's threads I understand I need to get solar covers and I was hoping to get your advice on it. since the pool is big, I am thinking of going with a clear solar cover of 24' by 40 ' for the pool that is 16 mil -(think the cheapest is at http://www.Solarcovers.com - anyone ever bought from them?). This cover should be durable and retain heat. Would you go with a thiner cover (12 mil or less?)? also, how important is it that the cover does not have any wrinkles as it spread on the pool (as I mentioned that pool has a bunch of arches)? is it more important that the pool is completely covered or that the solar cover does not bunch?
As for the reel - I was thinking of either buying one or making one using mount bearings and an aluminum pole (based on the matt4x4 design). My concern is the sag as few indicated in various threads - will an aluminum pole hold (with no sag) a 16 mil cover of 24' by 40'? with diameter of a pole should I get and where is a good place to get it? I looked online and it seems that building the reel (assuming a pole costs about $100) will end up costing something close to $175 - should I just buy a reel?
In which case, I saw this one (http://www.solarcovers.com/cgi-bin/shop ... reels.html) on the solarcovers.com - would the 20' suffice for the 24' (which will be more like 22' once I trim it if needed) or should I go with 25'?
Any insight / advice / pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Udi