Liquid solor covers= CETYL ALCOHOL ?

[Mrjames]

There is some guy on Ebay selling instructions on on how to make the liquid solar covers. After doing some research, I figured it a fatty Alcohol dissolved in rubbing alcohol.

Has anyone else tried to make their own liquid solar covers/ blankets?

 

[Guest]

No, because they don't work very well. The general consensus is that they are not worth the time, effort, or money (and this is based on a few years experience on this and other forums notably Poolforum) by several users).

I read one analysis of the commercial stuff that said it was paraffin dissolved in isopropy (isopropyl alcohol is the only hazardous ingredient on the MSDS). In any case it is some type of wax dissolved in an alcohol.

 

[chem geek]

One such solar blanket, HeatSavr, apparently has a patent here indicating that the product is just a combination of "an aliphatic alcohol component having from 12 to 24 carbon atoms per molecule" combined with calcium hydroxide. The calcium hydroxide is just a carrier and dispersing agent.

The preferred embodiment uses cetyl alcohol (1-hexadeconal) and it only takes a small amount as the layer is only one molecule thick.

Such products only work moderately well if there is no wind. Possibly better than nothing in some cases, but no where nearly as effective as a regular solar cover.

 

[amjohn]

Our pool installer tried using one of the liquid solar covers. He said every time they got out of the pool they felt like they had been bathing in Crisco. Yuck! Took them forever to get the stuff out of the pool also.

 

[snapped]

My solar cover broke down and I am waiting for a new one. the local Home depot had the liquid blanket on clearance, $2 each so I bought one to see if it offered any help. From I read elsewhere it doesnt really heat the pool but will help reduce evaporation/water loss at night when the pump is off and it can build up a slight film across the top.

When I poked the holes in the ball, some spilled on my fingers and it looked and smelled like fabric softener. Could it just be some downey in ball? We are already using all laundry materials to maintain the pool, Could fabric softener be the next blow in the pool industries monstrous markups and profits?

 

[chem geek]

Ultra Downy has an MSDS that does not disclose the ingredients, though does indicate that it is acidic. I doubt very much that the fabric softener would work as a heat shield. As I noted in this post earlier in this thread, the solar blankets work by having a thin one molecule thick chemical layer (film) on the water so that means any chemical that has a hydrophilic (water-loving) end and a long-chain hydrobphobic (water-hating) end. Cetyl alcohol would work, but the trick is in how to get it to disperse evenly and quickly and that is part of what HeatSavr does using calcium hydroxide.

Fabric softeners do have long-chain hydrocarbons, but their ends are typically cationic (positively charged) so would tend to repel if on the surface of the water (i.e. they would not form a continuous film). This is why an alcohol is used instead in the HeatSavr since it is polar so that end can stick in the water, but it's not charged overall so is not strongly repelling next to adjacent molecules.

Richard

 

[snapped]

And I guess thats why you are called CHEMGEEK?