Solar covers - Gold, silver, black, clear?

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aquamarine

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Mar 9, 2009
101
Midwest
Well, I am still trying to pick out the right cover.

I saw one chart where they are claiming that clear is way better than black(+blue) or silver(+blue), but I am not sure about trusting one source. Other places seem to charge less for clear compared to black or silver. Then there's gold(+blue).

Cost-wise I am okay with any of them, and want what's best for heat retention and production (especially production). Gold seems best to me, but maybe that's just what they want me to think.

Also, I was planning to get a 12 mil so it was more managable, but would love to buy a 16 mil for durability and heat production. 16 mil can't be handled by 1 average strength person? I do have a reel. It's older and I suppose it's not as good as most of the ones for sale now.

Oh yeah, there was the idea of cutting the thing in half, but then it couldn't be reeled up. And supposedly if your entire cover is in contact with the water's surface (no edges sticking up out of the water), it won't blow away or anything... but if it were cut in half maybe it would?

Thanks.
 
I am not sure if the color really matters. The main thing the cover prevents is evaporation and heat loss over night. Think of the solar cover more as a blanket. Over a cool night, I will loose 1 or 2 degrees. I do have the blue/silver since I want to look at blue water!

My pool is about the same size and I have the 12 mil. It reels up nice and straight and I can pull it off by myself.

It is heavy and I would not go to the 16 mil. If my solar reel did not have wheels, it would be very difficult to move. Since I always replace the cover under a prorated warranty, I'm stuck with the 12 mil. I have asked to get the 8 mil, but would need to pay full price.
 
I've had 3 covers. 1st one was "spaceage" at least 16 mil and silver& blue. It was very heavy, never blew around. During the 4th & 5th year, it became too heavy for me to lift by myself so I replaced it with a cheapy 6 mil light blue.

The new cover blew off very easy, so I used water-filled bleach jugs on the top of it to weigh it down, which worked fine. It deteriorated much more rapidly than the first cover, and became waterlogged. I used it 2 summers. I put it on this spring and it would tear easy when I tried to get it off.

I never noticed a difference temp wise between either cover. I think solar blankets retain heat better than they produce it - but I've never tried the clear covers.

So at the beginning of this month I replaced it with a black/blue. The black/blue SIGNIFICANTLY reduced my FC loss on the days when the pool wasn't used. I would lose hardly any FC, The first 2 days I had it on I lost 0 FC. I went on a 10 day vacation, shocked to 16 before I left, covered, and came home to a FC of 8. I was very surprised. It's lightweight like the other, so I don't expect it to last more than 2 summers. It kept the temp about 78-80 for the month - the heater wasn't on and the temps were fluctuating and never got out of the 70s here.

I know folk who have cut their covers to make them more manageable and they haven't complained of movement, several have come up with unique ideas to help in that area.
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
I know folk who have cut their covers to make them more manageable and they haven't complained of movement, several have come up with unique ideas to help in that area.
Click to expand...
I remember somebody with a round pool whose circulation was strong enough that the cover was spinning! I think a couple of cheap tethers fixed that.
--paulr
 
We got a clear one this year. Not by choice, but that's what was in the box when I opened it. It's working well. I guess the clear is more to act like a magnifying glass and heat the water?

Had the clear cover on and the pool light the other night....still looked nice. Better than the blue.
 

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I too am trying to pick a solar cover, and have convinced myself that I want blue/gold. However,
I have only found one supplier on line (PoolDeals), and they have not returned any of my numerous phone messages or emails, so I don't have any confidence placing an order with them.

Does anyone know other suppliers who sell blue/gold solar covers?
 
I purchased the clear this year and it works far better at heating the water and keeping it warm. But I hate it. It looks ugly. I much prefered the cheap blue one I had. The clear is more white than clear. I also, have a problem with rolling it up. All of the other covers rolled up without issue, but this one does not. Can't figure it out. It always seems to bunch and roll on an angle. Everything else is the same. The plastic seems to be softer than the old blue one. I think next time I will just stick with the cheap one.

Walter :(
 
Well I am right there with all of you. trying to decide what is best. I started out with the standard blue, it kept the pool warm, but I grew things (first year didn't know better) and we lost a dog to the cover. I then got the pool rings... hate them! they blow all over my yard, they pop, they only get my pool to about 70 and there is no easy way to store them. What I did like about them is we never worried about anything getting caught in the cover. I also liked that since the pool was only 70% covered, nothing grew.
I first wanted a clear cover, but am worried I will still loose chemicals. Does the color (blue-gold, silver, blue-black, blue) really matter? And since most covers cover the entire surface, would the 70% coverage (that the rings boast about) be best? Still give the pool coverage to heat the pool, may stop growies and may allow for the heavier gauge cover, but less weight? Any ideas???
 
I have had a "clear" (more like opaque/white) cover for the past 3 years. It has helped heat loss, but not sure how well it has generated heat. I get algae growth - I assume the light thru the cover doesn't help that. This year I put some 4mil black plastic sheeting over it. Certainly seems like that has helped as I have had no algae growth like I had last year. A friend has a blue cover on same sized pool. Both pools seemed to warm up the same amount w/o using the heater (mine with the black plastic on the clear cover, his with a blue cover). I think I want a blue/black cover to stop light from getting into the pool when covered. I guess an all black cover would be OK too, but as folks have said, it is nice to look at the blue.
 

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