I'm trying to figure out a good solution for heating my pool this summer.
I have a gas heater, but didn't find it very effective last year. Tried it a few times and only raised the temp a few degrees over the course of many hours as I recall. I ran it overnight once, again with only a small increase, but didn't have a cover and after reading the posts on this forum now realize it was like heating my house and leaving the windows open.
I have a curvy free form pool, on the order of 20' x 40'. One end has steps and the other end has a basic low profile diving board.
Since the widest part of the pool is actually a little greater than 20', a cover and reel solution does not seem feasible. If I put it under the diving board (assuming I can get one to fit) the width would have it outside the surrounding concrete and people would have to step over it to get to the diving board. Similar problem at the shallow end. Is it doable to roll up the cover at the shallow end, then roll the whole reel and cover off to the side in the grass? If I put the reel in the middle, then what, there is always a big cylinder over the middle of the pool? Anybody have any pictures?
If I use the cutting it into strips method, about what size is easy enough for my wife to handle? 20' by 6'? Six 6' strips sounds like a pain to deal with. Does anyone have a configuration they like?
The only other though I had was to run a long rectangular strip down the middle, use a reel for this under the diving board, then handle the curves on the outside with extra pieces or maybe even a few of those solar sun rings.
I'll probably have some weeks where the cover is on 24/7 for days at a a time. Is say 75% coverage with a solar cover worth the effort and expense?
Sorry for the long post.
I have a gas heater, but didn't find it very effective last year. Tried it a few times and only raised the temp a few degrees over the course of many hours as I recall. I ran it overnight once, again with only a small increase, but didn't have a cover and after reading the posts on this forum now realize it was like heating my house and leaving the windows open.
I have a curvy free form pool, on the order of 20' x 40'. One end has steps and the other end has a basic low profile diving board.
Since the widest part of the pool is actually a little greater than 20', a cover and reel solution does not seem feasible. If I put it under the diving board (assuming I can get one to fit) the width would have it outside the surrounding concrete and people would have to step over it to get to the diving board. Similar problem at the shallow end. Is it doable to roll up the cover at the shallow end, then roll the whole reel and cover off to the side in the grass? If I put the reel in the middle, then what, there is always a big cylinder over the middle of the pool? Anybody have any pictures?
If I use the cutting it into strips method, about what size is easy enough for my wife to handle? 20' by 6'? Six 6' strips sounds like a pain to deal with. Does anyone have a configuration they like?
The only other though I had was to run a long rectangular strip down the middle, use a reel for this under the diving board, then handle the curves on the outside with extra pieces or maybe even a few of those solar sun rings.
I'll probably have some weeks where the cover is on 24/7 for days at a a time. Is say 75% coverage with a solar cover worth the effort and expense?
Sorry for the long post.