I just purchased my third solar cover. Here in Southern California, I use my solar cover year round, because even in the winter, it's helpful in reducing evaporation. (If I leave the cover off for a few days even in the winter, since I don't have an auto-fill valve, I can see the water level drop by a couple of inches, and then I have to run a garden hose at full for maybe 45 minutes to refill it).
The first two solar covers lasted about 1.5 years each. One was 12 mil, one was 8 mil (but I had learned how to take better care of that one, so maybe that's why it lasted as long as the 12-mil that I didn't take the best care of). The one I just purchased is 12 mil, according to the place where I purchased it, but it seems a lot lighter weight than my first 12 mil cover. I suspect that it will be dead 1.5 years from now.
The RayMaxx brand adds a metallic layer to their covers (kind of like space blanket material). I'm not keen on that aspect, because none of this gets recycled when the pool cover dies. But they also claim that their covers are unusual in that they are "extruded" and they claim that this makes them more durable. So I'm interested to hear if anyone has tried one of these covers and found them to be superior in terms of durability or not.
The first two solar covers lasted about 1.5 years each. One was 12 mil, one was 8 mil (but I had learned how to take better care of that one, so maybe that's why it lasted as long as the 12-mil that I didn't take the best care of). The one I just purchased is 12 mil, according to the place where I purchased it, but it seems a lot lighter weight than my first 12 mil cover. I suspect that it will be dead 1.5 years from now.
The RayMaxx brand adds a metallic layer to their covers (kind of like space blanket material). I'm not keen on that aspect, because none of this gets recycled when the pool cover dies. But they also claim that their covers are unusual in that they are "extruded" and they claim that this makes them more durable. So I'm interested to hear if anyone has tried one of these covers and found them to be superior in terms of durability or not.