Can I partially cover my pool?

[joshearl]

I've become interested in a high mil cover mostly for a boost in temperature. My pool is shaped rectangular 14'x39' but it is irregular, sort of a staggered width. This makes it 12' wide in a few sections. I've been thinking about buying a 12'x'20/24 cover and just covering the deep end. I figured this would actually be convenient as I could still lounge in the shallow area while it is in the pool. This would be ok right? Would it be covering enough area to raise the temperature? I get a lot of sun as it is but extending the season is enticing!

Here is a picture of my pool when it was green so you can see what I mean about the staggered width.

 

[Big Thunder]

Partially covering might warm it a bit but it wont help with the evaporation at night. Why not get two covers? Both oversized and just cut to fit, that way you can keep one on and one off. I don't recommend that though as that can be a potential drowning hazard.

I did that with my solar cover since I have a slight jog on one side and a straight line on the other.

 

[mart242]

A cover won't raise temperature, it will simply make it drop less. I'd get a 12 x 40 with a roller and start rolling in the deep end.

 

[JasonLion]

Getting a partial cover will help, though obviously not as much as complete cover. There is a safety risk with swimming while a cover, even a partial cover is on. You could get entangled in the cover if you accidentally wander over towards it.

 

[joshearl]

I can't afford to cover the entire pool at the moment but i didn't want to waste my money on partially covering if it won't make a difference. As far as the safety hazard, there would still be about a 1' of open water against the edge on each of the other three sides, though I'm not planning on swimming while it's on. At this point though it seems like maybe I should wait and get two sections to cover the entire surface.

 

[chem geek]

Partially covering might warm it a bit but it wont help with the evaporation at night.

I don't believe that this is true. If you cover half of the water, then evaporation should be cut in half since the surface area between water and air is cut in half. So the heat loss from evaporation should be cut in half.

If the cover is partly/mostly opaque, then this will also cut down the amount of heating of the pool from direct sunliight. If the cover is clear, then you get some heating from the sun, but also the associated chlorine loss from its breakdown in UV from sunlight.

 

[Big Thunder]

[quote="Big Thunder":2p9s3ya2]Partially covering might warm it a bit but it wont help with the evaporation at night.

I don't believe that this is true. If you cover half of the water, then evaporation should be cut in half since the surface area between water and air is cut in half. So the heat loss from evaporation should be cut in half.

If the cover is partly/mostly opaque, then this will also cut down the amount of heating of the pool from direct sunliight. If the cover is clear, then you get some heating from the sun, but also the associated chlorine loss from its breakdown in UV from sunlight.[/quote:2p9s3ya2]


Very true. Wasn't thinking of the big picture.