does a solar pool cover need to be touching the water?

[xycosse]

To go along with my other thread on how to make a solar cover easier... I'm wondering if I have an in ground pool, does the cover actually need to be sitting on the water to be effective? Or can it just be on top of the concrete up a few inches from the pool?

My thought is: I could build 1 or two frames out of something like PVC or 1x1 wood, stretch the over over it and staple it. I would think it would be pretty light weight, which would probably let me drag the whole thing on and off the pool myself a lot easier.

Has anyone ever done something like this?

Thanks!

 

[jblizzle]

The point of the cover is to reduce evaporation which thus reduces heat loss as well as reduce chlorine loss to the sun. Neither of those require the cover to be sitting on the water surface, although doing so may lower the evaporation some more.

I think your pool would have to be pretty small to make the frames short enough to not be too heavy and not to sag. Personally this sound like more of a pain to me ... where would these frames sit when not on the pool? Plus the wood is going to be subject to very moist air so may not last very long.

Look for the solutions were PVC pipes are attached to sections of the cover which can be rolled up on the water and then dragged off.

 

[Teald024]

The main way a solar cover works is to prevent evaporation. Having the cover a few inches above the water would be similar to an auto cover. I don't believe having the cover attached to a frame would be any easier. The cover may stay flat, but it would be heavier and would become a sail in even the most gentile breeze. Unless you have a large area to the side to drag the cover off horizontally, I think it would be rather awkward. I wouldn't want to waste a large area of my patio to temporarily store a cover.

 

[Richard320]

Until I cut my solar cover to rest completely on the water, the wind picked it up and flipped it back on itself or half off the pool. I had no frame, though. And even the cover itself is pretty heavy and bulky when you're trying to drag it off single-handed. A heavy enough frame to keep it from blowing would weigh a ton.