Help with buying solar cover or solar rings or other?

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Ok, good to know.

I am a bit confused because my pool size seems non-standard :( I am thinking of getting the cover for an 18 x 32 oval pool. My pool is 17.5 x 35 apparently, give or take a few inches I suppose. If I want a cover that is 35+ ft then it'll cost me like $50+ extra (like $150-200 instead of $100-150).
 
Okay, I figure I am going to buy a rectangular one and cut it to oval shape. That seems to save something like $30-$50. Hopefully that is not a bad move? It will be 18x36 and I need 17.5x35 oval. If I were to buy the big oval one I'd need to cut it anyway, being that it's a non-standard size. I think that would be nice, being able to have a cover that fits right up to the edges. (I mean, obviously I would need to leave a couple inches or so.)
 
I agree- I did a little looking at some of the web sites that I use, and they did not carry the 35 long oval. That is kind of an unusual size. We almost put in a 18 x 36 oval pool, but we learned that we would get more water volume for less money with the 28 round. So glad we did, now that I know how hard things are to find for one that long.
I figured out the bleach bottles for weight on the solar cover thing too. Only fill them half full- that seems like it ought to be a no brainer, but somehow that escaped me. I made it through a very severe thunderstorm in the wee hours this morning that had winds so strong that the cover would have been blown all over the yard, and instead it was just a little crooked. We did not lose nearly as much heat as we did when a similar thunderstorm blew the cover partly off a few days ago. In fact, it made such a difference that I got to swim today. First of the season, finally. YAY!
I am ready for "Spring" to be over. In the north, Spring is nice. In Texas, it is just a very stormy and usually brief interlude before summer- more like almost summer. This year it has stormed on and on and on...
 
I just bought a cover at LOWES yesterday. yes I said LOWES. It was $112 for an 18 x 36. My pool is 17.5 x 36.5 (supposedly according to the measurements from the liner install). I put it on last night and cut it to size around the corners (pool is oval shape). It is blue and made by aqua. I'm sure it is only 8 mil, but if it lasts the 3 years that the warranty says, then it is a good buy. Those fish cost $10 a month, and from my experience (only this year so far) they are not that great. It works better than nothing at all, but on some of these cold days and nights we've gotten, it doesn't do much at all. The other bonus I figure is I've been reading posts from some saying it helps keep the sun from burning off your chlorine on days you don't use the pool. Either way you can't beat $112. My only issue is removal. I can't use a reel on an oval (not even one that rolls, as the fence around the pool curves with the pool on the corners). I am considering cutting it in the middle (was thinking of cutting into 3 sections till reading the other post where the middle section flies off) I figured I could buy a cheap deck box and just fold the two sections to fit in it when I remove them. I like the idea of leaving the deep end covered if you just use the shallow end some days. My daughter is only 3 so I can see many days where we just use the shallow end. As far as color or thickness, does it really make that much difference for the price? I'm interested mostly in heat retention at night, and it seems these are proven to do that.
 
Hi Luckyman,

How did your Aqua cover work out, did it improved your water temperature, and did you use a pool reel? I have a pool almost same size (18x38) so wondering if the reel+solar is manageable.

thanks
 
@clutch 8888

It worked great. I ended up cutting it in half right down the middle of the pool. The cover is way to heavy and awkward in one piece. I put it on the pool when I first got it, let it sit and flatten out overnight, then cut the corners to fit. I recommend scissors not a razor knife (came way to close to cutting a slit in the brand new liner!) Then I pulled it off the pool, laid it flat in the yard and sliced it right down the middle. Two sections were easy to take on and off when need. Three sections would have been easier to manage by myself, but the wind does move the cover around a bit, so I didn't go with 3. My pool was over 92 degrees by mid July and I had to take it off, because I was using too much chlorine to keep the algae from blooming at that temp! I don't think it will last past next summer though. It got a couple of tears in it from putting it in an out of the shed all year. I think I even had mice in the shed take a piece out of it to try to build a nest. Weird. Overall, well worth the $112 I paid for it. I hate a cold pool.
 
Do you have to provide overlap at the center where you cut? Just thinking that I wouldn't want to have a 6 inch (or larger) gap in the middle of the pool if I elect to do this with my newly purchased but as yet uninstalled solar pool cover. Also, doesn't cutting the cover defeat efforts to clean debris and accumulated dust from it using a garden hose? In the past, I've used the hose to direct it all toward the skimmer.
 
An overlap would add a lot of drag when putting the cover on or taking it off; you don't want that. But "no overlap" does not mean "6 inch gap" you should pretty much be able to butt the sections up against each other with minimal gap.
--paulr
 

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PaulR said:
An overlap would add a lot of drag when putting the cover on or taking it off; you don't want that. But "no overlap" does not mean "6 inch gap" you should pretty much be able to butt the sections up against each other with minimal gap.
--paulr
Click to expand...
Thanks, Paul. Come spring if I discover that you're wrong... I'll be making the short trip down to the bay area to have speaks with you* :rambo:


* apologies to the late great Peter Sellers
 
The cover never completely flattened out, so when I cut it down the middle, yes, there was a bit of an overlap. No big deal. what I need is a little extra square to cover to cover the steps. That's the only section that goes uncovered. Just hoping for a warmer spring this year. Last year, we didn't have swimming weather till late June after three weeks of rain. Doesn't help a solar heater or cover very much :(
 
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