Solar Blanket / Cover - Need up to date current input

[Hottrodd1968]

Hi all...

I'm shopping for a solar cover and have conflicting info... so I'm taking a poll here to see what feedback / experience you can provide to narrow my options. I know there's many threads here on the topic, but they all seem to be a few years old. One never knows how much progress we've made with bubble wrap for the pool...

I have an above ground pool... 15 x 30 oval with about 12,000+ gallons - salt water, sees sun most of the day. I'm looking for feedback from people who have used their covers for at least one season so that it can be sound advice with some meat to it.

What mil should I go with? 8 or 12? Not thinking of 16 because it just gets too heavy. (I'm planning on getting a solar roller which would require me to split my cover in two halves... so I want to make sure the roller can handle the weight). BTW... if any of you have this solar roller... would appreciate your feedback on that as well. It's listed that it should only be used with an 8 mil, but I've read review that others have used 12 mil. What's your 2 cents?

Does the color of the blanket really matter? Why blue? Why clear? Why 2-tone space age silver and blue or black?
Is there one mfc above the rest? which one?

I'm hoping to get 2-3 seasons out of the cover, so I'm not looking to break the bank on this cover. They get yucky anyway!
Would appreciate any and all advice. Looking to order this tomorrow so that I can get a jump on heating the water. Hubby wants a propane heater. I'm trying to go solar all the way.

 

[pooldv]

Get the 8 mil. It is cheaper and easier to handle. I cut mine in half to make it even easier. Any solar cover will stop heat loss to evaporation no matter how thick. And they all seem to last 2-3 years. So cheap and thin is the ticket. Blue or clear doesn't matter, whichever you prefer.

We have solar heat and a heat small heat pump. Best of both worlds.

 

[woodyp]

After 8 years I just bought one this year myself. 8mil is fine. Clear or blue is fine. Hope to use mine only in May and late September. It WILL keep in heat you've gained. Checked mine religiously for a month and only average one degree loss per nite, and that's going from day time highs of 84 to as low as 62 at nite. Having it on during the day seems to cut my FC loss in half as well----pool in full sun.