Solar covers. 5th pool summer coming up down here in Tucson, AZ. Used the solar cover provided by builder religiously. I have a rectangle with a couple stair/ledge cutouts so its really easy to pull/place. Our back yard gets sun the entire day and has no shade. I would just fold it a bit and leave it off to the side. Surprisingly the initial cover lasted just around 2 years here. Bubbles started deteriorating though and had to replace. I bought a roller which made off and on MUCH easier but think made longevity much worse due to the tightness and increased heat (maybe). Second cover only lasted one year and then same with the next. I'm waiting to buy the next one until I'm actually going to use it this spring but is there anything that anyone has figured out to shade or extend the life. I know pool chemistry can wreak havoc on them and keeping out of the sun when not on the pool is the best idea but i have nowhere to put it conveniently. Especially now that its on the roller.
Solar cover longevity
- Thread starter Uhhello
- Start date
They sell covers for the cover while it's on the roller. The layers of rolled up cover will steam and boil in direct sun, ultimately popping the bubbles.
Yeah I'm wondering if it's really doing anything other than lowering the temp a bit. I might try a cover that isn't wrapped around it but instead hangs off the wall its stored against. Or I might just buy a new cover every year
We rec going as thin and cheap as possible, and when they rip/pop, you already considered it disposable.Or I might just buy a new cover every year
I got 5 years out of mine on a roll, but with short NY seasons, it took less of a beating than yours does in 1 season.
It stops the greenhouse effect, which in turn lowers the temperature of the wet cover. A tarp would achieve the same thing as the fancy covers at much less cost. Plus. I think tarps come in more colors now than the covers.
Sun is different here. ThanksWe rec going as thin and cheap as possible, and when they rip/pop, you already considered it disposable.
I got 5 years out of mine on a roll, but with short NY seasons, it took less of a beating than yours does in 1 season.
It stops the greenhouse effect, which in turn lowers the temperature of the wet cover. A tarp would achieve the same thing as the fancy covers at much less cost. Plus. I think tarps come in more colors now than the covers.
I live in the California valley. Two years is about it. Even if you think they are OK at year three they are 90% gone.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,072
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
The heat and UV rays are what deteriorates solar covers - especially here in the desert southwest.
Any time the entire cover is not in contact with the pool water, the solar cover needs to be covered.
Some covers come with a thin opaque plastic sheet/cover, or you can use a tarp (Harbor Freight has large ones for an okay price). Leaving a solar cover off the pool, uncovered and in the AZ sun will ruin it quickly.
I can usually get 4-5 years out of a solar cover. I only use the solar cover in early spring and early fall to extend the swim season. The solar cover is on a reel, which makes on/off pretty easy. When not in daily use, it gets cleaned, dried and hung (on the long reel pole) from the garage ceiling.
Any time the entire cover is not in contact with the pool water, the solar cover needs to be covered.
Some covers come with a thin opaque plastic sheet/cover, or you can use a tarp (Harbor Freight has large ones for an okay price). Leaving a solar cover off the pool, uncovered and in the AZ sun will ruin it quickly.
I can usually get 4-5 years out of a solar cover. I only use the solar cover in early spring and early fall to extend the swim season. The solar cover is on a reel, which makes on/off pretty easy. When not in daily use, it gets cleaned, dried and hung (on the long reel pole) from the garage ceiling.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 7,500
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60
10 Mil, Ohio. On a roller in the winter, in the pool full time in open season (except when I swim). End of season 2 last fall there were a fair amount of bubbles that have "popped their tops." For a $200 item, I consider it to be a 2 year replacement. IF I find in the spring I need to replace, will be going to 8 Mil.
No matter which thickness the cover is, the bubbles are the same (flimsy) and the weakest link, providing you don't snag the cover on something.
When they go it's like an ice machine. One bubble top......... two bubble tops.......... HOLY COW THATS TOO MANY BUBBLE TOPS !!!!!!!
When they go it's like an ice machine. One bubble top......... two bubble tops.......... HOLY COW THATS TOO MANY BUBBLE TOPS !!!!!!!
Ya, know.. I never thought about the tarp. Big Hardwear sells them in the paint department. Not a wallet buster.
I still don't know why they don't use the vinyl they use in pool toys. I usually end up slitting them with a knife when they get grody and it's time to dispose of them.
The kids have fun with the net trying to scoop up all the little blue bubble tops!
I still don't know why they don't use the vinyl they use in pool toys. I usually end up slitting them with a knife when they get grody and it's time to dispose of them.
The kids have fun with the net trying to scoop up all the little blue bubble tops!
I left some leftover scraps of bubble pool cover in the backyard under the sun when I put in the new cover years ago. I found out the scraps are still good for many years on the ground while the same cover on the pool everyday has deteriorated in 2 years. The pool cover and the scraps received the same amount of sun.
I repeat doing this for many years with different generations of covers. This experiment shows it is the chemical+water that deteriorate the cover the most, not the sun.
I repeat doing this for many years with different generations of covers. This experiment shows it is the chemical+water that deteriorate the cover the most, not the sun.
So imagine when a cover is on the pool being exposed to chemicals, then someone takes it out and leaves it in the sun. In fact, I think just letting them dry out after even the little bit of chemical exposure they're subject to in a pool takes its toll over time.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 7,500
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60
Having the solar cover in the water cools the cover, reducing decay. Having it on the reel in the sun bakes it increasing decay. I cover mine with this anytime it is out of the water, (white side out), now going on season 4. If your FC/CYA is in balance, the HOCl concentration is de minimis. Its the sun, not the chemicals...and the heat.
Solar Cover Cover Material
Nice find! That material you linked to, to cover the pool cover, is light years better than the white saran wrap-type thing they give you when you buy a pool cover. That saran wrap thing is worthless to try to use to protect the pool cover from the sun. I use the saran wrap thing to cover the plywood bench I made for my pool cover to lay on under my upper deck. I have stairs and bushes fronting the space under the deck, so my cover gets hardly any ambient light, too, so virtually no UV.
I like you grow dollar idea. Would black facing up matter? In my full sun yard it may be too bright like being in sunny snow without dark goggles!
No rush. Sadly, I just bought two new bubble wrap covers on clearance last year.
No rush. Sadly, I just bought two new bubble wrap covers on clearance last year.
Why do you say "sadly"? Isn't that good that you got them on clearance?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 7,500
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60
It's not a pool cover. It's a protective cover for the pool cover itself when after you take the cover off the pool, and happen to leave it in the sun.