Solar Covers

[drafferty]

I live in the Northeast and am interested in purchasing a solar cover to retain heat during the nighttime hours. I have an in ground mountain lake shaped pool 25k gallon capacity 40x23. I was wonder what the best brand, mil thickness, and color folks with solar cover experience would recommend. Thank you in advance

 

[PoolGate]

The cheapest you can find on Amazon. They all only last 2 to 3 seasons at best and many people stop using them after a couple times due to them being a PITA to take on/off.

 

[1Sammy]

If set up correctly one person can take off and on in under 3 minutes. If you go yanking in over the deck and letting it sit in full sun yes it will only last a year or two. IF as i said set up correctly and looked after it can / will last for many years. In 40 years i have gone through 4 and just now going to replace my last one purchased 10 years ago.
As far as which one is the best, i do not know as i do not have to replace it every few years and am as we speak doing research as to which one i am going to get this time. I have always had the blue. Of course all manufactures claim to have the best

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I'm about to start on the fifth year of my current cover. Mine is blue and about 10-11 mil. Thicker mil covers get real heavy and don't provide much advantage over thinner covers. Unless you have a couple people helping you, with a pool that large, you'll need a reel or you'll need to cut it into sections. As Sammy mentioned, keep it out of the sun when not in use.

 

[wbdahenry]

In western NY, with a heated pool, the solar cover is essential for minimizing nightly temperature drops. We have ours on a Rocky's EZ Roller, and 1 person can take it off or put it on. However the covers only last 2 to 3 seasons for us, which is about $100 per season. We've tried the blue and clear, the thin and the thick and our experience with all of them is about the same in terms of heat retention. The heavier and thicker covers are stiffer and a bit easier to put on and off. I need a new one for this season and just ordered this: Sun2Solar® Crystal Clear Solar Cover 25' x 45' Rectangular 1600 Series - PoolSupplies.com. I get a lot less use than the warranty period, but I've never made a claim. Maybe I should. Anyone have experience with that?

 

[hollywoodfrodo]

Like others have said I agree the more affordable, the better. Ours are lasting 2 years at most. I DO recommend a Pool Reel - that made the on/off process much better as well as storage when not in use. I bought the Vingli one off Amazon as it was not too expensive and well reviewed and have been very happy with it. The cover makes a huge difference for us in terms of temps since we live in SoCal where even if it's hot in the day it cools down significantly at night.

I will say that using the cover on a freeform pool is a pain for sure and reeling/un-reeling is not "easy" due to the very odd shape of the cover. My spouse and I have already resolved that in our retirement house we are going to build a rectangle pool and install an automatic cover!

 

[goody222]

I purchased 3 smaller ones that I can easily put on myself. I don't get 100% coverage but its good enough!

 

[monsterman]

hello to all--- I also am in the market for a new solar cover- the first in many years- I really have to do it right this time. I have a 15' x 24' Oval above ground pool with wedding cake steps that have those white metal painted railings - so the solar cover would have to be CUT around them to be able to cover the whole pool so to speak. Any ideas on how to cut this properly so that it stays... Also I have NO room for a reel so that's out of the question( as you can see from the picture I am attaching... Also being that my pool is 15' x 24'-- what size do you recommend I purchase (since I don't see that exact size on web sites)- that I should get in order to trim this cover down the proper size. Thanks for the help