Use of 2 thick but 1/2 sized solar covers instead of 1lighter one

[cgott42]

I have a 25x48' inground pool . I had a good quality 25 x50' thick solar cover that would get rolled out acrross the entire length of the pool that did a nice job of retaining heat. However it was so heavy that even with the best quality roller it became a 2 person job to roll it up - as such it rarely got used, until we stopped using it entirely.
I can get a thin cover, but I'm guessing that it'd suffer in the heat retention costing me more on the heating bill.
If I were to use the same thickness cover but split into TWO 25x25' covers each going width-wise across the pool, and have some overlap. Would that give me the good same heat retention as the 1 thick one (or close enought) while being much easier to roll?

 

[themadangler]

I'm no expert but sounds like a decent idea. When you say thick, how thick was the old cover?

 

[Richard320]

It's the trapped air that holds the heat, not the plastic around the bubbles. So thicker vs thinner won't have much effect. We've also discovered that thick/thin, expensive/cheap makes little or no difference on how fast it disintegrates from sunlight, so you may as well save a few bucks. When I bothered with a cover, it was in 3 pieces because my pool is irregular and cutting and piecing was cheaper than buying an enormous cover and cutting it down. When the cover is floating on the surface, the pieces will generally butt together pretty good unless there's a lot of wind.

 

[Katodude]

We cut our cover in two to make it easier to put on and take off. There is no difference in heat retention. Just less frustration with the cover.

 

[JohnT]

Cover thickness determines how long it lasts, not how much heat it retains. Solar covers work by preventing evaporation, and the thinnest cover will do that just fine.

 

[cgott42]

great info (all) - thanks!
Question - If thickness doesn't impact the heat retention, what's the sweet spot of thickness that provides enough weight to stay down/not blow in wind, and easy to roll up? Likewise any good recommendations large (25x50) and works well yet easy to roll up?

 

[cgott42]

btw - I found out my existing cover is 16mil

 

[cgott42]

Did some research - thinking of buying sun2solar series 1200 or 1600 - they claim the clear does much better at absorbing / producing heat via letting more sunlight in. Is that correct? Price difference is negligible - if so, seems like a no brainer.

 

[Newdude]

My ‘clear’ cover seemed to back up their claims of gaining a couple of degrees. The immediate water under the cover was usually very hot. One inch of hot water didn’t do very much to the whole pool however. And the clear cover which was really white was so awfully hideous it wasn’t worth the 2 degrees. At least with the blue covers, it will seem like water with a quick glance, or walking by in the yard. The white called so much attention to itself and it showed every last stain from pollen and dirt.

 

[cgott42]

thanks, good info