solar pool cover review & repair guy where is your website?

15 years ago

I'll start by asking repair guy to post his website, I wanted to give my business to a great contributor to this forum but couldn't find him. Anyone have it?

New solar pool cover review- OUr pool is 16 years old and this is probably our 6th or 7th cover, we wind it up on a solar reel and it sits in full sun most of the day. We usually get a few years use out of them before they disintegrate. We always buy the thin dark blue ones from Leslies Pool. We had a silver/grey one for a few years as well, but it didn't heat the water up as much as the blue ones. My last cover was purchased in May of 07 and started to disintegrate a few weeks ago, it was the same dark blue type. Well only getting a year out of it was our fault as the white vinyl plastic sheet you must cover them with blew away last summer and we never covered this last one. I did some internet research and this time bought a clear cover in a heavier gauge vinyl, it is 16 gauge and noticeably heavier. We like it a lot, it heats the water more than the ugly blue ones and looks like ice on the water. Pool water went from 82 degrees to 92 degrees in 2 days with the cover on for 48 hours straight. We have to use a cover or we lose too much water at night and the pool cools too much for us. Anyway I bought it from SolarCover.com, they had the best price on the web and free shipping. It came a day earlier than expected. We are really pleased with it and like the "ice" look, hopes this helps someone looking for a new solar cover, Barb PS yes we keep our chemicals balanced which I understand is important for longevity and we will keep this one covered with the white plastic protector, any other tips? Thanks

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Comments (15)

repair_guy
15 years ago
Not allowed to post a site on my own. I can tell you to send me an e-mail by clicking on my name and you can figure it out the site from there.
Boby Huffard
15 years ago
We too replaced our blue cover with a clear one from Solarcover.com and we are THRILLED with it. Our pool has never stayed this warm. Even with the cool nights we have been having here in the Northeast (50's) the pool has not gone below 84. During a hot spell it went to the mid 90's for a few days, but we kept the cover on to keep the evaporation down. We have added water only a few times this summer. We are very happy too.
Boby
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We use solar exclusively to heat our 25.000 gallon pool, but then we live in the Southern California desert where temps are consistently in the 90s to 100s from May through September. We've had the pool up to 102 degrees using only the solar and a solar cover for six hours a day! Gotta keep a close eye on pool chemistry and watch out for algae! Our solar consists of eleven (11) 4X12 Heliocol panels. That's 528 sq ft. Our pool is 512 sq ft, so we are over 100% solar coverage. It also allows for about a 10 minute warm up for the spa when using the 400K BTU heater. During an hour in the spa, the heater cycles maybe twice for about 5 minutes which is nice. Total cost was $6,100 installed on a 2-story home. I already had it plumbed to the eaves, so all they had to do was install the panels, 3-way valve, actuator and hook it up to the pre-existing Intellitouch before leak testing. This is our third season. We turned the solar on two weeks ago with the water at 50 degrees and we are now at 80 degrees. HTH Matt
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airborne101
Original Author
15 years ago
I found " repair guys" website, it is mypoolrepair.com. Great website, he is in Murrietta CA and ships products too ! He's always helpful on this forum and seems like a good guy. Website has lots of information too. Hope this helps, Barb
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi airborne 101 and bobyoe
I am in the market for a solar cover and am trying to figure out the best way to achieve heat and reduce evaporation. We are STILL awaiting water (hopefully Fri) so wanted to be ready for the cold water fill! I was told the trucked water is approx 75 degrees; BRRRRRRR! Is the clear cover all it's advertised to be? Has anyone used the clear blue? Can we cut it to size; need rect 20'X38'? How about a good roller; we will be hopefully using our pool here in CT year round or at least 9 months/year.w/ the aid of an enclosure. Are Rocky's Rollers worth the $$???
Thanks so much!!
joanneswimsct
airborne101
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Joanne, yes we use a roller, have had it for 16 years ! I dont know the brand, our pool is 16 x 30 and we had to cut the cover as the pool is not a plain rectangle. Love the roller, I can take the lid off in about 2 minutes. Keeps the heat in and saves water, Love this clear one. Barb
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Thanks, Barb, for the reply!
I'll be calling solarcovers.com in the am to order a clear cover. I'll hopefully get an honest answer to my reel questions as well; heard great things about Rocky's Rollers on another posting but the price difference is steep. I'll be using the roller and cover A LOT so am willing to pay for quality. Anyone want to chime in?
Thanks!
joanneswimsct
ryan_championsunlimited_net
15 years ago
Solarcover.com appers to be a non active domain, it is parked for advertising. Did they go out of business? I am in phoenix, AZ and I would like to be able to swim late in the year, its end of Nov and we are still having days in the upper 80's and lower 90's, but cold nights. So the pool gets cold. I have a 16ft round above ground pool and am uncertain as to what to buy. Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks.
MAtt
airborne101
Original Author
15 years ago
Matt, I posted incorrectly the website is solarcovers.com ( with an s), I just looked, there is a sale on them too. We are in Vegas and swam up until the beginning of Oct using the cover to keep the water warm. You cut them to fit, go for it. Jealous you are still swimming, Barb
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi Matt
We, too, used solarcovers.com and were extremely pleased w/ both the quick service and the quality of the product. We ordered our cover late on a Wed eve and received it on Fri of the same week! We bought the clear 16 ml (or was it 18ml?) and it works great. We went ahead and purchased a Rocky's roller the next week and have been happy w/ that, too. Our water was delivered at about 55 degrees (not the 75 as claimed) and it HURT! We just used the cover to bring the temp up as our heater had not been hooked up at that time; water shot up to 77 w/i days. Due to a few delays in the project, we had to shut down our pool in Oct so no more swimming for us for now. Feel free to check out our pics, though, at 'attempting to post joanneswimsct pics' to see what we'll use in addition to our solar cover when we get things back up and running...!
joanneswimsct
jaymass
15 years ago
I too bought a solar cover from solarcovers.com . Unfortunately my experience was less than satisfactory. Great price, but they sent a cover that was 5 ft too short. They required a picture of the cover to replace it, which I sent, and they did. Problem was they sent replacement cover to my billing address, not the shipping address, so the cover went to New England even though the pool is in Florida. After that, they were nonresponsive and did not return my inquiry. Had to obtain refund through Amex dispute...won't buy from them again.
sandrasmith140
15 years ago
I checked out the web site - did anyone buy the solar spa ring? I was wondering if they worked well or not.
jjplus3
15 years ago
We need a new solar cover. Our heater was not working at the end of the season last year. We are going to have it looked at but we think it may need to be replaced. We are hoping that maybe for this year that a good solar cover will keep the pool warm. We have a salt water pool so the temperature of the water needs to be 68 before we turn the system on. It is usually around 50 when we open the pool. Is it the Clear Ultra or the Clear Diamond from solarcovers that everyone is saying is a good solar cover?
giofam5
14 years ago
Which kind is everyone using the Clear Ultra or the Clear Diamond?
winterorchid_hotmail_com
12 years ago
Great info! I was wondering..what kind of plastic cover do you use to protect the solar cover and how does it go on the solar cover. Can you roll it up in the roller?
stevemark2_frontier_com
12 years ago
Why do they say the use of the 12mil or 16mil clear diamond cover with any solar reel negates the warranties?How do you get the cover off your pool?

solar pool cover review & repair guy where is your website?

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