northernbird

that is exactly what we have done this week so we can enjoy the pool this easter weekend.

bridie

is a solar blanket any different to a normal pool blanket or the same thing?

ohippy

you can get pool blankets which just stop evaporation or blankets which do that as well as raise the temp of the pool

chrispy

Ours looks like big blue bubble wrap but it really heats the water, a week of hot weather makes it about the temperature of bath water so we normally remove it the night before we use it and it lasts a couple of days (depending on the ambient temp).

Budawang

I have a heated pool here in Canberra but normally don't use the heating because it already gets too hot with the pool blanket. Just been for a dip and it was 31 degrees! It has been unusually warm the last few days. We normally start using the pool in November and stop in mid March, but this year we may still be swimming in April.

moneypenny20

Our pool is unheated and it's only been warm enough ONCE this summer for me to get in it. Winter - On Your Bike! Even my youngest who is quite hardy has only been in a dozen or so times this year.

Looks nice though

bridie

Cool, thanks

paulhill

How much do the solar blankets cost? and where can you buy them from? Thanks

datamile

Even bunnings do them, and most pool shops. Most blankets that are 400/500 microns are solar capable.

You even get $200 from qld state if its from an approved supplier

http://www.discountpoolcovers.com.au/factsheets.html

paulhill

Thanks

Hutch

Ours is unheated - just the bubblewrap blue blanket. We swim in it from about September to April/May, though this summer's been so shite it hasn't seen as much action. My parents have the solar and, to be honest, they usually only manage to heat their pool up to a degree or two more than ours with the blanket. In fact when it's really hot and the solar's working best, their pool's too hot to swim in - literally like a bath. When it's that warm outside you get in the pool to cool off surely?!?

datamile

The touble with pool covers is odd shaped pools. A 500micon cover is pretty heavy, and a real pain to get on the roller. Missus won't have one now as she doesn't like the look of them or the effort to take them off and on.

However they do save a lot of water in evaporation, and keep any have you have in, and add to it if solar.

BadgeIsBack

You wouldn't use one in May in Melbourne(!) and probably not Sydney either. Not just because of the temperature but by then you might be over it and have let it gone! A solar blanket makes a big difference and might add a month either end of the season.

moneypenny20

That's why hubby won't consider a blanket. We have a bog standard oblong one but the idea of rolling it up and having this huge blue roll at the end of the pool, or having it on the pool, getting covered in leaves that then superglue themselves to it and looking horrible, puts him off completely.

bridie

That's what I am wondering about, would it be easy with a kidney shaped pool?