Liquid Solar Blanket

[Hotfire]

Has anyone ever tried the liquid solar blanket? The chemical that slows heat loss by slowing evaporation? Do they work? Any comments or testimonials about them?

Hotfire

[Larry]

Sorry your posts got trashed. It seems a regular word in your post started with a spam word. I've removed the filter and apologise once again.

[Hotfire]

No problem at all. Thank you.

[Bake]

I just ordered a case of HeaSavr and a pump for about $600. At 28x52 my pool is way to big for a cover.

[Nicole]

Evaporation accounts for up to 90% of heat loss from a swimming pool. My company sells TROPICAL FISH, a single TROPICAL FISH contains liquid which automatically floats to the surface of the pool, and acts as an evaporation inhibitor, much as a conventional solar blanket performs, only much easier to use.

The key ingredient Tropical Fish Liquid Solar Blanket is a non-toxic chemical called HEATSAVER; it is pool filter friendly, does not affect the pool's chemical balance (pH, chlorine, alkalinity) of the water, will not damage vinyl liners or any other pool surfaces, and is absolutely harmless to skin contact. You cannot see it, taste it or smell it in the pool water.

[coffeemmb]

I used the solarpill and tropical fish last season and think they worked about 50 -75% efficiency of our cover. I still use the cover early and late season because of our cold nights then in Ohio. I LOVED NOT HAVING TO UNROLL THE COVER. Someone told me that the HEATSAVER liguid is basically rubbing alcohol. Does anyone know about its chemistry and if alcohol can be used as a cheap alternative?? ps I ordered solarpills (4/29.99) from IN THE SWIM and they sent me 4 teeny solarballs and tried to convince me that they were the same product. I think it was wilful false advertising however they were returned for a credit. I will never deal with that company again.

[Backglass]

[I ordered solarpills (4/29.99) from IN THE SWIM and they sent me 4 teeny solarballs and tried to convince me that they were the same product. I think it was wilful false advertising however they were returned for a credit. I will never deal with that company again.[/b]

Really?! I have always ordered all my chemicals from www intheswim com. Their shipping is $7.95 for FedEx overnight no matter the size and better prices then my local pool store. It's a no brainer for me.

...and I have no idea about the liquid covers, although I am reasonably sure it isn't rubbing alchohol as that would evaporate even more quickly than water!

[Kym]

I used a solarpill last night and whereas previously I was losing four degrees overnight, last night I only lost two degrees.

I'm not yet sure if that's good enough or not - here in Ohio the pool is only 74 degrees during the day.

I will say that the $12/per pill could get pricey depending on how long they last.

[yeayea]

Ya I have tried these and I believe it was just rubbing alcohol. smelled exactly the same.

[beifstu]

i can almost positively say it is not rubbing alcohol. alcohol would mix with the water and not stay on top. further more alcohol has a very high evaporation rate. it actually evaporates several times faster than water.

[chem geek]

Though I do not know what specifically the chemical is, it is certainly a molecule with a hydrophobic (water-hating) portion and a hydrophillic (water-loving) end. The water loving end is either charged or polar. The substance is less dense than water so that it floats on the top. All of this leads to a single molecule thick layer when the water is undisturbed. The molecule should be resistant to oxidation from chlorine so probably has no nitrogen sites in it.

If it smelled like an alcohol, then it may indeed be an alcohol which just means it has a hydroxyl group and if that group is on the end then in fact it could be this chemical. BUT, it will not be ordinary alcohol (ethanol) since, as was pointed out, that DOES dissolve in water. So I suspect that the alcohol has a long carbon chain -- at least 5 or more carbons since pentanol is not very soluble in water and is less dense than water. Perhaps 1-hexanol or something even larger.

[Bake]

Chem Geek, If I recall correctly this is the patent for Heatsavr. The original use is for evaporation reduction in reservoirs. Heatsavr, I read some place awhile ago, is just this powder mixed in alcohol as a carrying agent. I hope this helps. I purchased Heatsavr in bulk (4 gals.) and the chemical pump, but since I have not even opened the pool yet I have not been able to try it yet. The link:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=M-4HAA ... +6,303,133

[chem geek]

Thanks. That answers the question. The product is just a combination of "an aliphatic alcohol component having from 12 to 24 carbon atoms per molecule" combined with calcium hydroxide. It's basically what I said -- a long-chain alcohol. The calcium hydroxide is just a carrier and dispersing agent. It is the alcohol that is the key ingredient, not the calcium hydroxide, though the patent is about combining the two so that the delivery of the alcohol is part of what is patented.

The preferred embodiment uses cetyl alcohol (1-hexadeconal) so you could just buy some of that to add to the water (it only takes a small amount as the layer is only one molecule thick), but the use of the calcium hydroxide sounds like it helps disperse the product because the hydroxide dissolves first leaving charged calcium behind that tends to repel and spread the alcohol across the surface, then the calcium itself dissolves. The product isn't that expensive -- it works well so long as there isn't much wind.

Richard

[Bake]

Richard:

The Heatsavr is actually relatively expensive. I paid around $300 plus shipping for the injector chemical pump, one time cost, and $220 plus shipping for 4 gallons of the Heatsavr. The 4 Gallons should be enough for my 28' x 52' pool for the season. I got it form Solardirect.

Rich

[chem geek]

Sorry. I was thinking of SolarFish, not HeatSavr. I wonder what's in SolarFish? Probably a similar chemical, but not in powder form (it feels like it's already a liquid).