I warned you about the wind. LOL
I took ropes and threw them over the top. At first just the two ends. But then where the two overlapped was blowing apart so I put another across the top middle. Then tied them with stakes to the ground on each side. Every few weeks or so I would have to retighten all the ropes because the wind would stretch it.
Can you tell a difference yet?

Thanks for reminding me. I have to go get some bungee type cords. Got the clipits already. Of course it is still way to warm outside for the cover yet. It got up to 86 degrees here yesterday.

Cindy

The cover shifted a little overnight, but I don't have it all tied down yet. Today I bought another 200' of nylon rope and I'll run that over the top at the two ends. I found tarp anchors which were $1.99 each, but which look stronger than the clipits and easier to attach. Hopefully I'll get home in time to fix things up this afternoon.

I wonder whether I'll actually see the difference in temperature or just in propane bills...

What kind of tarp anchors? I hope not the kind you put the circle on the cover and then another piece goes around it. I could never get them on.
I bought some metal gromments for another project and was thinking about using them. They are about an inch in diameter. I will put tape or something first for extra strenght.
Quote 'I wonder whether I'll actually see the difference in temperature or just in propane bills?'
Doesn't it acommplish the same things. If it's staying warmer you can turn down the thermostat. And save more. Or leave it where it was last year and use less fuel. Which is going to cost more anyway with price increases. So the dollar figure on fuel may be the same or more.
But hopefully you want use as much fuel. That's why you need to keep records of gallons and outside tempertures.
If you set the thermostat at exactly the temp you did last year it should keep the heater from cycling on and off so much. Is your heater electronic? Pilot light does not stay lite, just comes on as needed.
It may be hard to judge if gas prices are a lot more than last year. Your bill may still be high but if you kept a record of number of gallons and the temperatures then you can compare.
With gas being so high you might want to switch to $20 or less electric space heaters at Wal-mart. But then you will need to buy a $38 automatic thermostat for each one.
But that's what I did after my first gas bill. And buying the solar covers.
I was getting ready to haul all my plants back into the house. But at least now I have my heaters and thermostats but I don't have that first tank of gas. It's gone, LOL

Here is a picture of the anchor. The teeth grap the tarp, and that collar slides forward, pinching the teeth together. The little button on top is a release so the collar slides back and the anchor lets go easily. It grabs the bubble portions of the solar cover better than the smooth edges and seams, but so far it seems to work either way.

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It's tough getting the solar pool cover on by yourself, I will add. A sharp corner caught a couple of times and put a 1/4" hole in the cover in a couple of places.

I'm hoping to see less in the way of fuel costs. I don't need to keep the GH any warmer than last year. Last year propane was $1.09. This year we prebought at $1.36, a 24% increase. It's hard to measure propane and electric use in the Gh alone, since both the house and GH are on the same propane tank and electric meter. I do think it is cozier in the GH already, a little warmer feeling, but maybe that's just in my head.

Propane here is $1.79! Just buried a 500 gallon tank. Won't run out this winter.

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Those clips look like they would work better. Where can I find them? The clip-its are a pain.
I put duct tape over the sharp edges of my greenhouse and also built the pvc frame to keep the cover from rubbing on the metal. I still got one small tear. That's why they make the poly tape. LOL.
Can you see the frame in this picture?
I tried a rope onto each corner and one in the middle and threw the rope over the greenhouse then pulled it up and over. Without the pvc to slide on I don't think I could have done it. I actually put the first one on by myself. My DH helped with the other two.
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Also notice the one panel at the middle bottom. It is lexan because my DH used the lawnmower with the chute facing the greenhouse and it threw a rock. But this shows that lexan condensates more and that means less light in the greenhouse when they stay fogged up all the time.
If a greenhouse was made entirely of lexan it would lose a lot more light in the winter unless you had the fans blowing full time to keep it dry. But most of it is outside. Like car windows do in the winter because it's warmer inside than out.

I found these labeled something like "tarp anchors" at my local ACE hardware store next to the bungee cords. I need one more, so I'll look tomorrow to see if I can find a name that is more specific. You're right, Cactus, the Clipits are tough to get on, especially with duct tape on the cover. I used a hammer. :-)

Alligator Clips and you can get them at Home Depot.

Trying to do find the best price and best size for a solar pool cover -

The shade cloth I have is 24 x 24 - I have a 16 x 24 gh -
It fits nicely on my GH -

Went to Solarcovers.com - there I saw 2 - 12x20 for 57.99 each , -- minimal shipping charges. After reading above - Do you think that wind would become more of a problem with 2 vs one big sheet. The 24 x 24 would allow me to come down the sides to about 2 ft from the ground. The alternative is to get a much larger sheet - 20 x 40 for about $50+ shipping more.

Your thoughts----- Mike

I bought the 20x40 and cut 8' off of the end to cover the north wall of the GH. My impression is that coming down the sides helps minimize the wind problem. I came almost all the way down both sides. I also extended the top cover over the north end about 8" and tied it down like you would the end of the wrapping paper on a present. Hope that helps. SB

I'm bringing this thread back so I can give my feedback on the solar pool cover.

It works great if your site is not windy. But in the wind, it's trouble. I've had to make two more trips to the store for bungee cords, rope and clips to keep the thing from flying away in the wind. I'm sure that it cannot offer any additional insulating properties when the wind is howling, creating a 6-12' wind tunnel in the space between the GH glass and the cover. I've got no less than four 2" holes where either a piece of metal or rope rubbed through.

I'm considering another method. I'm thinking about using the pool cover on the inside. What I may do is cut the pool cover up into 60" strips or sections. Then I would insert the sections up over the GH purlins and use a wood or metal retaining bar or "clip" to hold the solar cover strip up between the I-beams of the GH. The "clips" would span the 60" between I-beams. The pool cover strips would hang or drape from the "clips" and the purlins.

Has anyone tried a similar method? Any killer balls to throw at this idea? SB

I had/have the same wind problem - Eventually I used lots of rope crossing from front to back and then side to side. The Aligator clips did not work well for me.

I throught about getting a used soccer net - that would certainly hold down the pool cover.

I think that the alligator clips would work on the inside. I was thinking about trying with the excess that I have- You could hang sheets on the end walls and maybe hang accross the ceiling - It certainly would be a lot less stressful - Every time the wind blows hard I look outside to see if my sail has left the ship!

Mike

We installed a 16x32 pool cover over my greenhouse just a few days ago. It fit perfectly from ground level, over the roof of the greenhouse and down the other side to the ground again with a few feet left over. On the south side, which won't catch as much wind because of a cedar windbreak, we installed tarp clipits (with dowels inserted into the fold for the clip to catch on-a variation on the toothpick idea) and screwed the clipits, with washers, directly to the greenhouse base, which is wood. On the other side, there was enough cover left over at ground level, that we just laid some very large peices of leftover telephone poles (from a building-a-very-large-arbour project) on it to hold it down. Then we screwed strips of 1x1 wood down the sides of the pool cover, directly to the greenhouse, so the wind could not create that tunnel effect. I have a pitched roof, one side being glass and the other (north) side is insulated roof with asphalt shingles. In that side, at the ridge line, is a window vent that opens automatically if the temps get too warm in the greenhouse. We cut a square out of the pool cover at that window vent so it could open freely and will use the Weatherwise duct tape to secure all around the edges.
Hopefully, this will do the job as we get some pretty strong winds around here, being surrounded by empty farmfields in the winter.