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  Lee Davis February 17, 2014 at 6:09am

  The Fish(HeatSavr) is much better than the pills. We've tried both and the pills suck out loud!!
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  Monique Nelson December 17, 2010 at 3:42pm

  Philippe,

   

  I am glad you are still doing your research, and I hope you have enough information about Heatsavr and Ecosavr (IPA based product). Unfortunately, I think you might have some difficulty finding comparisons between our products and the Silcone based one. Our company has been testing our products for about 20 years. The other product is fairly new to the market, is Australian based, and doesn't release technical tests...at least not that I have been able to find.

  
  I wish you the best, however you decide, and I hope your new controller is very successful!

  
  Philippe Seguin said:

  Yes I have been contact by Monique, but I am still hungry for more technical or real test study that would compare those 2 liquid cover. Keep me update.

   

  Also soon Alternative Solaire Inc. will be getting solar pool controller including:

   

  Pump timer

  Solar valve operation

  Injection timer

  Max pool temperature to stop solar & injection pump

   

  All in ONE unit!!

   

  Canadian Certification is on his way

   
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  Philippe Seguin December 16, 2010 at 10:40pm

  Yes I have been contact by Monique, but I am still hungry for more technical or real test study that would compare those 2 liquid cover. Keep me update.

   

  Also soon Alternative Solaire Inc. will be getting solar pool controller including:

   

  Pump timer

  Solar valve operation

  Injection timer

  Max pool temperature to stop solar & injection pump

   

  All in ONE unit!!

   

  Canadian Certification is on his way

   
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  Scott Heusser December 16, 2010 at 3:12pm

  Prefer the Fish (Heatsavr) over the Pill. Use the feed system on a lot of commerci
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  Don Parish December 16, 2010 at 2:55pm

  Has anyone used the Solar Fish and the Solar Pill (now from SeaKlear)? What are your opinions?
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  Rick Larson December 16, 2010 at 10:04am

  I know the Heat Savr works very well and one thing I was watching for in the beginning was fouling of probes and other insertion instruments. It was a non issue. I have to wonder what silicone would do though?
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  Richard A. Falk December 15, 2010 at 10:43pm

  The Heatsavr patent may be here.  (There is also a long discussion about liquid solar blankets in this thread.)  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 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 long hydrocarbon chain of the molecule is hydrophobic so tends to stay on the surface and stick out of the water while the alcohol portion which contains a hyroxyl group is hydrophillic so stays in the water; the net result being a thin single-molecule layer thick film on the water that inhibits evaporation.

  
  The preferred embodiment uses cetyl alcohol (1-hexadeconal).  The product works well so long as there isn't much wind.  Not as good as a real solar cover, of course, but better than nothing at all when there isn't too much wind.  With wind, the layer tends to bunch up and expose the water and waves in the water tend to expose more water to the air where evaporation then occurs which is what causes most heat loss.

   

  This MSDS file shows the main carrier for HeatSavr being isopropyl alcohol, but that will dissolve (mix) with water an eventually evaporate.  It is the "organic surfactant" that I believe is most likely cetyl alcohol or something very similar.

   

  I suspect that the silicone-based liquid cover may be more annoying in terms of feel when one gets out of the pool, but you'd have to ask people who use each type about their experience.
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    Aaron Heiss > Richard A. Falk March 14, 2014 at 9:35am

    It's sad that I've been using Heatsavr for about 4 years before coming across this thread. Richard, if the cetyl alcohol is an organic surfactant, does that mean its use would help break down scum lines? I never thought of that possibility before, and have only been using the product in the winter months, so never gave any thought to when our scum lines are most prevalent.... If there's something to it, I'd start using it in summer too!
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  Don Parish December 15, 2010 at 3:21pm

  I know that this post is a little old, but did anyone ever send you an answer?  Have you messaged Monique Nelson with Flexible Solutions?