DIY Solar reel without joints?

[BellaBuggy]

I've read about Matt4x4's solar reel and others who replicated the design. I would like to do so myself, but we only have a Lowe's in our town and they only carry 10 foot sections of conduit. Pool is 33', so I need to join in 4 places. The compression joints are not strong enough and there is significant sag at the joints. We then took 5 foot sections of schedule 80 PVC, filled with foam insulation, and put those in the center of the joints for added stability. This looked fantastic with the first two sections, but once we did the third it sags again.

I saw that Matt said he used 4" irrigation tube, but I don't know where I would get that. Any ideas?

Or does anyone else have experience with spanning this long of a distance? Definitely open to ideas on what could get this working!

 

[Azgirl71]

I have no idea if Lowes does not have it. I am assuming you have already checked there?

 

[BellaBuggy]

Yes. I believe that it is structural tubing, used in commercial applications, so would have to be custom ordered from ___?

 

[Azgirl71]

You will probably just have to google until you find some place you can order it. I imagine any place that specializes in plumbing and or irrigation would be the places to check.

 

[BellaBuggy]

If Google had answered my question I wouldn't have posted here. Looking for others who have made one for a larger pool. Structural tubing like that is not readily available...not in this area at least.