Solar cover handling

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kkpjm

kkpjm

0
May 23, 2011
41
Quakertown PA
So, when buttoning up for the evening, how do you guys pull the solar cover off the reel and get it to the other end of the pool? The original clips tore thru the cover. I'm thinking of using a 10' length of foam core pvc and attaching it to the end of the cover using clips similar to those attaching it to the aluminum reel, then using some heavy nylon cord to pull it...that way you unroll the cord from a small hand-held reel while you walk to the other end, then slowly pull the end of the cover toward you. Of course, my "helper" would assist the un-reeling of the cover at the reel...

Thoughts?
 
What you describe is almost exactly what I built to pull my solar cover onto the pool. It works very well. I can pull the cover on by myself in less than 1 minute. There's no need for anyone to assist in un-reeling the cover, as long as it was rolled up neatly onto the reel. In fact, covering the pool is much easier than uncovering it. I'll try to find time this week to take some pictures and post them.

I had one problem initially: the leading edge of the cover would tend to sink under the water as I pulled it across, and then I'd have lots of water on top of the cover, which makes it way less effective at controlling heat loss. I solved that problem by attaching pool noodles to the leading edge. I sewed them on with fishing line.
 
mas985 said:
This is what I did:

DIY Solar Cover Roller
Click to expand...

Saw that and liked it...however we've been pretty happy with the way we were doing it. It's just that the means of attachment to the cover ripped out and I was looking for a more durable way of attaching the pull rope to it. I got an Odyssey reel and 20x40 cover for nuthin' on Craigslist a couple years back, so I'm way ahead of the game. Spreading the load of the pulling rope out over 10 feet will certainly be less stress on the cover.
 
kkpjm said:
Saw that and liked it...however we've been pretty happy with the way we were doing it. It's just that the means of attachment to the cover ripped out and I was looking for a more durable way of attaching the pull rope to it. I got an Odyssey reel and 20x40 cover for nuthin' on Craigslist a couple years back, so I'm way ahead of the game. Spreading the load of the pulling rope out over 10 feet will certainly be less stress on the cover.
Click to expand...

How you liking the Odyssey reel? I have a lead on one locally.
 
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