Just an update on how this went... we just stowed the solar cover today. Our pool is 28 foot round, ended up cutting the solar cover into three pieces- one long strip in the middle, and two round almost half-circle sections on either side. The cover had seams in it already in those locations, so we just cut along the seams with scissors, and did not have to worry about sealing edges- they were essentially pre-sealed. It was much easier to get on and off, and it stayed on the water with no problems, even in 30 mph winds. We never had to tie the sections together.
We use a solar saddle to hold it when it is off, so we would just push or pull the sections over the edge into the solar saddle, fan folding and stacking them in it, then put them back on one at a time. My husband and I could do it together in a couple minutes. It took me a little longer alone, as I am very small. When I had to deal with it alone and was not up to wrestling it, I would just push the long center section over onto one of the others, creating a 28 foot long swim lane, and swim back and forth- much easier to handle alone.
To dry it, we took it off one section at a time and draped it over our 16 foot flat bed trailer in the shade- not exactly hygenic, but it got mostly dry. For final drying, each section went in the garage one at a time, drapped over a ladder, coolers, boxes, etc to get it up off the floor. Note: 28 foot is a BIG pool.
We folded and rolled it up in sections on the garage floor. It is pretty dusty, but went back in the box dry, and I figure I will have to clean it up thoroughly in the spring before I put it on the pool anyways.
Also decided that if I had to buy a new one every couple of years that it would not be the end of the world. I will try to keep this one decent for as long as possible, but I am not worrying about treating it's made of glass. It's basically just heavy bubble wrap anyways- once it is dead, we can cut it up and use it for packing materials.
We use a solar saddle to hold it when it is off, so we would just push or pull the sections over the edge into the solar saddle, fan folding and stacking them in it, then put them back on one at a time. My husband and I could do it together in a couple minutes. It took me a little longer alone, as I am very small. When I had to deal with it alone and was not up to wrestling it, I would just push the long center section over onto one of the others, creating a 28 foot long swim lane, and swim back and forth- much easier to handle alone.
To dry it, we took it off one section at a time and draped it over our 16 foot flat bed trailer in the shade- not exactly hygenic, but it got mostly dry. For final drying, each section went in the garage one at a time, drapped over a ladder, coolers, boxes, etc to get it up off the floor. Note: 28 foot is a BIG pool.
We folded and rolled it up in sections on the garage floor. It is pretty dusty, but went back in the box dry, and I figure I will have to clean it up thoroughly in the spring before I put it on the pool anyways.
Also decided that if I had to buy a new one every couple of years that it would not be the end of the world. I will try to keep this one decent for as long as possible, but I am not worrying about treating it's made of glass. It's basically just heavy bubble wrap anyways- once it is dead, we can cut it up and use it for packing materials.
