Water bag alternatives--Lay-flat hose?

PoolGato

Member
Jul 9, 2023
9
Spokane, WA
After the water bags all leaked and the water boxes blew into the pool, I ran 8-foot wood stakes through the tarp loops and attached them to ground stakes with bungee cords. But the wind still got under the tarp. To avoid that upward pressure--and after getting a $4,600 bid for safety cover-- I'm considering these two options, and wondering if anyone has advice.

1. Weigh down the tarp edges with 2-inch lay-flat hose 3/4 filled with water. 200 feet of 6-bar hose is $150. I'm not sure if I need PVC elbows, but I can add those later.

Advantages: This would be a single assembly, like other people have done with PVC or conduit. It would be easy to roll up and store. 2-inch ID hose filled with water would be at least as heavy as PVC or conduit filled with sand. If it's only 3/4 full, it should have a squat profile, increasing contact with the ground.​
Disadvantages: I'd imagine that the freezing may eventually cause leaks, but those could be patched.​

2. Or, avoid the edge issue by getting a tarp that fits fully inside the pool, like a solar cover. Keep the edges from sinking using sealed PVC tubes and use bungee cords to hold the tubes close to the pool edge.
 
The online calculators show that a foot of 2-inch ID pipe filled with water weighs 1.3 pounds. A foot of 3-inch hose weighs 3 pounds. Subtract 25% because the hose won't be full, and I'm not sure it will be heavy enough,
 
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