What the heck do you do with your solar cover?

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Magis00

Magis00

Bronze Supporter
May 20, 2020
14
Cincinnati, OH
Pool Size
4500
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Intex Krystal Clear
We’ve got a 9x18 rectangle solar cover, and as we’re still figuring out all the new routines I have just been laying it out on the lawn adjacent to dry and then kinda bundling it up and leaving it on the ground.

Other than getting an attached roller-upper unit, what do folks do with this thing during the day?
 
The only covers we have for our pool and spa are solar covers. When we close up the pool (typically late October), we put the solar covers on the pool and spa and they remain there all winter. We don't get much weather below 32° so the solar covers warm the water enough to prevent any freezes. When we open the pool (usually mid-April) we remove the solar covers, spread them out on our driveway and hose and scrub them to clean them. We then roll them up and store them in our garage for the summer. Our pool is in direct sunlight all day. If we used the solar covers in the summer, our pool temp would probably be close to 100°. Even without using the covers our temps get into the low 90's. Today, our pool temp is already 86° and it's only noon. I see you are in OH so your summer overnight temps might be cool enough to warrant using the solar cover. During the day you can roll up the solar cover and completely cover it with a plastic sheet/tarp...every solar cover I have ever bought came with such a sheet/tarp. Just make sure no part of the cover is exposed to the sun. My parents lived in Florida and during the day rolled up their solar cover, covered it with the plastic sheet and left it at the end of pool decking. They typically got over 5 years from a solar cover.

Our pool is about 16' x 37'. I bought a kit that allows you to manually roll up your solar cover. I cut the pool cover in half and then my wife and I can roll up each half and carry it to the driveway and then into the garage.
 
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I have gone through all kinds of ruminations trying to figure out how to best store the solar cover.. I used to custom trim it to fit the free form curves of the pool. I used to roll it up and store it in the bag that game with it, what a hassle. It always felt like a lot of work for not a whole lot of gain. Now we just accordion fold it onto the deck on one end of the pool. And it is stored there for long periods too. Sometimes we pull it onto the lawn and let it drape into the pool, turn on the sprinklers and use it as a big gigantic slip-n-slide.
 
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mguzzy said:
Now we just accordion fold it onto the deck on one end of the pool.
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Basically that is what we do. We want the quickest way to remove it and then put it back on. We just pulled it to the driveway to dry it off before storing it for the summer. Pool is warm enough now and nights are hot enough that we dont need it until fall.
 
Since my solar cover is somewhat larger than your cover at 17'x37', I use a solar cover reel so I can put it on and off quickly. Once summer hits, I'll move the solar cover reel back under my trees to keep the sun off of it. I thought I wouldn't be using it now here in NC but the next two days are in 60's F and we're forecast for about 3" of rain. That will cool my pool off quickly without the cover.
 
We use a reel for ours. I drove a 4x4 into the ground just behind each corner of our AGP, attached the base plates of the reel to those so that when rolled up it is entirely off the pool and easy to pull back on after swimming. It is in sunlight pretty much all day this way though, but with the weather here in ND we need it on the pool most of the time it isn't in use. Without the reel it was just too much of a pain
 
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PoolGate said:
After using it 3x I threw it in a ball into my shed never to be taken out again. It is scheduled to hit the trash the next time I have the energy to take it. That was 2 years ago.
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Went into the barn last September and that's where it stayed so far this year. Maybe closer to end of the season we'll get it out to help lower the evaporation when the nights go cool.
 

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brettch said:
We use a reel for ours. I drove a 4x4 into the ground just behind each corner of our AGP, attached the base plates of the reel to those so that when rolled up it is entirely off the pool and easy to pull back on after swimming. It is in sunlight pretty much all day this way though, but with the weather here in ND we need it on the pool most of the time it isn't in use. Without the reel it was just too much of a pain
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Can you share pics? We currently throw ours over the fence (and retrieve it from the empty neighbors yard with a KS wind gust often, lol) or over the swingset, but that has put a few holes in it :/
We need the cover for dust & heat/evaporation here too! I've been trying to convince DH to mount our reel! (I got one last winter, but haven't had a place to but it!
 
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splashpad said:
Can you share pics? We currently throw ours over the fence (and retrieve it from the empty neighbors yard with a KS wind gust often, lol) or over the swingset, but that has put a few holes in it :/
We need the cover for dust & heat/evaporation here too! I've been trying to convince DH to mount our reel! (I got one last winter, but haven't had a place to but it!
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Attached are a couple pics of the current setup. Currently, we set the reel down on the pool when its covered so it isn't holding some of the cover up off the water for wind to catch. When rolled up on the reel we strap a bungee cord a few feet in on each end to prevent wind from unrolling it. On my to do list is to cut about a foot off each 4x4 so that we can just leave the reel on it's mounts at all times. The straps would then be long enough that the cover would be fully on the pool so wind couldn't catch it, and still leave room for the cover when it's rolled up. Including one image I could find from my recent baqua-conversion where it was rolled up.
 

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Mine is cut into 3 pieces and easily folded with one person accordion style to fit in the shed. Also easy to put on with one person too.
 
I've seen there is a huge variation in Cover Camps..

There are those with nice retractable covers that want to keep them nice they are a fixture of the pool its a part of their automation system and they can close the cover when they are on vacation in Tangiers
Those that use those Blue bubble wrap plastic solar covers for "warming" and a little bit of dust protection
Those that use an old tarp to keep the birds from pooping in the water.
Those that use a mesh to keep the leaves out and don't care about the birds pooping on them
Covers for IG pools are applied differently that AG pools.
Some people care about their covers and are compulsive about rolling and storing them
Some people hate them cause they get in the way and let the blow into the corner of the fence or the neighbors yard
Those that squeeze the last bit of life out of their covers that no matter how much Crud is sloughing off them and into the pool, they just won't throw them away..

Did I get everybody?
 
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I made a DIY version of the one listed above for about $30 bucks in PVC and some stainless screws. my cover is split in two due to the length of the pool, so i have two rollers and i just twist each half on itself to roll them up. I killed a large section of grass just dragging the cover out and leaving it and the rollers let me keep it rolled up nicely on the pool deck. eventually, they will get folded and stored in the shed.
 
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ckh1980 said:
I made a DIY version of the one listed above for about $30 bucks in PVC and some stainless screws. my cover is split in two due to the length of the pool, so i have two rollers and i just twist each half on itself to roll them up. I killed a large section of grass just dragging the cover out and leaving it and the rollers let me keep it rolled up nicely on the pool deck. eventually, they will get folded and stored in the shed.
Click to expand...
Can you upload a photo please?
 
Mine is on a reel across my 27' round ABG. It stays on almost all summer. If we are not swimming, it is on the pool. I have two 4x4 posts off to the side of the pool. I put 1.5" PVC pipe into holes in the end of the 4x4 that the cover reel ends fit into. When we swim I roll it up, and it pivots completely off the pool onto the posts. I also store it on the posts over the winter, but when I store it, I cover it with tarps and then truss it up like a roast beef.
 
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