Solar Cover Tape

[duraleigh]

Hi, Everyone,

I need to tape two pieces of "bubble" solar cover together to fit my large residential pool.

I need to make two "joints", each approx. 12 feet in length.

I am searching for a tape that I can apply (I assume to both top and underside of the seam) to form one continuous piece. I am hoping the tape will be durable and waterproof enough to last at least one season.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience with a tape they can recommend?

Thanks,

 

[Guest]

Are you taping the cover together to use it with a reel? If you are not using a reel then there really isn't any need. Just place each piece on the pool.
There are some waterproof vinyl tapes on the market that might work if you are using a reel. Don't know how long they would hold up. I would check your local hardware or stationary store to see what they had. another idea that might work is using a vinyl liner pool patch and solvent to bond the two sections togehter. You can try it out on a small scrap to see if it will hold.

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Evan,

Yeah, I'm setting it up for a reel.

The liner patch glue sets up too quickly to use on 12' length. Contact cement would work reasonably well but would require an overlap of the two pieces....something that would probably cause issues when it's rolled onto the reel.

I believe tape is the answer but I've had no experience with waterproof tape.

 

[JohnT]

My thought is that a heat-fused seam would be the preferred way to go. Not really something you could do easily at home. You might look at greenhouse repair tape. This stuff is pretty tough, UV stabilized and waterproof. I don't know about cost.

 

[Guest]

Hi, Evan,

Yeah, I'm setting it up for a reel.

The liner patch glue sets up too quickly to use on 12' length. Contact cement would work reasonably well but would require an overlap of the two pieces....something that would probably cause issues when it's rolled onto the reel.

I believe tape is the answer but I've had no experience with waterproof tape.

Would it really be necessary to have the liner patch run the whole length? It might work if you did,say, 4"-6"patches with patches aligned on top and bottom of the solar covers and maybe space them every foot. It might even make the seam roll up easier on the reel.

As far as using contact cement and an overlap splice. If you had the part attached to the reel on the bottom of the splice I dont think it would affect it rollong or unrollong on the reel. You would just have to make sure that the edges were cemented down so they wouldn't get caught as it rolled or unrolled.

 

[duraleigh]

JohnT,

You have mistakenly assumed my BIG BOSS would authorize the expenditure of money!! :lol: :lol:

Yeah, heat fused would make sense but my budget dictates a more "home grown" (Okay, I'll admit to being a cheapskate) solution.

Evan,

Patching the seam in the increments you're thinking may be food for thought. I'll try the glue on a couple of scraps and see how it bonds.....I'm not sure solar blankets will bond well with the glue but it's worth a try....I'll post the results.

Meantime, I'm still hoping to find "miracle" tape for 1.95/roll that will do this job :lol: :lol:

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

........Meantime, I'm still hoping to find "miracle" tape for 1.95/roll that will do this job :lol: :lol:

That'd be the stapler!

Good luck in your quest!

 

[divnkd101]

How bout Stainless Steel Grommets and Zip Ties? That would definitely have the strength to hold it in place.

 

[JohnT]

JohnT,

You have mistakenly assumed my BIG BOSS would authorize the expenditure of money!! :lol: :lol:

Yeah, heat fused would make sense but my budget dictates a more "home grown" (Okay, I'll admit to being a cheapskate) solution.

Yeah, but knowing you, you've thought about some way you could come up with a homebrew way to fuse it with heat.

To expand on divnkd101's suggestion, how about a set of the straps you use to attach the cover to the reel? Those plastic snap-in grommets are pretty tough. Might take two sets. It would be plenty flexible to roll up and the sections should butt together when the cover is floating.