Can't anyone design a decent telepole?

[Backglass]

I am so tired of telepoles with these "twist-lock" segments. They never lock hard enough to keep the pole from collapsing (when pushing a vacuum for example) and if you DO manage to get it tight enough, you can never get them un-twisted without getting out pipe wrenches. And forget it if your hands are wet!

Does anyone make a pole with a lever-lock or some other method of locking the telescoping segments? I am willing to pay for quality. At this point I'd pay double for a quality pole. These cheap twist-lock poles are driving me crazy!

Suggestions?

 

[Rangeball]

I don't know what size pool you have, but have you considered a solid full length pole?

That's what mine is, and it works great. But, it came with the house/pool 13 years ago, so know idea where you could buy one today...

 

[brittmer]

I am so tired of telepoles with these "twist-lock" segments. They never lock hard enough to keep the pole from collapsing (when pushing a vacuum for example) and if you DO manage to get it tight enough, you can never get them un-twisted without getting out pipe wrenches. And forget it if your hands are wet!

Does anyone make a pole with a lever-lock or some other method of locking the telescoping segments? I am willing to pay for quality. At this point I'd pay double for a quality pole. These cheap twist-lock poles are driving me crazy!

Suggestions?

I have a lever-lock pole from WalMart that I purchased a couple of months ago. However, it pushes together a little when vacuming but not as bad as the twist-lock type. The only problem I have with the one from WalMart is that by the time you get it extended out, the last section is kind of thin and tends to bend if pulling something off the bottom of the pool with the net.

 

[matt4x4]

no problems..

I've never had a problem with our vac pole collapsing, just your typical twist to lock ones and it doesn't stick either..

 

[gonefishin]

Hmmm...

You know...we've got an extremely heavy-duty telescoping pole that we bought for inside outside cleaning. It wasn't cheap and we ended up getting it from a professional janitorial supply business. I'll have to check and see if the tip could adjust to accommodate the pin system for a pool vac.

dan

 

[Guest]

Most of the telepoles sold for home pools are not high quality and they do tend to 'unlock'. If you get a professional pole (I like the fiberglass ones but they ARE pricy!) they tend to have better locking mechanisms. There are two types of locking mechanisms used in poles, cam lock and compression ring. Most of the less expensive poles use compression rings and they do tend to slip more than the cam lock poles, IMHO. Even cam lock poles will eventually fail because of scale, corrosion, and wear but replacement mechanisms are available for them.

Lever lock poles are just a variation on compression ring and are really not any better.

 

[Backglass]

Most of the telepoles sold for home pools are not high quality and they do tend to 'unlock'. If you get a professional pole (I like the fiberglass ones but they ARE pricy!) they tend to have better locking mechanisms.

Where can I get one of these poles? I would rather pay for quality and have a pro pole for the next ten years than buy pool store Crud every three!

 

[Guest]

Your local pool supply should be able to order one if they are any good.

 

[Backglass]

IF they are any good.

Exactly.

I need to find one on-line. I avoid my local pool store like the plague.

 

[scoreboard]

I'd like to revive this old thread. I'm tired of paying $25 a pop for cheap poles that bend every two months. I've searched the net but can't seem to find one that anyone is happy about.

Fiberglass sounds great, but I don't want to end up with a hand full of slivers. Somebody has to have a good quality telescopic pole that they like and can tell us where to get it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bones]

Growing up in and around the construction industry, You either work smart or hard. Fiberglass is very nice but the splinters as you stated can be very nasty, Wearing gloves isnt always an option esp, when its 100 plus degrees outside. Solution, buy brand new fiberglass pole,shovel,pickaxe and immediately wrap with gorilla tape. That stuff almost wont come off even under water. Ive left things taped in water for a week and noticed no loss of stick to it. My 2 cents.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Dave S. just posted about his fiberglass pole a few days ago. He said when he replaces it he's going with aluminum. I agree. If you get very long fiberglass is going to get heavy. I have a 16' 2 section aluminum pole that I got at Lowes and it works great. I don't know the mfg or model but I'll try to find one like it if something ever happens to it.

 

[DBfan187]

Swimline makes some nice fiberglass poles, also Porpoise

 

[dmanb2b]

Try Rainbow Pools in Hopewell Junction. Only high-end PS I know of in the Dutchess/Putnum area.

 

[thepoolman]

http://www.lionpool.com/

The silver maxx pole at the bottom of the page is a good pole. My pool guys use and abuse them and probably get 6-8 months out of them at 15-20 pools a day. More than a home use pole will ever see. The locking mechanism is an internal cam and the pole is heavy duty aluminum.

 

[kenandshari]

Have you considered setting the length that you want it to stay at and then simply drilling through it and putting a stainless bolt washer and nylock nut in there to hold it in place? Cheap solution perhaps.

 

[singerteacher]

Bought a great fiberglass pole, which I use for scooping leaves out of my pool (I get lots of them, and don't have an automatic cleaner). Love it, it never gets cold or hot to the touch, never bends/breaks ... but now I'm getting splinters. Anyone have experience wrapping their extension pole with bicycle or tennis handle wrap? Can't seem to find Gorilla Wrap online -- is that made by the Gorilla Glue people?

 

[Suziqzer]

We got an old pole with our used pool. I think at some point it used to extend but it is full length now and we just hang it over the railing on some hooks when not in use. We use it for our manual vacuum and brushing.

The pole we bought for our leaf net is the second one, supposed to extend but does as you said... slides when supposed to be locked. If you get it too tight, you can't get it lose again. Weak when fully extended. We only use it to gather leaves from the surface... Hubby is a bid OCD and won't always let the skimmer get them If we were using it for anything more I would be searching for a replacement soon!

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Dave S. just posted about his fiberglass pole a few days ago. He said when he replaces it he's going with aluminum. I agree. If you get very long fiberglass is going to get heavy. I have a 16' 2 section aluminum pole that I got at Lowes and it works great. I don't know the mfg or model but I'll try to find one like it if something ever happens to it.

My Lowes 16' pole (2 section) slips from time to time and worse still the hole where the pins go in has bent and it makes it hard to push pins back through. This is after only acquiring this pole in late June!

I'm going to follow the link given and see if I can justify a better pole.

 

[singerteacher]

My daughter just got fiberglass splinters when she used the pole, so we need to find a solution.

I know I've seen extension poles with a large foam grip covering part of it. That's what I'd really like, but don't know where to buy it. Now I'm thinking maybe I can buy a padded wrap in a sporting goods store? I always use it extended, and don't need to collapse it, so a thicker wrap is fine.

Any ideas?