Solar blanket, no reel?

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carlos31820

carlos31820

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LifeTime Supporter
Nov 22, 2010
413
Midland, Georgia
We have a 16 x 35 in-ground pool. I live in Georgia which gets quite warm but it would be nice to use a cover to help retain heat this time of the year when we heat the pool. My only issue is that I don't care much for the look of the cover reel at one end of the pool. The reel would have to be low enough to sit under our diving board. And with the weather here, I would only use it in march and april. Probably not at the end of the season.

My question is, how much of a pain would it be to use a cover without the reel? Im sure its not a 1 person job. Have any of you tried it?
 
It is a major pain. The wet cover is seriously heavy, wet and often dirty. I don't think anybody would put up with the look of a reel if they weren't a major convenience.
 
Carlos 31820 in Midland

We use a solar cover for about 4 -5 months out of the year on a 20 x 40.

We don't use a reel, but have two teenagers who are very "skilled" at removing the solar cover; however, they need some "supervision" when reinstalling the cover. :mrgreen:

Is it easy? No.
Can 2 average healthy adults manage the task? Yes

A solar cover will save more than it's purchase price in reduced energy costs within the first season if you are heating your pool.
If you are heating with Propane, your reduced energy costs will pay for the cover in the first 2 weeks of use. :lol:
 
It can be done! I have a 21X40 freeform pool. I cut the solar cover down the center. I pull each pieces out of the pool and fan fold it all by myself. Then roll it and put it to the side of the pool. Yes, it can be a PITA but it can be done. I do it all the time all by myself. I personally don't like the look of the "reels" and when I'm not using the solar cover I store it in the garage. And I carry it to the garage myself too!
 
Poolschoolgrad said:
We don't use a reel, but have two teenagers who are very "skilled" at removing the solar cover; however, they need some "supervision" when reinstalling the cover. :mrgreen:
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I expect the reel would be cheaper than the teenagers :wink:
 
The tubes are aluminum and for me, they lasted about 3 years before corroding ala salt from SWG so I replaced them with pvc.
 
mas985 said:
The tubes are aluminum and for me, they lasted about 3 years before corroding ala salt from SWG so I replaced them with pvc.
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So could I save some money and skip the middle man? Could I just make something that will work with PVC and a handle of sorts? My pool is basically rectangular (Grecian, actually). Seems like I could just cut the cover in half and attach the two halves to the PVC pole. Sounds too easy so tell me what I'm missing. What keeps the pole/pvc afloat?
 

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I used 3/4" PVC with 3/4" backer rod stuffed in the middle to make the PVC float. The PVC bends a lot so you could go with a larger diameter which might help. I also used automotive interior clips to attach the cover to the PVC and I made a crank out of PVC which threads into one end for wrapping up the cover. It won't unwrap because of the thread direction but I find it is easier to just pull on both sides of the cover to unwrap. This comming season will be my first season with the PVC pipe so I don't quite know how well it will work but I have wrapped and unwrapped it a couple times successfully. The only downside is that it bends a bit too much when wet but I can still hold it above the ground.
 
MyBad said:
Just my 2cents, we have a solar cover, cut into two pieces, no reel. When I say "can you help me pull the cover?" or "I need help replacing the cover" Everyone runs! :goodjob:
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So it's still a pain even with the two halves... hmmm... I just hate heating the pool with no cover but sure do hate the look of that reel.
 
carlos31820 said:
MyBad said:
Just my 2cents, we have a solar cover, cut into two pieces, no reel. When I say "can you help me pull the cover?" or "I need help replacing the cover" Everyone runs! :goodjob:
Click to expand...

So it's still a pain even with the two halves... hmmm... I just hate heating the pool with no cover but sure do hate the look of that reel.
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The look of the cover and reel may not be pretty (the Rocky Roller isn't too bad though) but I like the look of money in my wallet so I find the cover well worth it...
 
I have a 20x40 solar cover, but no roller. It is very difficult for one person to handle and still difficult with two people. It is very effective at retaining heat in the pool. I'm planning on having a heat pump installed this spring so cost savings are important. A friend of mine cut his into 4 sections. She told me it is much easier to handle. I was thinking about doing the same.
 
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