Solar cover vs. the wind

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B

Bart

LifeTime Supporter
Jan 24, 2010
309
Northern Virginia
I'm a new pool owner who has been using a solar cover for less than a week, but I'm having some problems. The problems are compounded by the fact that the pool is on top of a (small) mountain and it can get pretty windy, and it's also a weekend home so we're not there during the week.

I put the cover in place last weekend, but because of the pool shape and the size of the cover that I could get my hands on, the cover is made up 3 separate pieces. I put it on last Sunday and when I went up to check on it yesterday, most of the cover was bunched up in a "pile" in the middle of the pool.

I separated the pieces and layed them back out as smooth as I could, and tried to hold down the seams with brushes and nets, but I'm fearful that I'll end up with a bunched up mess again. (I tried using the brushes to hold them down before and it didn't work so well.)

Here's a picture of what it looked like last night after I made my adjustments to let you know what my starting point:

P1010663.jpg


What am I doing wrong and are there tricks I can use to keep the pieces flat on the surface for 5 days unattended?

Thanks!
 
The first thing that I notice is that you need to trim it a little smaller. so that it doesn't have those wrinkles in it. The flatter you cna get it to lay on the water the better. If you can get it flat on the water and get all the air from under it, it's harder for the wind to move it. It's almost like it's glued to the surface of the water.
 
XsAllOverIt said:
Frustrated Pool Mom said she put empty clorox jugs with a little water around the edges. You go green and benefit with weights around the edges...
Click to expand...

Yup, use those empty jugs, fill em with pool water. Place them on top about 1 foot in. You might need more than I would because it's in 3 sections. I used 3-4 spaced around the perimeter. You might need 2 per section? trial and error. Works like a charm. Who cares how it looks! better than the cover blowing... :wink:
 
1. Multiple pieces of cover are fine as long as the pieces do not overlap at the seams. Trim seams so they lay next to each other, not overlap. It may help if all seams are parallel and run the same direction in the pool.

2. Trim perimeter of cover about 1 - 2 inches smaller than edge of pool. This will help it all to lie flat.

3. Surface tension with the water will keep it in place now.

4. Turn off any water falls, aerators, etc. as sometimes they will push the cover around.
 
Thanks everyone!

If I'm understanding FrustratedPoolMom correctly, I think she's using them as floating weights. You fill them up enough so they are heavy enough to hold down the cover but light enough to still float.

I was thinking of using those plastic water bottles too.
 
Here's an update......

I picked up some plastic clamps at a big hardware store that I'm using to hold the cover in place. They are all plastic (no rust) and they are just barely big enough to go over my coping. There was a larger size that would work with thicker coping. So far, they seem to be working. Here's photo:

P1010670.jpg
 
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