Building a Solar Cover Roller

[mas985]

Yes, that is the one I have and I would give it 5 stars as well. But they do make a pressure side cleaner too if you get a lot of leaves but I suspect that your situation is like mine where we get most of the leaves in the winter. The cleaner will take care of the smaller leaves but anything larger can be a problem. But I usually don't like to use the cleaner during leaf fall anyway. I am not swimming in the pool during the winter so once a week or every other week, I just use a leaf rake to pull out the leaves on the bottom. To me, this is actually easier then having to empty the cleaner leaf catcher every day. So I usually just take out the cleaner during this time. The suction side is really best for small leaves, dirt and sand anyway.

 

[bbrock]

Hey Mark,
Got the pool covered. Came out pretty good. I went w/ the 8 mil from www.solarcovers.com. I made some initial liberal cuts, waited about 3 days per the instructions, and then made some final cutting yesterday. The last time I topped off the pool was on Sunday, so this will be good having it. A good test to see how long I can go before having to top off again.

I have still the solar on for 6 hr/day, but I may adjust that as today we are having a 91 degree day and I checked the water temp now at it is already at 83 degrees. I am probably going to cut the cover width wise to make it more manageable, but I am not sure how to do your solar cover idea if I have some areas where my cover is bunched up. I can't seem to get it exactly flat. How do I do that? I was thinking that I need to have it really flat before I tackle your solar cover roller idea. I speculate that if it is not, then when I make it and fasten it to the Charlotte pipe and put it back in the pool, the edges/border/perimeter is going to be off. Would it have been better to do my liberal cut, wait a few days, make the rollers, then put it back in and do the final cutting?

Here are some pics of my cover showing how it is not exactly flat in some areas:

Also, you said you only run your solar about 1 hour. Is that in the midst of the summer or even right now? I am trying to determine how much and when to turn down the amount of time solar is on. Since I don't have a solar controller and/or the MaxFlo is not tied to my solar, I was going to just reprogram the pump so that it runs for X amount of hours for solar operation, then run it at another time/RPM for my Polaris, and continue to have my evening program from 8 pm to 6 am at 800 RPM. Right now I am just using 2 of the 3 programs with one during the day at 2400 RPM for 6 hr for solar and Polaris, and then the night program as mentioned.

 

[mas985]

I would let it lay flat for a few days and then cut it fit as one piece. But you might want to have some overlap in the middle if you plan on cutting it in half. What I do is fold over or pull up the center about 6" so there will be a 6" overlap between the halves. That helps prevent the cover from blowing up in the middle. If you already cut too much then just pull up enough so the ends fall into the pool.

Yes, when we get consistent 80+ days, then I usually don't need more than about 1 hour to top off the heat. However, without the cover is a completely different story.

 

[bbrock]

I would let it lay flat for a few days and then cut it fit as one piece. But you might want to have some overlap in the middle if you plan on cutting it in half. What I do is fold over or pull up the center about 6" so there will be a 6" overlap between the halves. That helps prevent the cover from blowing up in the middle. If you already cut too much then just pull up enough so the ends fall into the pool.

I don't understand friend. What do u mean "cut it fit as one piece?" Then, even if I get overlap and then cut in half width wise, how does that help if I'm looking for both halves to be equal? When I overlap, where do I cut it and how? It'll be in the pool and partially pulled up due to overlap. And how does this help with wind? Lastly what do u mean "pull up enough do the ends fall into the pool?"

 

[mas985]

Notice how the cover is puckering in certain spots? If you position the excess cover so that it is in the center of the cover, you can use that as overlap. when you cut down the center of the cover, it should then overlap some. The overlap, when slightly wet, will stick together and help prevent the cover from lifting up. Not completely necessary but it does help some.

 

[bbrock]

I got some foam core Charlotte pipe from OSH here. I got some extra pipe and cut off a piece and cut in in half so that I could use that half to fasten my two pieces together to give me a length of approx 13' 6". The pipe is in 10' sections. I fastened it w/ auto clips/fasteners I special ordered at Lowes. Problem though was that I used a hacksaw to cut a small piece in half for my fastener. It didn't give me a clean cut. Regardless, I got it still worked to fasten the pieces together. I used one half on top, and one half on bottom of the pipe for security.

I just figured I would use it as a solar roller but above the cover. The pipe would hold the shape and make it easier to roll. I placed it on top of the cover on one side and rolled it up. I had to go back and forth from side to side, but it worked to roll it up. I was able to roll it back into place, but when I was finished I noticed that the pipe was coming undone at the area I fastened it. I guess my fastening job did not hold up to the weight. Not sure what to do to make it more secure. Perhaps I should use a coupler to go over the sections of pipe and use self tapping screws?

I don't think I am going to make your solar rollers b/c I just don't trust that my polaris won't have problems. I am already encountering a problem in that my Polaris keeps getting tangled on the cover. This has happened twice, but that is enough. Here is my post about my Polaris problems: http://www.troublefreepool.com/thre...s-or-going-to-shallow-end?p=782594#post782594
I think it is related to my Polaris having too much power/RPM since I replaced the UWF and removed the red UWF restrictor disc. I was doing that to rememdy it do to poor performance/going in circles/not cleaning entire pool. But now, I have unleashed this overly powerful monster in my pool that seems to like to get tangled in the cover.

Your solar idea make work just fine, but it may work good enough for me to get my foam core pipe more secure and use it as my above cover solar roller. If I can get my Polaris running at a slower RPM, I am thinking it won't tangle up, and then I may just cut my cover width-wise and make 2 foam core pipes to use as guides to roll the cover out from the inside of the pool vs. the ends. It would roll better that way I think.

 

[bbrock]

Or, what about one of your solar rollers going across (width-wise) in my pool? One pipe may work and not give the Polaris problems. But, again, the weight issue become problematic and I fear that whatever pipe length I make will break/weaken at the joint.

 

[mas985]

You can put the rollers any direction you want to but weight is definitely a concern.

But what is the Polaris getting hung up on?

 

[bbrock]

See post 26. It's getting some of the solar cover caught in its wheels.

Any other thoughts on how to fasten two sections of the pipe together? In post 26 I discussed how the auto clip and using some of the pipe as a fastener didn't work (couldn't handle the weight when I took it out of water).

 

[mas985]

Why is the polaris getting that high in the water to get caught in the cover? There is no need to climb the walls of the pool because it doesn't accomplish anything so just reduce the pressure to the cleaner or make adjustments so it doesn't climb so high.

Any other thoughts on how to fasten two sections of the pipe together?

You mean other than a coupler? Why?

Can you post a picture of the fastener you are using?

This is what I use:

http://solarfactory.com/solar-covers/solar-cover-roller-spare-parts-1.html

 

[bbrock]

Here are pics of the tools and items:

I used a 3/8 drill bit to drill my pilot holes to push in the 1" diameter 7/8" long auto clips. I used a section of the cellular core pipe that I cut in half to make two pieces that were the fasteners. One on top, and then one on bottom b/c I didn't trust that one would hold the weight of the cover. Remember, I made one long pipe that I used on top of my cover to help when I rolled up my cover. The pipe could not hold the weight of the cover when I lifted it to the pool deck. I assume this would have happened even if it was just half of my pool cover.

Another option I have though of is to buy a 20' piece of cellular core pipe and cut it to the length I need. I really don't want to do this b/c ea. 20' piece at OSH is about $40+. There has got to be a way to join the pipes to make a strong connection.

Some better saw/saw blade probably would have helped to give me a cleaner cut. The hacksaw definitely didn't give me a clean cut. Also, I think the 3/8 drill bit was maybe too big. The auto clips seem to have a tiny bit of play.

 

[mas985]

OK first, you need to glue the two pipes together with the ABS coupler using ABS glue. That will make it fairly ridged. It will also allow you to put the pipe underneath the cover where is really should be. Exposed ABS pipe will get brittle over time although it is pretty cheap to replace. But don't try to connect the pipes they way you are now. That will never work.

Next, for the cover clamps, you should cut the pipe into quarters, otherwise it may rip the cover. The clamp doesn't need to go half way around the pipe. it just needs to help hold the cover to the pipe with the fastener.

Lastly, those are not very good clips. You can use the ones I posted earlier or use this type:

 

[bbrock]

TX Mark.

Is there a problem w/ using the cellular core roller/pipe as I was on top of the cover and rolling the cover so that the bubblesside is out? Again, I've just used it as a pipe/tube to hold the shape so that I could roll it from one end to the next.

Yes, w/ ur idea the bubbles aren't exposed. W/ ur way, doesn't all the debris from the top of the cover go in the water? Rolling it the way I have been not too much goes in the water b/c it gets all rolled up.

I adjusted the thrust jet so that sucker stays planted to the ground. I read online in the Polaris 280 owner's manual that I could also adjust the head/mast float (move it out) so that the nose stays down, which will also keep the thing down.

 

[mas985]

Are you not putting the pipe in the center of the cover? If not, it is going to be much harder to roll and unroll. Especially unrolling. You will have to push the cover across the whole pool instead of just a half.

Plus I don't think that is going to help much with the debris because as you roll the cover, the water and the cover itself will push the debris over the edge. I usually just sweep the cover with a pool brush before rolling it and that gets most of the debris off.

Watch the video on this site and you will see why the center location works well:

http://www.solarroller.com/

 

[bbrock]

Tx Mark.

Yes, the 1st time I tried my lengthened cellular core pipe, and it worked to roll/unroll, but it broke at the joint as mentioned. For that time, I placed the pipe on top of the cover as close to one end and rolled lengthwise. It was a PITA b/c I did have to keep going back and forth walking from side to side to get it going, but after the cover/roll got big enough and far enough in the deep end, I was able to finish okay. It was taking it out of the water that was a huge PITA. I could not do it myself, and that is what I have been looking to achieve... something so that I can manage this by myself.

The other time I rolled it was a yesterday. That time I used the 10' section of cellular core pipe I had (as the other approx. 4' section broke off) and placed it in the center of the cover at one end, lengthwise, and again rolled up to the other side. Yes, had to go from side to side, but it was actually slightly easier to manage to get out of the water b/c I was able to fold over the end on top of the roll I made. But, sure, I was still not able to manage it myself getting it out of the water and moving it from the pool to my grass area... needed some help from the wife.

 

[mas985]

That's why you need to cut the cover in half and put the pipe in the middle of each cover section. See my thread again if you do not understand what I am talking about. My cover is very light, partly because it is only 5mil but also because it is in two pieces.

 

[bbrock]

How many of those solar clips you think I got to order? Looks like one box is 16, if I recall correctly. It's hard to make out what it looks like/how it functions from the picture of the solar clip. I assume I still drill a pilot hole for it. Do you recall what size bit you used?

 

[mas985]

Figure every two feet and near the ends. If you are going to use the clips that I did, then it is a little trickier than the automotive clips. Those clips have a tab on the end so you need to drill a hole and then add a slot so the tab slides in. You turn the clip to lock it in. Also, it won't work without the 1/4 piece of pipe. Alternatively, you can also by the straps (above the clips) that require a larger hole but I am not sure the straps are long enough to go around a 1 1/2" pipe.

 

[bbrock]

What size drill bit did u use to make the holes for the clips? Also, how did u make/what did u use for the slots on the end tabs?
Tx Mark for ur help.

Figure every two feet and near the ends. If you are going to use the clips that I did, then it is a little trickier than the automotive clips. Those clips have a tab on the end so you need to drill a hole and then add a slot so the tab slides in. You turn the clip to lock it in. Also, it won't work without the 1/4 piece of pipe. Alternatively, you can also by the straps (above the clips) that require a larger hole but I am not sure the straps are long enough to go around a 1 1/2" pipe.

 

[Amanda14]

Hats off to you for building your own.