Aqua Blocks? water tubes? sand bags?

[Lois]

What do you other "cold weather" people use to hold down your winter cover on an inground pool?

We've been using Aqua Blocks for years, and it is time to replace all of them. Most are cracked and therefore leak, lids come off over the winter and water evaporates, etc. Mostly, they don't do the job over a whole winter. I need to know if there is something better people are using to hold down their winter covers. I was about to spend nearly $400 on Aqua Blocks this morning, then read the reviews (100% negative) and I backed off. Someone in the reviews mentioned they would just use sand bags instead. That would lead to a storage problem over the summer months.

It got me thinking.....does anybody on here have ideas or recommendations?

 

[Bperry]

What do you other "cold weather" people use to hold down your winter cover on an inground pool?

We've been using Aqua Blocks for years, and it is time to replace all of them. Most are cracked and therefore leak, lids come off over the winter and water evaporates, etc. Mostly, they don't do the job over a whole winter. I need to know if there is something better people are using to hold down their winter covers. I was about to spend nearly $400 on Aqua Blocks this morning, then read the reviews (100% negative) and I backed off. Someone in the reviews mentioned they would just use sand bags instead. That would lead to a storage problem over the summer months.

It got me thinking.....does anybody on here have ideas or recommendations?

Safety cover is really nice for that. I have the blocks and its true they are rough. I had to get three separate orders shipped cause a bunch were broken during shipping the first two times.

 

[Lois]

Safety cover is really nice for that. I have the blocks and its true they are rough. I had to get three separate orders shipped cause a bunch were broken during shipping the first two times.

Thanks for the reply!
Did you eventually pop for the safety cover? That would be a solution to get rid of the water tubes/blocks. We thought about one a few years ago, but didn't get much farther than just briefly "thinking" about one. I've never seen one in use in person, so they are kind of a mystery to me. How they hook down to the deck, how do you store one for summer, do they fold up, etc.

 

[Bperry]

Thanks for the reply!
Did you eventually pop for the safety cover? That would be a solution to get rid of the water tubes/blocks. We thought about one a few years ago, but didn't get much farther than just briefly "thinking" about one. I've never seen one in use in person, so they are kind of a mystery to me. How they hook down to the deck, how do you store one for summer, do they fold up, etc.

I have one but its worn and needs to be replaced. It secures to the deck with metal anchors that are drilled and installed into the deck and have little popup posts that you unscrew and hook the cover onto. The covers are much heavier and take a couple people to remove/install. Mine has a bag it came with that lets you roll/fold it up and store it away. I can barely carry the thing when its in there though as its heavy. They may make lighter ones.

 

[Lois]

Thanks so much for the info! Guess I'll have to explore further.....

 

[Lois]

I have one but its worn and needs to be replaced. It secures to the deck with metal anchors that are drilled and installed into the deck and have little popup posts that you unscrew and hook the cover onto. The covers are much heavier and take a couple people to remove/install. Mine has a bag it came with that lets you roll/fold it up and store it away. I can barely carry the thing when its in there though as its heavy. They may make lighter ones.

Is it mesh---meaning the water (and dirt) would drain through? The tarp we use now blocks all the dirt and leaves and detritus so the water is still nice and clean in the spring when we remove it. Of course, we have to pump the water (accumulated rain and melted snow) off the top, but no dirt gets washed into the pool over the non-use months.

 

[Newdude]

Is it mesh-

Not in the traditional sense. It's woven 99% thick and if you hold it up to the sun, it appears solid.

Water drains but slowly. I opened this clear so I don't want to hear that the 'mesh' makes things dirty from anyone. I used to have 80+ oak trees and opened plenty clean also.




There will be a layer of sediment on the bottom after the winter that takes 2 or 3 rounds with the vac/robot to get. It's no big deal.

 

[Lois]

Not in the traditional sense. It's woven 99% thick and if you hold it up to the sun, it appears solid.

Water drains but slowly. I opened this clear so I don't want to hear that the 'mesh' makes things dirty from anyone. I used to have 80+ oak trees and opened plenty clean also.

View attachment 566288


There will be a layer of sediment on the bottom after the winter that takes 2 or 3 rounds with the vac/robot to get. It's no big deal.

Your water looks great!!!! Is this a current photo from this year? It is still too cold here to open the pool.

What brand is your safety cover? Do you remember? This would be so great if I didn't have to deal with those leaky, broken Aqua Blocks anymore....

 

[Bperry]

Is it mesh---meaning the water (and dirt) would drain through? The tarp we use now blocks all the dirt and leaves and detritus so the water is still nice and clean in the spring when we remove it. Of course, we have to pump the water (accumulated rain and melted snow) off the top, but no dirt gets washed into the pool over the non-use months.

They have different types of material. More solid = more $$$.

 

[Newdude]

Is this a current photo from this year?

Yup. This year. Here's the old house with 80 oaks on an acre. The off season sediment didn't quite show but it was there.

Everybody wants to blame the mesh cover but it's not the cover. It's the closed way too early, with inadequate FC, and opened too late with a swamp.

What brand is your safety cover?

Looploc dense mesh for both. We paid 10% upcharge to get grey this time. It looks so much nicer than "the tennis court'

 

[Pool_Medic]

I’ve installed 100’s of safety covers, lighter are 5’ grids, get 3’ grids if your pools bigger than 16x32.

Every pool I service has a safety cover, from 18x36 to 22x44. I put them on and take off by myself. It’s not a big job, trust this old guy.

 

[dHeggen]

Is it mesh---meaning the water (and dirt) would drain through? The tarp we use now blocks all the dirt and leaves and detritus so the water is still nice and clean in the spring when we remove it. Of course, we have to pump the water (accumulated rain and melted snow) off the top, but no dirt gets washed into the pool over the non-use months.

I use a tarp also for last 2 years. I open to clear water saving lots of $$ on chemicals