Automatic pool safety cover

[Out2dasea]

We are planning on remodeling our pool. We will need to add pool safety features (pool gate or cover). We are already doing a near complete demo of the pool, building out with new jacuzzi (repositioning from a detached location). We do use our pool almost year round, and we don't get many leaves in out pool except for when there is high wind. The frameless glass quote we have is about 17k installed. My wife dd not like the look of mesh pool fencing nor did she think we would remove it for at least 7 years, so if we are doing a fence, it'll be glass. We have not figured out cost of automatic pool covers yet but per my research, its about 15-25k and since we are rebuilding the pool, this can be part of the build.

For those of you with kids - do you have a gate vs pool cover? preference? how reliable is the cover? Can it be closed if the motor/electrical is out?
Do you feel an automatic pool cover is just as safe as gates?
Out pool is salt water (saline) and we will not go back to a standard chlorine pool. Is this an issue with a pool cover?
Out climate is hot and dry, not much rain with summer highs over 110-115 routinely. Would that be an issue?
Any brands that are more favorable for durability, serviceability, warranty?

We are located near Palm Springs/souther California.

Any other feedback is appreciated.

 

[an1vrsy]

Welcome to TFP!

An automatic pool cover (horizontal fence) was why we installed one. In Las Vegas, the code documentation was an auto cover or fence around the pool (not the property fence) or alarm all exterior doors with access to the backyard. With young grandchildren we went with a Cover Pools T4 pool cover. The T4 is designed for salt water pools. Las Vegas climate and Palm Springs climate are very similar. We have had no issues with our cover and would do it again.

 

[Awilli8203]

Welcome to TFP!

An automatic pool cover (horizontal fence) was why we installed one. In Las Vegas, the code documentation was an auto cover or fence around the pool (not the property fence) or alarm all exterior doors with access to the backyard. With young grandchildren we went with a Cover Pools T4 pool cover. The T4 is designed for salt water pools. Las Vegas climate and Palm Springs climate are very similar. We have had no issues with our cover and would do it again.

We have 6 grandkids so we put in the auto cover so when the cover is closed we don’t worry about anything. The fence we put in was a fence approved for pools as far as height and not being able to be climbed. The most important part of the fence was that it completely blocks access from the house and patio to the pool. It also has a self closing and locking gate. The lock is one of the ones made for pool gates that is a key lock and a pull up latch that is about 55 inches off the ground so little kids can’t open the gate even if it unlocked. For pool rules, I’m sure there are many good ideas, but the one that my wife and I have done is to say that no one of any age is ever inside the pool area without either my wife or my self inside the pool area as well. The cover plus the fence provides layered protection So if one fails the other protects.

 

[flynwill]

An auto cover has a a bunch of advantages beyond safety. Your pool will stay warmer and cleaner as well. However in the Desert climate, mid summer the warmer part isn't welcome and you will likely find yourself leaving the cover open just to limit how hot the pool gets. You might want to consider adding a glacial pool cooler to the design.

 

[Out2dasea]

Welcome to TFP!

An automatic pool cover (horizontal fence) was why we installed one. In Las Vegas, the code documentation was an auto cover or fence around the pool (not the property fence) or alarm all exterior doors with access to the backyard. With young grandchildren we went with a Cover Pools T4 pool cover. The T4 is designed for salt water pools. Las Vegas climate and Palm Springs climate are very similar. We have had no issues with our cover and would do it again.

My pool currently stays knthe mod to high 80’s, sometimes into 90’s during neon summer days, and on a heatwave upwards of 93-95 for a few days/wk. given you have a similar climate, did you have to get a pool chiller to maintain a comfortable temperature?

 

[an1vrsy]

I do have a chiller. Yes, the pool water does get hot by June. Without the chiller, our water got up to 93 degrees. Not refreshing when the air temp is 100+. Using the Glacier GPC-215 for 10 hours we were able to keep the water at 85 degrees. If we ran the chiller much longer than that it would drop to the low 80s and my wife would say it’s too cold.

 

[Qwijib0]

I also have an auto cover in the desert, also didn't want a pool fence, and you can really mitigate summer heat gain by only running the pump at night pulling from the drain from midnight onward as long as you need to generate enough chlorine. With the cover on unless we're swimming, there's really not a lot of debris that requires skimming, and it's really only the top foot of water that gets scalding, and by midnight it's cooled enough that mixing doesn't impact the temperature much. I can keep the water around 86-87 degrees with this strategy.


I'm confident in it keeping my kids safe. I ended up with a cover-pools cover since it's what my builder installs and it's fine. I'm almost 5 years in and no issues other than one rope break which meant it was stuck open for a week.