Backup for coverstar cover pump

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Green Goblin

Gold Supporter
Nov 5, 2012
119
Tennessee
We have a coverstar cover. We are new to this, got it in March. We use a cover pump, like everyone else.

What do you do if the power goes out during a rain storm?

We're thinking of getting a standby generator installed. We could use a portable generator for the pump, if we're home when power goes out.
 
What bad thing are you worried about happening before the power comes back on?
 
Thanks for answering

The rain will build up on the cover and won't the weight of the water cause damage to the cover or the system?

One time I had the pump out, but I didn't realize it wasn't plugged in, and it rained-- not a particularly bad storm-- and there was about 1.5-2 feet of water on the cover in the middle. It seemed to be pretty stretched out, the manual says this isn't a good thing.
 
My worry is that the weight of the rainwater will cause the vinyl cover to break at the taut end (opposite end from the motor). That's the only place there will be real strain on the material.

When we bought this house & pool, the auto-cover was pre-torn at the taut end. We didn't ask the owners what happened, we just negotiated for them to fix it as part of the contract. They left behind a Polaris cleaner, but no cover pump. So I infer they didn't use a pump & their tear was from rain damage (or maybe something fell through the cover).

I've also wondered what to do in a big storm and no power. Never came up with a good solution. Maybe add as much water to the pool as possible to give the cover as much support as possible.
 
Newdude, I have thought about that. I own a thing called an arkpak, basically a deep cycle battery in a box with with a charger, and some assorted sockets to allow me to plug things in.

It might work, in theory. With the right setup, a battery powered pump should be able to move at least a few thousand gallons of water. My pool works out to about 270 gallons per inch, so with the right setup I could have a backup that would cover 10 inches of rainfall-- that's pretty good for backup-- how often do you get more than 10 inches of rain with no power?

The problems seem to be: what if you're not home to set up the pump? even if you are, what set up do you use? I have looked into it a bit, it's not too easy to find a good pump for a pool cover that runs DC on a battery. Any suggestions?

I can plug my regular pump into my arkpak, it has an inverter, but my understanding is the inverter will take away a good deal of the battery power.
 
Rocket J, if you are home and get outside quickly, you may be able to use a 3/4 inch drive ratchet to open your cover if it's a coverstar cover. I have not done this myself, but it probably would not be the most fun you have in a downpour-- may not even really be practically possible depending on the circumstances.

OTOH, if you're home and able to do something like that, it seems like a portable generator would be much easier to use to run a cover pump.
 
A bilge pump for a boat is already 12V and has a float switch to only come on when needed.
 
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