Protecting the edges of a solar pool cover (PlastiDip?)

[ddas]

I just plumped for my third consecutive solar pool cover (you know, the blue bubble wrap ones). I got the thicker 12mm one, but in the past this hasn't lasted me more than 2 years. See my photo here: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

My pool covers tend not to last long, partially because the edges of my pool are rough rock and they easily tear the solar pool cover. So I'm brainstorming better solutions.

The edges that I cut with the scissors tend to be the weakest. I'm wondering if it might be worth my time to use Plasti-Dip spray to reinforce all the edges. Any thoughts on that? It may be pretty tricky to apply it over such a large circumference, but I'm curious if anyone's tried it before.

Last year, I cut the pool cover in half (i.e. 1 half for the shallow end, 1 half for the deep end) then bought long PVC pipe as a way to roll up the covers easily. But it still ended up being a ton of work and not easy for 1 person to do by themselves. This year I'm wondering if it's better to cut it into thirds...?

Any other creative ideas for managing this so it's easy-on-easy-off and as protected as possible?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Covers never last more than 2 seasons here. The heat and UV simply destroys them. Reels don’t help much either. Covers are just a pain and so I don’t bother with them.

You could try heat sealing the edges. Maybe find a commercial grade heat gun that lets you adjust output temp and experiment on trying to soften and melt the edges. There should a temperature at which you soften the plastic without charring it. That might be the easiest way rather than messing with a solvent.

 

[Teald024]

I've never tried the dip. How about cutting 1" off the perimeter of the cover so it doesn't brush the walls as much. My cover has a good 2-3" of space between the cover edge and the wall itself.