Solar Cover

[Verris]

Hello,

I'm looking to add a solar cover to our pool which we have yet to open for the season. My problem is the water feature at the end of the pool blocks the ideal location for a reel. I'm wondering if anyone has any input on my idea before I go and waste money on it.

I'm thinking of getting a shorter reel, and only attaching half of the cover to it, and before reeling it in, I would have to fold the cover in half.

Few pictures of the pool









Red section is blocked by the plants/rocks, green is ideal placement for a reel to be out of the way. Purple would be the 1/3 folded over cover.

At this point I'm not sure it would be worth the effort for the reel, and maybe just pull the whole thing out and fold it up manually.

 

[mas985]

I had a similar issue with a diving board and this is what I did:

DIY Solar Cover Roller

Someone in another thread had asked about how I built my own solar cover roller. So here it is. Initially, I had purchased a SolarRoller and it worked pretty well for about three years after which the aluminum pipe corroded through. So I looked at several alternatives and came up with the...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Have you thought about using a portable movable reel with locking wheels? A cover and reel and not that heavy. I was able to easily move mine around alone (16' x 32' pool). With two people, you could move it out of the fenced pool area.

I used a reel at my previous home. I ran the reel inline with the skimmer. The clamps create an upward fold in the cover. I took advantage of this fold by raising it up a bit to create a dam that I used to rinse debris into the skimmer. My cover was always clean when I removed it and all the junk on top of the cover didn't end up in the pool. Your skimmer location would be perfect for using this method.

I'm not able to use a reel at my current home. I cut the cover lengthwise into two main sections. I pull the cover out of the water before rolling/folding it up. Kinda a pain, but much more manageable than trying to remove a full cover.