I've seen the videos...but the ring that goes around the stud in the deck is significantly larger than the actual tool. So when I tried to "spin" it around to free up the spring, it just moved around in the extra space and didn't have enough leverage to lift the spring off the stud. My cover was on pretty tight and I tried in multiple spots with the same result. I got the cover off by just kicking the springs off, but I'm wondering if there's some kind of extra trick to this? Or do I somehow have rings that are just abnormally large (I don't think they're deformed - they're still circular).
Using the looploc/cover tool...
- Thread starter doncaruana
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,062
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I don’t think there is any special trick. Do whatever works. I will use a very large screwdriver to pop the spring over the stud.
I Insert the tool in the free space and kick with the side of my foot while twisting but I need my boots on for sure. It takes some force on the stubborn ones.
Good to know it's not always as easy as all these videos!! Not sure it's even worth the hassle for removal at this point. Easier to kick or just take a 2x4.
hummm, never watched any vids but the ring has to be larger then the tool so the tool end can fit inside the ring, twist till the end of the tool is between the ring and the stud, bend the tool towards the pool and the ring slides up the tool , lift and it falls off.
That's the part that doesn't happen. The tool never had enough leverage to get between the stud and the ring.
The leverage is the twist of your wrist, no ? Maybe i am on a different planet on this one !
We are all on the same page, But cover size and which spring it is can make a big difference in how easy it comes off. Also, depending on the order they come off, sometimes the weight of the cover really wrenches down on the remaining springs. I’m a bigger dude and I have to put some meat behind them more often than not. I can only imagine my smaller wife trying. (Or in the interest of 2020 PCness a dude the size of my smaller wife).
I'm not small. 
The problem is the ring is so big that when I twist, it just kind of moves the ring around so that it never has enough to slide behind the stud. The cover was on tight, but I couldn't get a single one of the springs off with the tool - they all had the same issue. I imagine it will have more usefullness putting the cover on.
The problem is the ring is so big that when I twist, it just kind of moves the ring around so that it never has enough to slide behind the stud. The cover was on tight, but I couldn't get a single one of the springs off with the tool - they all had the same issue. I imagine it will have more usefullness putting the cover on.The bottom of the tool / pipe has half of it cut away right ? That cut away drops over the head of the stud and the longer piece is now down low enough so when you turn the pipe it goes behind the stud, using the stud to hold the pipe in place.
I'm sure if my wife was to need to do it she would snap a pair of vice grips on the pipe. 180 deg turn and done.
I'm sure if my wife was to need to do it she would snap a pair of vice grips on the pipe. 180 deg turn and done.
Won't stay on the stud. The spring is to close to the top of the stud so it spins right off. It's not like I lack the strength to turn it.
Yes, there is just a little meat there for the pipe to go over as mind is also. I just use down pressure to keep it down and then twist. I wonder if your studs are rounded as that would make it hard to do for sure. Mind has nice square shoulders and around 3/16" above the spring.
Take the dang studs out altogether with the Allen wrench. After you get a few out it will hopefully loosen the rest enough to go back to using the tool. I’ve done it a couple of times on real stubborn ones. It kinda shoots off but is heavy enough it won’t launch across the pool. Maybe in the pool.... but right at the edge.
I already got it off.
After fussing with it for a bit, I was like "screw this"! I just was trying to figure out why it wasn't working all neat like it did in the videos I saw.
Actually it was the incredibly rare ‘unscrew this’..
I have over 50 attach points and I've never used that tool to remove the springs from the studs. I use a spring puller... T-handle with a 'J' hook on the end. Its used mostly to set up trampolines, though my PB recommended it to remove the pool cover.
Insert the hook into the ring, give it a little tug, and it comes right off the stud. Very easy, even if your cover is stretched pretty tight.
Insert the hook into the ring, give it a little tug, and it comes right off the stud. Very easy, even if your cover is stretched pretty tight.
Saturn94
Bronze Supporter
- Mar 11, 2015
- 1,864
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Saturn94
Bronze Supporter
- Mar 11, 2015
- 1,864
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Mine most resembles this one, though with a more rounded hook. There's all kinds. Here's some more. It took me just a few minutes to release all 50 springs.