Ways to prevent pool cover from blowing off in the winter (strong winds)?

[theskyisthelimit99]

Last year i closed my pool.. put an inner tube in the middle.. (which to me didnt seem big enough), forget what size.. for my intex 18 foot.. with deck around it.

Biggest issue i had was clamping down the side under the deck.. next to impossible to get the wire around that crack where it overhangs slightly.. and also hard to weigh down weights.

I used bleach bottles filled with water.. maybe 4 or 5 on the deck free part.. and 1 or 2 under the deck..
We get very strong winds in the winter.. maybe 50mph.. at times the cover by february, was half blown ontop of itself, pushed away.. ropes snapped (granted i was using thin nylon kite string) on a few bottles too.


What are some alternative ways of doing this..

Any alternative suggestions for the inflatable underneith.. the pillow i see on amazon has bad reviews.

What about tent stakes in the ground.. any certain type/model that should stick in there well enough? I see some on amazon, but i'm not sure on how strong they are with their hold.
Any recommendations on model/size rope to use (assuming nylon cord of some kind or maybe even more expensive bungies?)

I saw a wrap mentioned.. but it would probably be very hard or impossible to wrap around the outer edge the whole way.

I'm leaning towards maybe 6-10 stakes in the ground with some kind of nylon rope to the grommets this year.

Thanks in advance

 

[niteshift38]

Hello from Buffalo, NY! I too had the wind issue years ago. What I do is go 1 size bigger for my pool cover (28' cover on my 24' pool). That with the steel cable wrapped around and about 6 gal jugs spaced evenly around. I make sure to tie them through both the grommet and cable. I use a cheap pool pillow beneath (covering the plug with duct tape after inflating), but usually only get a year or two from the pillow.



I can see the cover rising and falling up the sides depending on wind speeds over the winter (the 6 jugs seem to be enough to slide it back down when the wind dies down)(I haven't had any issues with the cable scraping the posts because it's vinyl coated). Never had it blow completely off since going bigger. In my pic you can notice the jugs on the table ready to go. Hope this might give you an idea and/or option!!!

Good Luck !!!

 

[theskyisthelimit99]

Hello from Buffalo, NY! I too had the wind issue years ago. What I do is go 1 size bigger for my pool cover (28' cover on my 24' pool). That with the steel cable wrapped around and about 6 gal jugs spaced evenly around. I make sure to tie them through both the grommet and cable. I use a cheap pool pillow beneath (covering the plug with duct tape after inflating), but usually only get a year or two from the pillow.


I can see the cover rising and falling up the sides depending on wind speeds over the winter (the 6 jugs seem to be enough to slide it back down when the wind dies down)(I haven't had any issues with the cable scraping the posts because it's vinyl coated). Never had it blow completely off since going bigger. In my pic you can notice the jugs on the table ready to go. Hope this might give you an idea and/or option!!!

Good Luck !!!

Thanks for that tip..

I may do the same.. go bigger.. 21 instead of 18 foot cover for the 18, ill defniitely try spikes in the ground / and or the jugs too.. i dont think i used enough last year.. i found 10 spikes online for around $20 and i'm going to run the cable through them almost directly up to the cover.. i thought about putting them outside maybe 2 feet from the inner ring of rock around my pool, but i think more directly below,ala jug style will work better.. or i could return them and just use more jugs too

 

[richierich]

I use these 2" spring clamps from home depot, they are like $1 each. I use 10 for my 15 foot above ground pool. Works great.

 

[mariane]

We hang jugs of water tied with twine from the grommets and no cable. On the deck portion, we lay the shallow end portion of the cover on the deck and put the ladder/stairs weights on top of the cover. Holds it in place well.

 

[theskyisthelimit99]

I probably should have went the route of the bigger cover this year (21 instead of 18) but i chose to go with the old one for now.. i managed to get a good line around the pool this time, under the deck too, used the spikes in ground..

However.. 2 things.. the center inflatable moved on me at some point.. is this ok, just so long as its in there..

The other thing is.. as in the pic, i now have a lake of water on top which will only grow and pull it down more.. last year i tried poking small holes in the cover to let it flow under, but since it sits on the water at those points, it does no good.. any ways to get around this or just hope for the best in the coming months?

Thanks

 

[JoeSelf]

Clear 3/8 tubing inside of PVC or plastic conduit. Clear so you can see the water. Inside pipe to keep straight and hold down in water.