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==In-Ground Pools== | ==In-Ground Pools== | ||
| − | Mesh | + | Pool cover material can be either mesh or solid or solid with a mesh panel down the middle. |
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| + | Mesh covers let any rain, snow, ice and debris fall into the pool, solid covers don’t. Mesh covers are lighter and easier to handle then solid covers. Some covers claim to be 99% UV Block Mesh.<ref>https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/pool-covers-mesh-vs-solid.187203/</ref> | ||
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| + | With a solid cover you have to keep a pump on top of it to drain away the standing water that accumulates. Solid covers tend to keep the pool water cleaner over the winter with less debris falling into it. Solid also blocks sunlight so algae cant grow. | ||
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| + | If you live in a wooded area and a lot of leaves will be falling on your cover, you may want to go solid. Decomposing leaves on a mesh cover can create a tea bag effect into your water. | ||
In-ground pool covers are secured by [[Pool Cover Anchors]] on the deck or grass. | In-ground pool covers are secured by [[Pool Cover Anchors]] on the deck or grass. | ||
Revision as of 01:11, 21 April 2020
THIS IS A DRAFT WORK IN PROCESS
Pool Covers
Covering the pool in the winter can protect it from the weather and make for an easier opening with clear water. The type of cover that is best for you depends on the weather you get in your region of the country. Does the cover need to handle the weight of a few feet of snow? Do you get high winds?
Pool covers can also provide safety that no people, children or animals fall into the pool. To be a safety cover it must have strong material and anchors to support the weight of being walked on.
In-Ground Pools
Pool cover material can be either mesh or solid or solid with a mesh panel down the middle.
Mesh covers let any rain, snow, ice and debris fall into the pool, solid covers don’t. Mesh covers are lighter and easier to handle then solid covers. Some covers claim to be 99% UV Block Mesh.[1]
With a solid cover you have to keep a pump on top of it to drain away the standing water that accumulates. Solid covers tend to keep the pool water cleaner over the winter with less debris falling into it. Solid also blocks sunlight so algae cant grow.
If you live in a wooded area and a lot of leaves will be falling on your cover, you may want to go solid. Decomposing leaves on a mesh cover can create a tea bag effect into your water.
In-ground pool covers are secured by Pool Cover Anchors on the deck or grass.
Custom Covers
Meyco, Looploc, GLI, Merlin are all major brands for custom in-gorund pool covers. Pool Covers Direct is an online source for custom made pool covers.
Standard Covers
Automatic Covers
An automatic cover prevents children and pets from getting into your pool when you can't be there and it minimizes evaporation and retains heat in the pool water.
Automatic covers open and close at the turn of a switch. You need to have the right shape and size pool for an automatic cover to fit, usually rectangle. Freeform shaped pools cannot have an automatic cover.
An automatic pool cover typically has a vault at one end of the pool, either sunken in ground or on the deck, where the motor is and the cover rolls into. Tracks on the side of the pool guide the covers movement. The tracks can be built into the sides of the coping or placed on the deck along the sides of the pool. A sunken box should have a good drain so water does not accumulate in it.
Automatic covers are not designed to support the weight of snow. In areas where a pool with an automatic cover is winterized the automatic cover will be replaced by an in-ground pool cover anchored to the ground.
Lantham Pool Products manufacturers the Coverstar[2] automatic pool cover.
The autocover controls can be connected to the Jandy Aqualink and it will lower the SWG output when it senses the autocover is closed. Otherwise if you have an SWG the FC will increase while the cover is closed and then decrease when it's open due to being exposed to the sun's UV rays.
Installation is a very exacting process. If the installer is not an expert, the cover will never work correctly. If the installer knows what they're doing, the cover will work well.
Maintenance items on an autocover include:
- replacing ropes when they break.
- undermount tracks pulling away from the coping
- motor failures
It's a tough pill to swallow, but then again, an autocover is a luxury item with repair bills to match.[3]
Above Ground Pools
Above ground pools have different cover requirements then in-ground pools. You don't have to worry about the cover being walked on, but the methods of anchoring down a cover in an above ground pool can be challenging. Especially if you are in a high wind area.
Often a tarp is thrown over the pool and tied down.
