Solar Cover Reel

[chinewalker]

Hi everyone!

I have a solar cover for my pool (18' round) and now I'm looking for the most convenient and inexpensive way to remove and store the cover. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Keith

[Watermom]

The age-old question --- what to do with the solar cover on a round AG pool. It is without a doubt a pain in the you-know-what to deal with it but it is definitely worth the hassle because it retains so much heat overnight that would otherwise be lost.

I also have a round pool and this is what I have done with my solar cover for the last few years. I cut mine into fourths which makes it much easier to manage. I take each fourth and roll it onto a long piece of PVC (capped on the ends) and then stack the four pieces of PVC on the deck and cover it with a couple of old white twin-sized sheets. If you don't cover it, it will get so hot in the middle that it can warp the PVC. (That is what happened to mine the first year I used the PVC.) The white sheet causes much of the sunlight to be reflected, thus lowering the heat inside the rolled up solar cover and prolonging the life of it.

There are others who have done other things, but this is what I do.

[chinewalker]

I actually hadn't thought of cutting it into smaller, more manageable pieces. I hate to because it's brand new, but I will definitely give it some thought. It sure would make it easier.

Any other ideas out there?

[Watermom]

I know what you mean about hating to cut it because it is brand new, but it sure made it easier for me! I can take the cover off and on by myself easily. Before, the thing was SO HUGE that it was terrible to try and do it by myself.

Anybody else have any ideas?

[chinewalker]

Did you quarter it like a pie or did you cut it into strips?

[Watermom]

I quartered it like a pie. Then, when I put it on, I just make sure the circular part goes around the perimeter. The two straight edges kind of overlap with the other adjacent pieces and that helps to keep it in place. Here are a few pics I took quickly to give you an idea of what I do.

In this first pic, you can kind of see what it is like rolled onto the PVC pole. Normally when I roll these up onto the pole, I am in the pool. When I took this pic today, I was standing on the outside of the pool and just quickly rolled it up. So, it isn't rolled up as neatly and as tightly around the pole as it usually would be. BTW -- the pole you see right behind the roll is not part of the rolled up section. It is just another pole that was floating in the water behind it when I took the picture..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--e2geukumEc/Th1_M2nVy0I/AAAAAAAAAGk/6dLFqnSozf8/s800/IMG_4145-ed.jpg

Second picture ---- Normally, all 4 of the pieces are laying flat on the surface of the water and then I lay the PVC poles across in a couple of spots to keep the pieces down flat. Since I was taking these pics while outside the pool and wasn't in the water, i just kind of yanked on the pieces to separate them a little so you could maybe see the individual pieces. You can see the piece on the upper right section of the picture. Also, in addition to the four quarted pieces of the cover, I also throw an extra piece cut from a previous solar cover onto the area around the steps. Again, it all looks kind of messy in these pics but normally is all laying neatly in there.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pny0zLBTevw/Th1_M5M-IfI/AAAAAAAAAGo/DOpTiHOPlaw/s800/IMG_4141-ed.jpg


On the last two pictures, I took a close-up showing one of the clips and the other one shows the clip holding the cover onto the pole. These are just inch-wide semi-circles cut from PVC. There is one at each end of the PVC pole. When I am starting to roll a piece up, i catch the edge of the cover with the clips. That holds the cover in place as I start to roll it up.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QMVrEORK0mc/Th1_Mwu5kII/AAAAAAAAAGs/xfAD4RNJC-s/s800/IMG_4135-ed.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0DP1Rhl9XFM/Th3Rsgzx6QI/AAAAAAAAAHU/exxNHnw66tE/s800/IMG_4143-ed.jpg


As I roll one piece of the cover onto a PVC pole, I can then easily -- by myself -- lift the piece out of the pool and lay them neatly on the deck against the rail so they are out of the way. Once all 4 pieces are laying there, I take a couple of white twin-sized bedsheets and cover them up to keep the heat level down inside the rolled up pieces of cover. That will prolong the life of the cover.

The whole process of getting all 4 rolled, lifted onto the deck and covered with a sheet takes me maybe 5 or 6 minutes and is easily done by one person. When I am ready to put them back onto the pool, again it doesn't take me more than 5 minutes and can be done easily by one person. That was never true before I cut it! Even with a couple of people helping, it was a pain in the butt. Plus, it was tough to get it onto the deck as one huge piece and it was just messy looking to have a heap of solar cover all bunched up on the deck.

Hope my idea may help somebody who is struggling to figure out how to manage their solar covers. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[CarlD]

How about cutting it into diamonds like a Chicago pizza? :)

They make solar reels for round pools. You roll up the cover then swing it away from the pool

Carl

[Watermom]

They make solar reels for round pools. You roll up the cover then swing it away from the pool

Carl

Yes, but to swing it away from the pool, you still have to clear the top rail of the pool. Hard to do. That cover is HEAVY especially when it has some water trapped in the rolls. Plus, a 24ft diameter is LONG. There is also the concern about the weight of that huge piece of vinyl sagging in the middle.

I have thought and thought about this through the years and cutting it into fourths has been the best choice for me and my pool. I wanted something that I could manage by myself because 9 times out of 10, I am getting in the pool by myself. In the years before I started doing it this way, I was just lifting it a little at a time out of the water into a heap onto the deck. Not too attractive, also not too good for the cover. But, by cutting it into smaller pieces, I can easily roll each section up onto the PVC and then lift them out one at a time to neatly stack on the deck and then cover with a white sheet. All it cost me was the price of 4 pieces of PVC and some endcaps. Cheap, easy, neatly rolled and stacked on the pool deck and I can do it by myself. Works for me.

[matcin2531]

That is awesome. You have a creative mind for sure.

[chinewalker]

FYI -- I edited my post #6 above to include pics. The reason for this reply is to bump it up to show a new post because simply editing a thread does not make it reappear as an unread post. If you are interested, scroll back up to post #6 to see the pics.

It looks like the system works quite well. I especially like the clips you made for it. Good job. I'm still debating how to do it. Since mine is only 18', I'm considering just cutting it in half first and giving that a try.

What happens when you turn on the pump? My cover is still in one piece and the return line from the pump blows it all to one side once in a while.

[Watermom]

As long as my return jet is aimed downward, it does not move the cover. If it is aimed at the surface of the water where I would normally keep it to push floating debris into the skimmer, then it does push the cover.

[Leehicks79]

I have the same size pool as you did then. Do you remember how long each pipe was? Thanks!

[Watermom]

Each of the pieces of pvc was 10 feet long.

[Watermom]

This thread is a few years old. There is actually another thread started this week where someone was asking the same question ----- how to manage a large round solar cover on an AG pool.

I used the system explained in this thread for quite a few years and it worked well. But, last year, I ran across a product called a Solar Roller Cover Stick that I now use instead. Here is a link to the product in case someone missed that other thread and is interested in this product.

http://www.solarroller.com/

[Watermom]

Bumping this up so one of our new members can find it easier.

[mommak]

Where did you get your cover from? Also, the mil of the cover?
Getting so excited to swim and play in our pool.

[Watermom]

I got it from Lowe's. I have no idea what the mil is. I think this is my third year with this one.

[Scrapple]

What great idea! I bought a solar cover for my 15x30 oval AG pool. Have used it once because it is such a bear. I guess this would work for my cover too. Going to try it!

Thanks :)

[Watermom]

What great idea! I bought a solar cover for my 15x30 oval AG pool. Have used it once because it is such a bear. I guess this would work for my cover too. Going to try it!

Thanks :)
Which idea are you referring to? There are a couple of different ones in this thread.

[Scrapple]

All of them :D

[mommak]

Watermom,
What size pvc did you use? I see that the length of each pole was 10 ft, do you remember the circumference/width? We decided that we are going to use your idea until we have the time to make our own cover reel system.

[Watermom]

I'm pretty sure I used 1-1/2" pvc but other sizes would also work. Since your pool has a diameter of 18', you will not need 10 ft sections of pole.

This method actually worked pretty well. It was just slower than the Solar Roller Cover Stick that I use now since there were four separate pieces to be rolled up. But, it was cheaper!

Let me know how it works out for you.

(Hint --- while you are making the clips, go ahead and make some extras to have on hand if you lose any or if they break.)

[Watermom]

How is managing your solar cover going for you? Which idea did you end up using?

[mommak]

Watermom, I ended up cutting my solar cover into quarters and just roll up each piece by hand. It is kind of a pain in the rear but it's manageable for the time being. It only takes about 10-15 minutes,which isn't too bad. We have had such a rainy, chilly summer so our solar cover has been on a lot.

[CarlD]

Despite all my jokes, here is one serious bit of advice:
Do not expect a solar cover to last more than 3 years. I've had all kinds from thin and cheap, to thick and expensive and they ALL die by the end of the 3rd season. The warranty ONLY covers seam failuress, not the bubbles. So i get the cheapest blue or clear one I can, and after 3 seasons, it doesn't hurt NEARLY as much to trash it as it does those that cost 2-3x as much, because they die before the 4th season as well.