Please help with choosing Loop Loc cover

[TomC]

Hi guys, we've had a solid winter pool cover , the type held down with water bags, since we had our pool built in 2001. I'm tired of replacing leaking water bags and moving around the cover pump all winter. My boys are tired of removing the tons of leaves that accumulate on the pool cover too. Our current cover is beyond repair, and I've decided to bite the bullet and get a Loop Loc type cover. There are a couple of different types available, a mesh cover which lets water and light through, and 2 solid covers, one with mesh panels to let water through and one with a cover pump. I'd love to hear from folks that have these types of covers, what do you love about them and what do you hate about them. I have pavers around my pool, a slide, a deep end ladder, and a diving board.

1. For those with pavers, did you experience any cracked pavers due to the installation process?
2. For those with mesh covers, is the pool water very swampy upon opening?
3. For those with the solid covers, do you need to move the pump around frequently?
4. Does it even make sense to get a solid cover with the mesh drain panels?
5. With a mesh cover, how do you prevent rain/snow water from overflowing and getting behind the liner?

Thanks,
Tom

[waste]

Hey Tom. I don't know about 'Loop Loc' specifically, but other manufacturers now have a tighter weave mesh cover that reduces the amount of sunlight that get's to the water. It's a great mix of the benefits of both mesh and solid covers.

As for the pavers, it's likely that a couple will get damaged by drilling through any one of them :( However, you can drill the edges (where 2 or more meet) fairly safely :)

If you want a little more from me on this, I'll gladly tell you what I know :cool:

[TomC]

Hey Ted, thanks for the response. I'd appreciate any info you can give me about these covers. I won't be installing this myself, going to have a pro do it. So I really just need help with my choices. If it matters, I have many deciduous trees that will dump leaves on the pool cover, my kids are all older, and I have a tough time keeping my dogs off of the pool cover.

Thanks,

Tom

[CarlD]

I don't have pavers but I have a mesh safety cover and I wouldn't have anything else. Surprisingly little junk gets in the pool over the winter. If I open in mid-April (as is my usual goal. That way, with solar panels, we can swim by early May), I have a fine detritus on the bottom that my robotic cleans up (usually with 4 passes) and clear water. I try to remember to check the water level once a month and lower it with a siphon if it's high. I usually lower my water at least a foot, below the returns, in the fall.

Carl

[TomC]

Thanks Carl, I think I'm leaning towards the mesh cover too. The new Loop Loc's are supposed to have a very tightly woven mesh.

Tom

[waste]

Tom, the tight weave mesh is what I would get and will recommend to you.

One thing I want to mention is that by using the 'lawn stakes' to secure the cover, it will no longer be a true 'safety cover'. As a practical matter, it still is but the manufacturer won't consider it a safety cover if > 5% of the anchors are lawn stakes.

You'll love the cover, the dogs can walk on it, you can use a leaf blower to get the leaves off of it, water/ melted snow passes into the pool - you'll have a bit of silt on the floor when you open and may have a little algae on the top step when you open, but you won't open to the 'swamp' many regular mesh cover owners do.

Also, as opposed to a solid cover, the mesh will dry in the bag so you don't have to wreck a section of your yard waiting for the cover to dry.

One quick tip, hang the bag off a rafter so that mice and carpenter ants don't get in and wreck it with their nests ;)


(1700)

[TomC]

Thanks Ted and Carl for the advice. Going to call today and seal the deal with the mesh cover. Looking forward to an easier winter with the new pool cover. Last winter, here on Long Island was brutal, the pool cover tore and I opened to a leafy swamp. I also ended up pumping out half my pool, instead of just the water on the cover. My version of partial drain and fill:)

Cheers,

Tom