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your inbox is full - couldn't send it so I'm posting it.
Local guy that makes them from (near as a I can tell) 4" aluminum irrigation pipe and fittings, some welding and bearings. Unfortunately, he only sells local to the Brantford/Hamilton area in Southern Ontario, Canada.
I had a really hard time getting one too, then literally stumbled upon this guy 10 minutes from my house.
My main pipe is 31-32 feet long and he said that was as long as he could ever go.
They are not that hard to make if you can weld or know someone who can. Our first design used all black iron and was too heavy and sagged mid reel. Then my DH made our current one with 2-10' sections of conduit pipe (very lightweight) welded together running across onto ss bearings - bearing unit was welded into a "slit" cut across/into the end of the black iron pipe uprights (sturdy) set into the ground with concrete. These could also be mounted onto wooden posts or something else, we just figured on having it very sturdy and permanently mounted. The one end has a heavy duty crank handle attached off the outside of the bearing unit - the handle swivels on the base to prevent hand chafing. Its all set about 3' back from pool and 1.5' or so above top of pool height - a bit higher is better so cover does not snag rails or sides. Five straps attach cover to conduit pipe. We used rivets and flexible fabric glue to attach straps on cover with detachable ends on pipe so cover can be removed for winter.
It works very well and can be operated with one person. It took less than a day to build the entire thing, it looks nice, pretty clean and works smoothly and great. It was not very expensive - much less than store bought and then we have nothing mounted on our pool or to move back and forth either.
NWMNMom,
I'd love to see a pic if you can. What diameter is the conduit?
Sorry it took me so long to get back - we have been busy with school startup, etc. Anyways, it is 2"x10' lengths welded. MUCH nicer than the original iron pipe we used which sagged and was heaving to crank. This moves so slick that sometimes I have to watch that I don't unreel too fast (leaving the cover in a pile on the ground) I think maybe I actually do have some pictures somewhere on the site in an old post, not sure if it shows it very well or not...I'll have to look again. If not, I will sure post again. It was so simple to build and the price was right. Just gotta know how to weld or know someone who does - DH has a nice portable wirefeed welder so he got supplies and the whole thing done in less time it would have taken to get one shipped in from a store - one day.
Sorry for the box being full. Thanks for the replies.
I got lucky. I called 3 different pool places locally and found one place that had
them. It was $300 but we'll have it here and I'll install it in the spring.