Solar Blanket Reel/Roller Setup & Tips for AG Pools!

[huskerfan]

Here is one example of setting up your solar reel/roller to make putting and taking your solar blanket/cover on/off your AG pool easier! We have an 18x34 oval AG pool with 54" steel walls (other forum members use this same method on their AG round pools). I wanted the reel set up permanently and independently just off one of the short ends of the pool so it would be out of the way completely while we're in the pool, yet easy enough to use that my daughter or I could manage. It is by NO means a perfect system, but the best I've tried for my pool setup. You may have to make your own adjustments depending on the size of your yard or the setup of your pool, deck, your height... I used suggestions from other forum members, added to my husband's handiwork and here's my setup:



Tip: When you attach your solar cover to the aluminum telescoping pole using straps and hardware, I suggest buying 3/4" wide thin nylon strapping by the foot and cut your own lengths needed, and burn the ends to prevent fraying. You will need quite long straps on the outside as shown in the picture below. I use a 14 mil Magni-clear solar blanket, only kind I’ve used so nothing to compare with. I’m on my 7th season with our pool and on my 2nd blanket. After approx. 3-4 years the bubbles started flaking off the underside of my first blanket, along with a relative reeling the blanket up without knowing how to do it properly, and it got ripped up badly where I have the slots cut to go around my handrails to my steps.



I purchased a used commercial grade reel, but my husband only ended up using the aluminum pole- he made the rest himself. He started by cementing in two metal poles approx. 2 1/2" round. They are set about 1 ft outside each side of the pool off one of the short ends of the pool, and are topped with a 1 ft tall approx. 3" round pole that the handle, aluminum telescoping pole and the other end are attached to. These are adjustable up and down by loosening/tightening the two bolts mounted to each one. The pictures are pretty self-explanatory. When assembled the bottom of the aluminum telescoping pole is 5'8" above the ground, and the middle of the pole (mine is 6” in diameter) sits approx. 2-3" outside the outermost tip of the top seat clamp in the middle of the short end when the cover is rolled up on it, so I can reach the cover when standing inside the pool. Also if I need to wash the cover off- I just roll it up off the pool, and unroll the cover onto the ground and hose it off as I roll it back up onto the reel. Take into consideration that I'm only 5'3" tall, so set your height based on your individual needs. When you’re ready to start rolling your cover up off the pool, you will need to reach the cover inside the pool, on top of the water, from underneath the aluminum telescoping pole, to "start" the blanket out of the pool by hand to keep the end of the blanket from catching under the top rail and tearing your straps from the cover. I can actually stand underneath my aluminum telescoping pole which makes doing this much easier.



The down-side to this type of setup is when you reel the cover off the pool it will catch under the top rails where it curves in close to the end of the pool. If you're taking the solar cover off by yourself- it's helpful to have a handle on both ends of the pole as you have to walk back and forth a couple times to pull the cover out from under the top rail after you roll it up a little ways, otherwise you'll rip your cover or the straps will tear out. Ideally, with two people it's a breeze as you reel with one hand and use the other to hold the blanket up and keep it rolling smoothly onto the pole, while the second person keeps the blanket rolling on smoothly on the other side, preventing it from catching under the top rail. I'm still trying to find a permanent solution to this problem, but in the meantime, I cut two pieces of vinyl flooring I had extra of- approx. 2ft x 6ft each, and before I start rolling up the cover I lay this on the top rail in the problem areas on each side, lift the cover up so it sits on top of this vinyl piece and it helps to keep it from catching under the rails as bad. It's another step of putting them out and picking them back up when you're done- but we each grab one and put on our sides, then my daughter usually picks them up and puts them away while I fasten a tarp strap around the middle of my blanket after it’s rolled up on the pole so the wind doesn't unroll it. Just a reminder: if you have hand rails attached to your deck and your steps inside the pool, you’ll have to cut slits in the cover to go around them, so when you roll the cover up you’ll have to lift that area up over the top rail as they’ll catch easily under the rail and you’ll tear them.



Now for the positives: the blanket and reel/pole are on the outside of your pool and doesn't interfere with your swimming at all, and it's a breeze to put the blanket back on the pool! One person can do it easily from inside the pool, or two people can walk it out from outside the pool. I remove the tarp strap I put around the middle of the blanket when I reeled it up, and I drape it over the top of my skimmer basket on the outside of my pool, near the reel/pole, so it’s ready to put back on the next time. Then I just pull the blanket as I walk backwards and pull it until I have about 6 ft or so of blanket draped over the pool. Then I fold the blanket back over itself towards the reel/pole about 3 ft, then go to each side and throw/fold the end of the blanket back over itself (shown in the photos), so then when you go back to the middle of the blanket and pull it the rest of the way onto the pool it won't take on water on top of the blanket, and by pulling on two layers of the blanket instead of one there’s less risk of tearing or damaging the end of the blanket by pulling on it. Then when you get it clear onto the pool, just unfold the ends and you're done! It pulls so amazingly easy back onto the pool! Again, do watch if you have slits cut in your solar blanket to accommodate hand rails like I have attached to my walk-in steps, so they don't get caught under the rail as they're more susceptible to rip. When it’s time to close at the end of the season- make sure your blanket is clean and I actually leave mine on the roller and cover it with a canvas/type cover that zips on that I got with the reel to protect it from UV rays and the elements of winter in Nebraska.

This all sounds harder and more time consuming than it actually takes; from start to finish- it takes about 3 minutes to reel up the blanket off the pool with two of us- about 6 minutes by myself. We had to manually roll and unroll the blanket and lay it on the rail out of the way by hand a couple times before we got the reel installed- do that just once and you'll never complain about the little glitches in rolling it up with the reel/pole!

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