Solar Reels.

[crazimom]

Hey Aranon ! I sent you a private message about the reel I have....
crazimom

[Aranon]

Thanks for the info. So it is pretty easy to un-roll and roll up by yourself.

I thought about attaching mine to my fence and thought about adding some type of water sprayer to spray toward the bottom of the roll when rolling it up to clean it. I seem to get a lot of dirt and leaves on it.

Maybe use PVC or one of those water hoses that spray the length of the hose mounted underneath so when I roll it up it cleans the cover and the dirt and water come off the bottom of the reel as I roll it up and drop down thru the deck to the ground and that way it would clean the cover as I roll it up.

Anyone ever rig up anything like that before?

Aranon

[bbb]

I have a Horizon HV-200 "commercial grade" reel - I got it because it fits above my diving board, it has self-contained steel ball bearings holding the axle, and it is all metal. It was a bear to assemble but it has been holding up well. I think a reel is one of those things you don't want to skip on qualitywise. The bigger the reel, the more important it is to have sturdy construction and quality ball bearings. If the reel isn't easy to turn you're much more likely to get frustrated. Also, once you have a reel, make sure to cover your reel with white plastic or cloth once it is rolled up - the hot sun on many layers of rolled up solar cover is not good for it!