Pool Hooks For Solar Cover

The Best Solar Pool Cover Reel For An Above Ground Pool

To tell the truth, its been very hard to find a decent above ground solar cover reel. Ive personally tested several throughout my years in the pool industry and I havent found one I could confidently recommend.

Ill continue to keep my eye out. But I suggest that if you have an above ground pool, stick with taking the cover on and off yourself. Itll be much easier than installing a solar cover reel every season.

If you have a fairly large above ground pool, I recommend cutting the cover into more manageable pieces so its easier to remove. Dont worry, the cover will still work when its cut.

Aluminum Or Stainless Steel Telescopic Pole

Both metals are sturdy and can stand up to the elements. The deciding factor will be how large your pool is, which correlates to how large the cover is. If you have a big pool, the cover will be bigger, and therefore heavier, so stainless steel may be a little better able to hold the cover and remain sturdy.

Above Ground Pool Solar Cover Hacks

Solar Covers are a wonderful invention, but Ive always added that they have a good bit of hassle factor, in their use. They can be cumbersome to put on and off the pool, and even more when the solar cover is 4-5 ft above ground.

Todays post highlights the many sparks of genius from pool owners across the fruited plain, who have found ways to deal with the hassle factor of solar blankets.

With a hat tip to DIY pioneers, heres ways to hack a solar pool cover, along with regular retail methods to manage them.

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Utility Bill Rate Design

Good electricity rate design allows you to save money when you save energy. This might sound intuitive but not all provinces are same. Superior designs have low fixed monthly fees and tiered electricity rates. Inferior designs have high fixed fees and flat electricity rates.

Ontario scores near the front of the pack when it comes to these factors having time-of-use rates and fixed monthly fees of $26 .

For example, reducing your electricity bill from 1,500 to 750 kWh per month will save you 54% on your electricity bill in British Columbia, 48% in , but only 43% in Ontario!

Note that fixed monthly fees dont disappear even if you switch to solar youll pay them as long as you remain connected to the grid. But this isnt a bad thing $26/mo is a small price to pay for using the grid as your back-up energy source!

The only way to completely remove your fixed costs is to go off the grid, something most homeowners in Ontario dont do because of high battery costs.

Disconnecting from the grid also means that you wont be able to participate in your utilitys net metering program.

Solar Saddle Cover Holder For Above Ground Pools

Easily get your pool cover out of the way and in safe hands when you’re using the pool with the Solar Saddle Cover Holder. This unique cradling system keeps your solar cover off of your deck or lawn. Made of 5 smooth and rounded saddle holders, it’s quick to mount to your pool and quick to remove with the breakaway connection.

Store your cover in the Solar Saddle by pulling it off of your pool, sliding it into the cradles and folding it accordion-style. When it’s time to put it back on, pull the cover back up and over your pool top to reset your solar cover. This can be done while in the pool or out of it, along the sides.

Installtion of the Solar Saddle should take approximately 20-30 minutes.

Includes:

• 10 stainless steel pan head bolts and hex nuts
• 5 mounting pins to attach the saddles to the brackets
• All necessary intallation hardware is included

Required tools:

• Drill with ¼” metal drill bit
• Small adjustable wrench

Mounting Instructions:

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Doheny’s Lowest Price Guarantee

Shop with confidence at Doheny’s.

Our volume discounts guarantee the absolute lowest prices on all of our products: swimming pool supplies, chemicals, equipment and more. To prove it, if you find a lower total delivered price by a licensed and authorized pool supply catalog or website , we will refund you the difference. We will even guarantee our Low Price for 30 days after your purchase. Simply contact our Customer Care Team at: or call us at 1-800-574-7665 to report the lower price. After verification, the difference will be promptly refunded. Doheny’s is not responsible for inadvertent price or text misprints or errors. Some restrictions apply – call for details.

The Vingli Aluminum Solar Cover Reel

The VINGLI has all the features youre looking for and makes rolling and unrolling a solar cover easy. The durable, rust-resistant aluminum pipe has three lockable sections to prevent sagging from holding a heavy cover. Stainless steel legs and large, rubber wheels add stability. The grooved reel rod design means the embedded straps stay put.

The center rod is telescopic, so it can adjust for pools that measure 6 feet to 18 feet wide. Once the cover is rolled up, the reel locks to keep it in place. It also sits a little higher than some other solar cover reels, making it a little easier to use. Cover clips are included.

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Do Solar Cover Reels Work For Every Kind Of Pool

Solar cover reels are specialty tools. By that I mean they have to be compatible with the size of your solar cover and the shape and size of your swimming pool.

Reels are built with a specific type of pool in mind, whether that means we are talking about above-ground or inground pools.

Some solar cover reels are adjustable, however, giving flexibility for swim pools that arent rectangular.

Plastic Or Rubber Wheels

Some of the less expensive models use thin, plastic wheels. After a few years of being exposed to pool water and the sun, its possible that plastic will begin to crack and deteriorate.

Also, because plastic wheels cant really grip the deck surface, theres a chance that when youre trying to reel in your cover, the whole shebang might fall into the pool. Kind of defeats the purpose, huh?

Thicker, rubber wheels can stand up to the elements a little better, and they get better purchase on the deck. They also last longer, saving you the time and money of having to replace the reel down the road.

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What Are Retractable Pool Enclosures Used For

Typically, retractable swimming pool enclosures are used for swimming pools, spa pools and hot tubs. However, retractable enclosures can be used for more functions such as roofs , indoor pool for hotels, restaurants , covering patios or decks just like a sunroom or solarium. By connecting the pool enclosure to your home, you create easy direct access to your pool for the colder winter months.

Winterize Your Cover Correctly

The number three killer of solar covers is winter, Left rolled up on the reel in the great outdoors, under snow, rain and strong winter sun will damage the cover. Store indoors if you can, or use our Winter Solar Cover Wrap, a cover for your cover!

Thats it for our ways to hack solar covering your above ground pool! If you have other tips and tricks that have worked for you, share below by clicking the Leave a Reply button.

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How Do You Use A Solar Cover Reel

The device sits on the deck at one end of your inground pool. It consists of a long, metal pole extended between two T-bars, one of which usually has wheels to make it easy to move around. This is nice because once that wet cover is rolled up, it can be a little heavy. Some models can be permanently installed on the pool deck.

Suspended from the long middle bar are several heavy-duty straps with clips on the end. Those clips are attached to the edge of the cover to allow the cover to be rolled onto the reel.

On one end of the solar cover reel is a hand crank or a wheel. This is what youll turn to spool the cover onto the metal rod.

Its a simple design, really. But it makes such a difference in being able to maneuver your cover quickly, easily, and without throwing your back out or inventing new curse words.

The Best Solar Cover Reels For Inground Pools In 2022

If you use a solar pool cover, youre ahead of the game, getting lots of benefits from warmer water to lower energy bills. But deploying and removing it is a headache. Or is it? Not with a solar cover reel, its not.

And after a ton of research, we found the VINGLI Pool Reel to be the best bang for your buck. Its affordable, durable, and works for many types of inground pools.

A great value when compared to other solar cover reels on the marketing. It features a grooved 3-section aluminum pipe design to avoid strap fall off. It’s solid, the legs are stainless, the reel is aluminum and the wheels are made of large full solid tires.

For our upgrade option, we chose the Auto Pool Reel System. Its a jump in price, but its the only solar cover reel thatll uncover and COVER your pool with the click of a button!

Disclosure: We take pride in finding the best solar cover reels. We source reviews from popular retails and test these products when we can. Our posts may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you purchase through our links . It helps us keep the lights on

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Ready To Get Things Rolling On And Off Your Swimming Pool

Why settle for cutting up your solar cover to make it easier to maneuver? Or inviting five friends over to help you fold it up? You can easily deploy and roll up your cover alone with the right solar cover reel.

Select one that fits your pool and your cover, and then choose between a few extra features, and youll be back to enjoying your warm pool before you can say, Roll em!

Happy Swimming!

Do I Need A Solar Cover Reel

Solar cover reels increase the safety of your pool, reduce damage to the cover itself, and also protect your pool from unwanted debris from getting into the water.

Look, there is always the option of hand-pulling a solar cover on and off your swimming pool.

Elbow grease is free, after all.

But removing the cover yourself and leaving it in a jumbled mess can create a series of problems.

For starters, the cover is more likely to get damaged, whether that means getting blown around, caught on something sharp near the pool and tearing, or getting blown into the blades of a hungry lawnmower.

Secondly, folding up a solar cover and leaving it on the pool deck creates a safety hazard for you and your pool guests, blocking access to and from the pool.

Lastly, the cover will get dirty when left unattended, whether you are putting it on the grass next to your pool or on the deck.

When you pull the cover back on, you are bringing a host of new unwanted guests into the pool along with it.

The guest list includes pebbles, dirt, grass, and so on, adding more work to your pool filter.

Reels keep your pool deck organized, protect the cover, and even keep pool water clean.

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Re: Solar Cover Hooks

I have been using a cover and reel since last fall, I can’t imagine trying to gather and fold the cover over the edge. The reel is easy to use and move to the side for a quick swim.I can remove/replace the cover in about 1 minute and never get in or wet, maybe sprinkled a bit. I think I would get quite wet trying to pull the cover over the edge, especially my feet, and could guess as much as 10 minutes to gather a bit here and move to the next spot, gather, then move, etc.If I completely remove the cover I need a helper to carry one end to a shady spot. I’m happy with my reel. SteveBTW, I have a nice, neat cutout for my steps. I moved the location of my steps and so rotated my reel around and discovered my round pool is about 3inches out of round! I’ll have to reassemble the pole making in a bit longer.

ePoolUser- Steve

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Above Ground Pool Solar Cover Holder

The First Easy Handling and Storage System for Solar Pool Covers! You can now Easily handle and store your solar cover. Your Solar Cover is neatly folded and conveniently stored out of the way in minutes. Solar Saddle is easily connected to your pool on any side you desire. In one step, you remove and neatly store your solar cover. Your solar cover can be placed back on your pools water surface, easily, while you are either in or out of your pool. Easy to use, Simple to Install, and Affordable.

General directions! The long and short of mounting the accessory is to evenly space out the five holders, and allow 2 1/2 to 3 feet for the cover to extend over/past the outside holders. A Solar Saddle Unit comes with 5 holders and required mounting hardware. Once you get started you should be able to complete the project in 20 to 30 minutes, or less, its really quite easy. That time will be returned to you several times over. If you are in a real hurry, a cover can be put on or taken off and stored in 2 to 3 minutes, by one person! I used to spend a lot more time than that, and when the cover was off, it always seemed to be in the way. Our prototype was designed on a 24 foot round pool and only used four holders, adding the fifth really completed the system.

Features:

Benefits:

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Why Trust The Spruce

Erica Puisis has been covering the best products for outdoor and indoor living at The Spruce since 2017. Her research and areas of expertise have included pool heaters, cleaners, and water testing equipment. To find the best options for this essential pool accessory, she considered the thickness of each solar cover, its ability to retain heat, block UV rays, or provide passive heating for pool water, and the length of any warranty periods.

Solar Rings Vs Solar Cover

A comfortable swimming pool is often a dream destination for people. While some people love jumping in ice-cold pools and enjoy swimming with some chill, others love a warmer pool. If you use pools every season, you might be more comfortable swimming in warm water during the fall or when the weather is on the colder side.

On top of that, if you are a night swimmer, a warm pool may be more inviting during the night, especially on colder nights.

While there are options to get the pool heated with electricity or gas, which is an extra investment besides the usual pool maintenance cost. On top of that, it may also increase your environmental carbon footprint.

Well, why not use solar energy to keep your pool water warm? Well, solar covers and solar rings exist for that purpose only. If you do not want to spend extra regularly, having solar pool covers and solar rings can be great alternatives.

As a pool owner, you may be confused about which is better for your pool. While these two have the same purpose, there are also some fundamental differences. Here are details about these two to ensure you can choose the best option for keeping your pool warm.

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Do You Need A Reel For Your Solar Cover

Honestly, no. But if you have a solar cover, you know how much of a pain it is to take the cover on and off your pool. Especially if you have a large inground pool.

Plus, where do you store your solar cover when youre not using it? A solar cover reel lets you store it right next to the pool so its always there when you need to it.

Next Day Delivery Details

Dohenys is pleased to offer free next day delivery at no additional charge to most of the US for all Doheny’s brand chemicals and many of our most popular swimming pool supplies. Next Day Delivery Service does not mean Next Day Air, but simply that your qualifying products will be shipped from the warehouse closest to you resulting in delivery the next day.

Some details regarding this service:Other than for Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, not all products are stocked at all locations and therefore not available for next day delivery. Only those items with a Next Day Delivery designation on the product page can be expected to arrive the next day and orders must be placed by 4 PM local time .

If you reside in the next day delivery area served by our Pleasant Prairie facility, order in-stock products and place your order by 4 PM CT you should receive your order the next day . This applies to products even if they do not have a Next Day Delivery designation.

Because next day delivery is not guaranteed for standard service and residential deliveries are made only Monday through Saturday though Saturday delivery is not guaranteed, there is a chance that our product will not arrive the next day. While we try our best, unexpected demand can cause products to occasionally be out of stock or create a warehouse backlog that also can prevent shipment the day of the order.

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