Reel Systems For Swimming Pools

The handling of a solar cover, both on and off the pool, is made hugely easier by the use of a swimming pool reel. The use of a good quality solar cover is considered to be an essential piece of pool equipment. The main advantages of a solar cover, the increase in pool water temperature and the prevention of costly heat losses through evaporation, are far greater than the disadvantages, which are cost and the awkwardness of daily handling. To make the most of your pool and cover it is therefore important to make the cover handling as easy and efficient as possible.

Basicly there are two types of swimming pool reel systems, manual and electric powered. We will look at each in turn. Each type of system has a set of three telescopic aluminium tubes, which are assembled and then extended to the required width. This distance is usually the width of the pool, plus an overlap of about one foot each side. Rather than the telescopic tubes it is possible to buy a one piece tube, for some systems only, but the matter of transport often makes this a costly alternative. The two most important characteristics of the tube are the diameter and the thickness, or gauge, of the metal itself. In both cases, the larger the better. All tubes will bend to some degree, but the extent to which they bend will be determined by the diameter and gauge. If a tube is sagging, then it is difficult to turn the handwheel, making hard work of covering and uncovering the pool.

These tubes are then supported by an end stand. These end stands vary enormously from manufacturer to manufacturer, but are generally made of stainless steel.The exact design of these stands vary greatly from supplier to supplier, but are generally manufactured with a long life stainless steel. Some plastic systems are available but although cheaper, they tend to be fragile and have a much lesser lifespan.

For manual handling, the basic reel is a post bolted to the ground, connected to the tube and with a hand wheel at each end to allow two people to operate it at the same time. Obviously such a system is fixed on place, so careful consideration needs to be given to location and access when installing.

The majority of systems sold have a tripod stand made of stainless steel. The tripod gives a good solid base, whilst the stainless steel gives a good lifespan. Some of these reel systems are capable of having castors fitted, which means that the reel can be wheeled away from the pool when required. Whether the reel has castors or not, when the cover is being handled there is a tendancty for the reel to slip and move. Most systems are supplied with holding bolts, which secure the reel in place. The holding down bolt is a threaded bar screwed through the tripod bars into a socket in the ground. These should always be used as the reel then becomes firm and secure, but they can easily be undone when you need to move the reel.

Electric reels come in two different formats, mains powered, or more popular solar powered. The main disadvantage to the mains reel is that it requires installation by a qualified electrician, which can be costly. Also a cable needs to be fed from the transformer to the reel which is either unsightly or requires laying underground, again at some expense. It is for these reasons that solar powered reels are usually the easiest and cheapest installation solution. They are powered by a battery, similar to a motorcycle battery that is recharged from the sunlight via one or more solar panels. In order to work effectively the solar panel needs to be placed somewhere where it will get full daylight.


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Francis Lowe is a leading expert in swimming pool maintenance with a huge wealth of experience developed from 40 years in the industry.
To see a full range of pool equipment, including swimming pool reels and swimming pool rollers please see the website of specialist supplier poolwarehouseuk.com