Repairs to Solar Covers and Solar Reels

Have you ever found yourself struggling to maintain your water temperature? Or have you awoken to find your pool temperature dropped significantly overnight? I have the solution for you!

This blog focuses on the advantages of utilizing a solar cover and reel, how to buy replacement parts for the reel, and how to prolong the life of your cover.

Advantages of Solar Reels and Covers

The general rule is to keep the solar cover on when the pool is not in use. A solar cover will help retain the heat that is absorbed by the sun throughout the day and prevent heat loss during the evening. A solar cover will also reduce chemical use and water evaporation.

rockys-solar-reel

If you find yourself struggling to get the solar cover off, then it may be time to invest in a solar reel. A solar reel makes it easier to cover or uncover a pool quickly by one person. By using a solar reel, it will extend the life of a cover and prevents the tearing of the cover or UV damage.

Solar reels come in various widths and to fit in-ground or aboveground pools. To determine what solar reel you need, measure the width of your pool and order accordingly. If you have questions on what reel you need, our experts are standing by 24/7 to assist you.

Repairing Solar Blankets

peel-and-patch-solar-cover-repair-patches

Over time, your solar blanket will literally start to fall apart. I will discuss ways to extend the life of the cover. But for now, if you find a small hole in the cover, waterproof tape may be utilized as a patch.

Our Peel & Patch repair kit works very well. If you have remnants of an old solar cover, a small section may be used to fill in a larger hole. If the hole is too big for repair, it may be time to replace the cover.

Solar Cover Reel Parts and Troubleshooting

When opening the pool for the spring, check to see if the cover reel functions properly. Follow these basic steps to ensure the reel works properly:

  1. Is the reel hard to turn? If so, the ball bearings may need to be replaced.
  2. Are any parts missing or broken? Inspect both ends of the cover for missing screws, broken yokes, or blanket clips.
  3. Is the reel tube bowing in the center of the cover? This is due to a solar cover that is too heavy or long. We do not recommend using any solar cover greater than 12 mil with a residential solar reel.
  4. Does the cover roll up unevenly? If so, the reel attachment kit is not evenly placed in the center of the cover and needs to be reattached.

If you know the make and model of the reel, you can visit the Parts Finder on our website. We have solar cover reel parts for over a dozen different solar reels.

SOLAR-REEL-PARTS

If the make and model of solar reel is unknown, contact us at 1-800-288-7946 and our parts and technical department will be happy to assist you.

Prolonging the Life of a Solar Cover

The number one reason solar covers start to fall apart is due to chemical imbalance. Chlorine levels need to be kept between 1-3 parts per million and the pH between 7.2-7.6.  Low pH, high chlorine levels, and shocking the pool with the cover on can weaken the cover and cause the bubbles to deteriorate.

Believe it or not, the number two worst thing for a solar cover is the sun itself! When using the pool, the cover should be protected from UV rays.

solar-saddle

Solar reels are perfect for this. If you have an aboveground pool, our Solar Saddle attaches quickly and eliminates the cover from laying on the grass or getting dirty. It also makes it easier to take off and put your solar cover back on.

poly-tarp - UV shield for pool solar blankets

When the cover is rolled up, the Solar Tarp can be placed on the solar cover and acts as a protective shield from UV rays, wind, rain, and debris. The solar tarp simply fastens together with Velcro, easily comes off and rolls up very small and tightly when you have the solar cover on the pool.

solar-blanket-cover

When closing the pool for the winter, aboveground reels should be taken off and stored indoors. For in-ground reels, try a heavy-duty winter solar blanket cover, which protects the solar cover and reel tube from rain, debris, and sunshine during the winter, if you are unable to find storage room indoors for the blanket and reel.

Covering It All

  1. Solar blankets are great and solar reels make using them even better.
  2. Replace or repair? You can DIY repairs to solar covers and solar reels.
  3. Protect your solar cover from sun, chlorine and low pH for twice the life!

14 thoughts on “Repairs to Solar Covers and Solar Reels

  1. Hello, we have an above ground pool, we use a solar blanket on the reel during the summer, the pool jet is right where the reel sits and the solar blanket ends up with tears in it from the water coming out of the jet, we don’t have a heater in our pool so unless we have extremely hot weather for weeks on end we don’t take the cover and reel off the pool, is the anything we can use to help keep the blanket from sitting on the water where the jet is?

    • Hi Shelley, can you aim the eyeball fitting downward, so it won’t hit the blanket? or you could reinforce the blanket at that spot, with Duct Tape or Gorilla tape, and possibly attach a string in two spots, attached to a small sand bag or other weight on deck, with the result being that the blanket is lifted off of the water surface at the spot.

  2. David Smith

    I have a 12×44’ pool so I ordered 2 12×24 covers (couldn’t find any longer). I cut some of the extra off and used for my step area but now I have a 3 piece cover. All pieces overlap 6-8” so they cover good but how can I attach them together to form one piece so I can use a cover reel?

    • Hi, you can use tape to join them together. Home Depot has some extra-sticky clear tape used for plastics, in the paint dept, that is waterproof. It may not be a permanent solution, and need to be re-taped every year or two? You could also stitch the blankets together, if you have some sort of sewing machine, or lots of time, to do it by hand. 🙂

  3. I cannot find an adhesive that will stick to my reel. The original sticky pads that came with the straps started to get gooey and peel off from sitting in the sun after just a couple weeks. I used gorilla glue to glue the straps to the reel and that did not work either. Is there any kind of non-adhesive straps I can buy to attach to my solar cover and reel?

    • Hi Mickey, you might want to use self-tapping, 1/4″ screws, galvanized or stainless, to secure the strap to the reel. The adhesive may not ever work well…

  4. I just received my solar cover today and there are oval shaped holes on the smooth side of the cover. Is this a defective cover or are the holes supposed to be there?

    • Hi Kris, that sounds like a defect, and an odd one. The underside should be solid flat without any holes whatsoever. It may not have an effect on performance or longevity, perhaps – however, I have placed a note on your order (your comment), and if you would like to have the blanket replaced, I believe the returns dept would just ask for some pictures emailed to them. To start that process, click here, or call 1-800-374-1500. Your order# is B69139809.

  5. I have a tear along the seam. There is no overlap which I can cement back together. How do I repair this? Is there a patch which can be plastic welded back on over the seam?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Carl, you can use heavy duty and very sticky packing tape, or Gorilla tape, or any clear, reinforced tape. Clean the surface with soap/water and dry well, then scuff up the surface with sandpaper, cut a rounded corner patch, and stick it on! A usually permanent patch.

  6. Julie Pollard

    The mice chewed couple holes in my solar blanket while it was in storage. We tried to patch with a vinyl repair kit for liners but it wouldn’t stick. I have plenty of leftover from the trim to patch with but can’t get it to stick. Any suggestions?? Also any suggestions for storage to keep mice out!! We taped up in original box

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Julie, we have a cover patch, for winter covers, that would work, it’s essentially very sticky tape, and perhaps packing tape or something would also work to patch a solar cover. For the mice, they don’t like Mint, or mothballs. A large plastic trash can with a lid is a great winter storage location if you can roll it up just right to fit. Placing in the rafters in the garage can be a good location, making it difficult to reach. You can also leave them on the solar reel during winter, using the solar blanket winter cover.

  7. Vincent Trivigno

    Need to repair the seam in my solar cover. What do I do

    • Hi Vincent, you can use a rubber cement, or vinyl cement, which you can find at any hardware or home store. Most solar blankets are made from extruded polyethylene (plastic), and lots of different sealants or adhesives could be used.

Comments are closed.