Meeting in the middle
As Horwood mentions, when confronted with an extremely long pool where the homeowner wishes to have an automatic pool cover, the best solution is to order and install two automatic covers that ‘meet in the middle’ of the pool. This keeps each cover from being too cumbersome—the cover housing does not need to be as large, the rope reel does not need to be as long, and the overall action of opening and closing the pool is more efficient.
By having two covers—each coming from opposite ends—they open and close in the middle. With an extra-long pool, for example, installers might put one housing mechanism in the deep end and the other in the shallow end. Essentially, the two leading edge bars at the front of the cover come together and meet in the middle of the pool.
According to Horwood, it is important to request the auto cover’s leading-edge bars be the same size, regardless the length of each cover.
“If the cover lengths are going to be the same, then the leading-edge bar will be the same size automatically,” says Horwood. “However, if one cover is wide and short and the other is long and narrow, which is the case with most L-shaped pools, then it’s important to request the bars be the same size, as you could get a smaller bar on one cover and a larger bar on the second cover. As a result, they wouldn’t look good when they meet, nor would they create a proper seal.”
The standard leading edge is 63.5 mm (2.5 in.), and the oversized leading edge is 101.5 mm (4 in.)—so it is important to specify they be the same size—in most cases, requesting both to be the larger 101.5 mm size is the best way to get an identical look. Since one of the main goals of an auto cover is to keep leaves and debris out of the pool, it is important the leading-edge bars meet tightly to avoid debris getting into the water at that junction.
“These covers want to naturally stop short of one another,” says Horwood. “So, in some cases, we have created our own custom-made pocket-and-flap system with industrial magnets that completely seals this section where the two leading edges meet. There is enough power in the motor mechanism to pull apart the magnets when it opens.”
