AUTOMATIC POOL COVER SHEAR PIN MANUAL
AUTOMATIC POOL COVER SHEAR PIN FREE

This situation could mean that the shear pin has broken. If you are comfortable and careful, you can check the back of the motor with a test meter to see if power is reaching the motor. Make sure they key is making contact inside the key box. Check the motor to see if there is a reset button on the end. Check that GFCI outlets on the same circuit have not tripped. If you turn the switch or key and get no response, check the breaker and make sure it is on. If the leading edge is out of adjustment, this can bind the ropes and reels, and also cause a pin to break. If the shear pin breaks without water weight on the cover surface, it could also be that the cover is stuck to the pool deck (see below). Don’t substitute anything stronger, like a clevis pin or bolt, or you could damage the motor or reels. You can find shear pins (aka roll pins) at a good hardware store, in the small parts boxes. Your manufacturer should provide you with replacement shear pins and instructions on knocking out the old one and putting in a new pin. Most automatic pool covers have shear pins built in to prevent more costly damage to the motor and ropes. This is located in a hole drilled through the motor shaft and the cover engagement cams. If you attempt to roll back the cover with too much leaf or water weight on top, or if the cover is hanging up at some spot from maladjustment, you may hear a loud pop which is likely the cover shear pin breaking. It may be good medicine to treat the cover annually with a vinyl conditioner to protect against staining and fading. Similarly, use a cover pump to remove most of the water before rolling back the cover. If the cover is inundated with leaves and/or water, use a leaf rake on the telescopic pole, scooping out as many leaves as possible before rolling the cover back. When you get to the last panel, pump off the water with a cover pump and scoop out the leaves with a leaf rake. Roll the cover up one panel at a time, cleaning in this manner. Standing at the reel end, use a blower or a garden hose and a pool brush on a telescopic pole to push debris towards the shallow end. We recommend cleaning an auto cover by panel segments. This is usually easier than cleaning the pool, however.īelow are some troubleshooting tips for automatic pool covers, from our help file.

AUTOMATIC POOL COVER SHEAR PIN FREE

Auto covers have also been attributed to drowning prevention (although the solid cover must have rain water pumped off with an automatic cover pump to be considered safe).Īn auto cover will keep your pool free from leaves and wind-blown debris however, you'll have to clean off the cover before opening it. Even the Department of Energy has a home page devoted to the economic benefits of pool covers. For freeform pools, there is the option of going trackless, with the cover being locked down around the edge with tiny plastic anchors.Īutomatic cover manufacturers boast of water, chemical, electrical and heat savings.

AUTOMATIC POOL COVER SHEAR PIN MANUAL

Less expensive models are manual and pull open by a hand crank, and close by pulling a rope. The slats can be custom cut to accommodate wall curves, overhanging rock waterfalls or spas, and can be designed with several covers of different sizes to accommodate nearly any pool shape. The large leading edge, a steel tube that runs across the pool is now available in a low profile design that hides easily.Ī newer style of automatic pool cover, dubbed by some to be a European Slat Design, uses vinyl or PVC air filled slats that float on the water and use no track. Tracks can be hidden by cantilevered deck sections. No longer do we have to run track down both sides of the pool. They can, however, be retrofitted to almost any shape pool.

The roller can be housed in a box built at the deep end of the pool, level with the pool deck, or the roller can be housed in a box on top of the pool deck.Īutomatic covers look and perform somewhat better when installed on a rectangle pool at the time of construction. The motor that powers the reel to cover and uncover the pool is usually electric, however a hydraulic motor can be used (powered by an external electric motor), which has some advantage in terms of reliability, especially when the roller or reel is located in a deck box and is subject to moisture. One end of the roller is attached to an electric motor, which is wired to a two direction switch (open or closed). An aluminum roller on one end of the pool houses the cover and the tension rope when the cover is open. In the traditional automatic pool cover, a reinforced vinyl fabric runs between tracks on either side of the pool's length. Having an automatic pool cover is an additional layer of protection around a pool – like a horizontal fence! From hand crank models to fully electronic, key-operated systems, today's automatic covers are more reliable, durable, and safer than ever before. The automatic pool cover has come a long way in recent years.

Automatic pool cover shear pin