Swimline 54000 3" X 21' Solar Blanket Storage System (Round), FITS, Multi

I paired this pole set with the Hydro Tools 5100 reel system, and I have to say I could not be more pleased with the product. Great price, and great product! Even my kids (13 & 15) have no problems operating it. The pole set itself is very sturdy - and at the same time not heavy or cumbersome. Very efficient design allows for maximum strength. And the fact that it is aluminum is a plus since it is outside and exposed to the elements 24/7. The assembly was easy - with easy-to-follow instructions. One thing that made me hesitant to order this product was the fact that you have to order two different items - separately - to get one product. BUT, that's because there are different options based on different sized pools. UPDATE: It has been over a year now, and the pole and reel system have held up well in the south Florida heat. However I can't say the same about the nylon straps used to attach the solar blanket. I imagine that is to be expected with the exposure to chlorine and intense Florida heat, but unfortunately those little straps are an integral part of the system!

Comes with no instructions. The instructions come with the roller stands you buy separately. Go find your roller first. The 20-foot comes with 5 poles. If I remember correctly each was 5 feet long. The smallest you can go is 15 feet because of how the poles go together (unless you cut them I guess... which I would not do). They go together like so... large pole -- small pole -- large pole -- small pole -- large pole. You slide the large poles over the small poles to adjust the length. I think the instructions said you need at least 9 inches of a pole inside any other pole. The trick with these... which is why they are hexagons and not circles.... is when you slide them over each other they are quite loose... but you then twist them in order to get them to fit more snug. (Imagine twisting a cardboard box inside a larger cardboard box... the corners of the small one will touch the sides of the larger one). This is the difficult part. The instructions say they lock when you twist... this is a lie. Might be good to get someone else to help you keep them twisted while you are drilling a hole... and then to roll it over to drill the hole on the other side. The better your effort on twisting... the less likely it is to sag. Yes these require drilling through metal. They come with the drill bit you need and its easy enough so do not worry. If you screw up a hole you can probably just make another. Also the outer (larger poles have holes pre-drilled in them to guide you with your drilling). So no measuring or anything is required. When you finally get to installing the straps on these things... you use the straps and metal screws provided with the roller.

We purchased the Hydro Tools 55000 15-inch Fixed Height Commercial In-Ground Pool Solar Reel kit and LUV it!!! Works perfectly right out of the box. Which.....was the only downfall of the product. It came to us from UPS ripped open with the drill bit and package of 10 screws missing. Impossible to get those replaced it seemed without returning the entire thing through Amazon. Tooooo much hassle so we spent another $25.00 at the home supply store getting the parts that fell out because of SUPER POOR packaging. However, that doesn't effect the quality of the product and it works GREAT!! We followed the advice from others who had reviewed the product on Amazon.com and got the 20 foot-long pole set for a 16 x 32 in-ground pool which was FANTASTIC ADVICE!!!! Fits perfectly...Yeah!!!

It's not good quality the net is bearly haning on by a thin mearsl that bends easy .needed it to fikter out debre that filter isn't getting bit when I swipe around the net bends..the net mesh is good but its not attached with any kind of strenght

When you order, if you only order the 5100 cross pool pole set that's what you'll get. You have also got to order the 5100 reel set. Picture is fine so you know what reel set to order, but the web site needs to add some text to clear it up. Could upset patrons when they get only a pole that does no good without the reel set. However I have a darn nice 3" pool cross pole. Ordered the reel set. This could have been worded differently, but it may have been offensive to some, so my only recommendation is "just order both items". I only have a 3" pool cross pole so I can't comment on the whole system at this time. Hopefully it does a good job for its intended purpose so I want be forced into descriptive adjectives in the back yard trying to get the cover off.

I purchased the Hydro Tools 58001 reel system and the Hydro Tools 51204, 20 ft. long X 4" diameter cross-pool cover pole for my 16ft. X 32ft. solar cover. The instructions were easy to follow and the finished assembly is very stable and the pole does not sag under the weight of the cover. The adjustable height reel system is very well constructed and stable when the cover is rolled up. I was able to roll up the cover with the crank handle furnished. I should note that a second crank handle is obtainable. I initially looked at a different Hydro Tools model and a 3" diameter pole but felt that the combination would not be sufficient for my application. I would highly recommend the Hydro Tools 58001 and 51204 reel system w/ pole for any 16 X 32 pool application.

As others have noted, this item is ONLY the aluminum poles. You have to purchase a crank/stand separately. Putting this together was a bit of a challenge to say the least and required a few trips to the hardware store. You basically have to telescope the poles to your desired length, drill through the metal, and then install bolts at right angles to one another all the way through the poles. I had a few challenges with installation: (1) The bolts included were different lengths, despite the directions saying that they should all be the same. (2) The "pre-drilled" holes are not at right angles to one another. As a result, I had to drill additional holes from scratch to get the bolts in the correct orientation. (3) The included straps that connect to the solar cover are quite short (roughly 2 feet each), so if your pool is anything other than perfectly rectangular, you're going to need longer straps. (4) Finally, you have to drill these holes plus additional holes for the straps through a metal pole within a few feet of your pool in order to get everything into the correct position. This was less than ideal for a place where we run around with bare feet. All of this said, once we got the poles together. They seem to work just fine without a huge amount of sagging across the span. If you can survive/improvise on the installation, they do the job.

I have used 3" gray electrical conduit (PVC) in the past and found it lacking. In the heat of the day, and then the weight of the wet cover, the sag becomes intolerable. Thought I'd try these pole systems. Be careful! There are several reel models and also several pole models. Make sure the two are compatible. It is a little confusing when deciding which reel system goes with which pole system. The 20' system is a multifaceted cross section of aluminum tubing. By pushing the inner tubes all the way in, it can be as short as about 15 feet. If you need it smaller, buy the 16 foot model; it too should be capable of adjustable length without cutting. Packaging for shipment was marginal at best. It comes with two plastic inserts which I think are for a reel system which I don't have (mine is a 58001). They were inserted in the pole ends for shipment, and because the package was lightweight cardboard with a layer of bubble wrap, one of the inserts was broken. Could be a problem if I actually had have needed it. See the photo. The only other problem is the supplied bolts and the suggested installation (which comes with the reel, not the poles!). The dimension of the tube is 4" at 1/2 of the pre-drilled holes. The supplied bolts are also 4", so when securing on the large cross-section dimension face, the bolts are too short. You have to carefully drill your own holes. See the photo. Oh, and I still don't know if it works long term. Or even short-term. Cover delivery is late. Thanks Prime.