VINGLI Pool Cover Reel Set Pool Solar Cover Reel for Inground Swimming Pool, Aluminum Solar Swimming Inground Cover Blanket Reel (Upgrade) (14 Feet)

OK, so this Reel is Fantastic! I received both boxes with all the correct pieces. People have gave this bad reviews because they did not receive both boxes. It's easy to contact the seller and they will fix that, giving it a bad review because that is a joke. Next, people have given this bad reviews because it's light weight, and falls in the pool while unrolling/ROLLING or blows in the pool on windy days. It is not heavy and made of aluminum and plastic What those people did not see is the seller recommends sand bags to act as an anchor, and I bought a four pack of these on Amazon: ABCCANOPY Sandbag Saddlebag Photography Weight Bags for Video Stand,4 Packs (Black) - and filled them with, two of these from a big box hardware store: 0.5-cu ft Brown Pea Pebbles Gravel for 3.98 a bag. This Reel went together in about 30 minutes or maybe less it was very easy to put together. Now I ordered the 18 foot reel but my Deck tops out at about 14 Feet and my pool measurements, i.e. water area is 35 long by 12 wide. I thought since it expanded up to 18 feet wide I could make it go smaller to 12 feet wide, but nope the smallest it will go is 14 feet wide. The wheels look OK and I could see them breaking over time if left out exposed to the sun and elements or being rough on them. I am going to have the lady of the house make some covers to put over the wheels because out here in Southern AZ the sun beats up everything exposed no matter how well it's made or not. Some of the plastic parts I am going to rate at 4 stars durability wise. It maneuvers OK it's not bad at all I will give it 4 stars maneuverability wise. I am using a heavy 16mil Midwest Canvas 36 x 18 cover on mine, that has been cut down to 35 x 12 and have NO SAG in the middle what so ever like some people have complained about. I think since my reel is only expanded to 14 feet the tubing I am not extending is acting as reinforcement which is great. So if your pool is say 18 feet wide, buy the 21 foot reel and the tubing not used for expansion will act as reinforcement. I am in a wheel chair so my whole goal buying a reel and cover was to make it easy for the lady of the house to take this off and on all by her self, and as you can see in the video she can reel it right up no problem. I have a second video of her unrolling it but Amazon only lets one video per review, and in that video she can unroll it no problem all on her own. I have moved my reel closer to the pool so the cover is not scraping the deck when rolling and unrolling. With the sand bags filled with pea pebbles anchoring the reel this works like a breeze, I honestly think people don't follow instructions building this, missed seeing sandbags to anchor it, or are just clueless. The attaching clips and straps that come with it work great as well. I thought it might come with junky clips to attach to the cover but the clips are really good. I highly recommend this reel it works great and when we showed our neighbor's wife video of how this works she was like, ''send me the link, my husband makes me take ours off a certain way, fold it a certain way, and then put it back on gently,'' and she goes ''I want that reel you have because it's a pain every time we want to swim to have to remove the cover with out a reel'' This reel is fantastic! -NOTE-1: My yard is under constriction we removed all the rock from both sides of our pool and are adding hardscape stone. -NOTE-2: I may edit this review if something breaks and adjust my rating but right now it's 5 STARS -NOTE-3: The Sandbags may fade over time, but who cares as long as it holds the reel or they can be replaced.

Instructions were mostly okay, some of it needs refining. The worst part of assembly is the large pipes of the reel. The pipes are not labeled, they should show which end mates with the next end! They are basically 2 different diameters, but they only fit together in one combination. They are NOT identical when fitting the pipes together. If you can't fit the pipes together, reverse the smaller pipe through the opposite side of the larger pipe. The length of the reel out of the box is almost 15 feet. If you have a smaller cover, you can shorten the length by sliding the pipes together, drilling some holes, and securing with screws. The parts were safely packed, no damage during transport. Overall impressed with the quality of the hardware and function of the device.

Title: Effective and Practical Pool Cover Reel Set The VINGLI Pool Cover Reel Set for Inground Swimming Pools has been a valuable addition to our pool maintenance routine. While it's not perfect, it certainly gets the job done. First and foremost, this pool cover reel set is sturdy and well-constructed. It feels like it can handle the wear and tear of regular use, which is essential for a pool cover reel. The included hardware and instructions made assembly relatively straightforward, and I was able to set it up with minimal hassle. The reel system operates smoothly and is easy to use. Rolling and unrolling the solar cover is a breeze, and it has significantly reduced the time and effort required to cover and uncover our pool. This convenience alone has made it a worthwhile investment. The set also includes straps and clips to secure the cover, which is a nice touch. It helps keep the cover in place during windy conditions, ensuring it does its job effectively. The cover itself appears to be of decent quality and provides good solar heat retention. However, there are a couple of areas where this product could be improved. The included wheels are somewhat small, making it a bit challenging to move the reel around, especially on uneven surfaces. It would be great if they were larger for improved maneuverability. Additionally, the included instructions could be more detailed, as I found myself needing to make a few adjustments during installation due to unclear guidance. Overall, the VINGLI Pool Cover Reel Set serves its primary purpose of making pool cover management more efficient and less physically demanding. While it's not without its minor drawbacks, the value it adds to pool maintenance makes it a solid choice, especially considering its price point. With a few enhancements in design and instructional clarity, it could easily earn a full 5-star rating.

I have opened the box and assembled the reel but have not yet put it into use. Both boxes arrived by different carriers on the same day. Well packaged and undamaged. Instructions were sparse but adequate. Only one tricky part is switching the ends of the 3 tubes to go together, if it doesn't fit flip one tube. Overall construction looks very good. Extra pieces provide. Reel is sturdy and functions well. Grooves in tubes help strengthen them, wheels are heavy duty. Round handle is all ribbed plastic so I would expect that is the weakest piece of the assembly. Straps are easy to assemble and fit the grooves in the tube well. Clips that fasten to the solar blanket are single use snap to close. That means when this cover is replaced they will need to be replaced. It would have been better to have them reusable. Most likely I will drill out the snapping feature and use a SS bolt and nut to reuse them. Something to consider with this design of fixed wheels vs. other reels that have casters, is this reel only rolls in one direction. Moving it away from the end of the pool (opposite to the wheel rolling direction) will require a 3-point turn maneuver or picking one end up and moving it over. I did not go with the castor reels because I was concerned with their durability and ability to roll on my concrete deck. The advantage of this design is you do not need to secure it to the deck. The wheel orientation and the large base should be more stable than the caster design reels, but that hasn't been proven yet. Overall I am satisfied so far... but I haven't used it yet.

Absolutely love this!! Makes placing and removing the solar cover easy. One person operation. Durable and well built. Super easy to put together. Works as designed. Fits perfectly over the inground pool.

PROS: Easy to follow assembly instructions. Easy to assemble. Sturdy build. Lightweight, making it easy to move. Smooth operation when winding/unwinding the pool cover. The straps and clips to connect the reel to the pool cover are rugged. Bought mine last year. After a summer in the sun, and a winter out in the cold, this spring there's no signs of weathering. CONS: The handle of the tension bolt meant to "lock the tube" to keep the reel from "unwinding" was weaker than I would have liked. I ultimately 3D printed a more-robust replacement handle. CONCLUSION: This is a solid product. Highly recommend.

Pros: Arrived quickly (faster than the expected date) NOTE* this does come in 2 boxes and in my case two shipments arriving on the same day. Appears clean and modern looking as opposed to the weather beaten one I took apart that was prob 20 years old. Reel works smoothly and cover rolls and unrolls with little difficulty. Potentially easy to assemble (more on that below) CONS The instructions are translated from another language to English. This made what seemed like a 30 min assembly about a 90ish min assembly. My boyfriend and I had this assembled inside of 30 min. But in re-reading the grammatically poor instructions we realized that the track for the clips was not perfectly straight. The instructions said “don’t worry just turn around the tubes and it will ABSOLUTELY fit.” This was ABSOLUTELY false!!! End result is that my middle track is about 1/2” off which hasn’t proved to be a big deal in the end. I bought the 13-18’ model and even on the shortest setting it overlapped my 16’ pool by 2+ feet on either side. We readjusted and drilled holes and shortened to our liking. Bottom line is I question the measurement…. Shortening the reel greatly sturdied the reel. I cannot imagine fully extended how sturdy it would be. As you may or may not be able to see in the pictures I have a 16x30 16mil cover and even made “extra short” my reel has the slightest bow in the center under the weight of the rolled cover.

I was a bit wary after reading some neg reviews, but the Reel arrived on time, complete in one package (multiple boxes in a larger box). I am a 5' tall grandma and I was able to fully assemble by myself, taking my time, in under 2 hours. Instructions are "ok" and you really have to look at the pictures and read carefully, and use some logic and common sense, but it all comes together. The biggest issue was having to flip and slide the metal tubes and reorient their position in order to make them fit into each other. It's a bit of a jigsaw puzzel, trial and error, but once the tubes are properly oriented, they easily slip together. The tiny flat screws used to connect the tubes are the weakest part. They also provide alternative longer self-tapping screws, but you need a power drill to drive them, and I didn't have one handy. Some reviews said the bolt used to attach the crank wheel was too short, or the head too large to fit the predrilled hole, but simply turn the wheel 180° to expose the OTHER side and you will find another predrilled hole slightly wider ... that is the entrance hole for the bolt ... it fits perfectly. A few components were already assembled, or packed in plastic with related pieces, so closely inspect EVERYTHING before assumimg a part is missing. Time will tell how well this holds up, but it seems to be good quality.