In The Swim Ratings and Reviews
Product Reviews
Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
This easy gliding reel features stainless steel bearings at both ends of the pool. This enables one person to effortlessly operate the reel on any size above-ground pool.
Average Customer Rating:
(17 Reviews) 17
8 of 17(47%)reviewers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Review 1 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
not worth it,
Date:June 27, 2012
By rangerrookie
from Maple Grove, MN
from Maple Grove, MN
Cons: plastic clips break easily under the weight of the cover and pole.
"I bought this unit and it was terrible..the instructions were way too vague, the clips you install to the pool rail break under the weight of the cover when its wound up, and the pole sags a bit."
Review 2 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Excellent product,
Date:June 6, 2012
By cwright1
from mpls, MN
from mpls, MN
Pros: Good quaility materials, works excellent, good directions
Cons: only 2 bases, could use a 3rd base for pivot and one pole was shipped slighly bent
"I really like the the high quality aluminum tubing and aluminum bases. Stainless bolts hold it together. Good directions to put it together. The only drawback I see, is I need a 3rd base so I can pivot it off to the side."
Review 3 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Date:May 26, 2012
By skcrn
from Iowa
from Iowa
Pros: Roles up easily, pivots off of pool without problems
Cons: Very hard to put liner back on with one person, it sticks to it self. Connector parts are very cheap.
"We purchased this last week and had it placed on in about 3 hours. First time I tried to adjust the cover to role it up one of the connectors ripped though the solar cover. It does roll very easily and can be pivoted out of the way with one person but you have to be ready were you are going to pivot it to. I would recommend a 4x4 with some kind of holder on top. Placing it back on is hard to do even with 2 people. It sticks to itself and took at least 20 minutes to get it back out flat. It needs a bar of some kind in the middle of the solar cover to connect to so the connections don't rip though the liner. Would not recommend unless some of these things were fixed."
Review 4 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Roll with Ease,
Date:September 8, 2011
By Nancy123
from Green Bay, WI
from Green Bay, WI
Pros: Easy to use, sturdy construction, fast delivery, makes rolling out and up very easy
Cons: Assembly takes a while, other than that I have no other cons
"I almost didn't order this reel because of some other reviews I saw that complained about the plastic base mounts.
However, I ordered it anyway and to my surprise, the base mounts are very sturdy metal.....they must have improved on it. I love the ease with which one person can operate this reel. It rolls up the blanket smoothly and with little effort.
Assembly and attaching the straps to the solar cover was a bit time consuming but that would be the case with any reel.
It's really nice also if one wants to lift the whole reel out of the bases and set it aside.....and can pivot off to the side if desired.
I have a 15 x 30 pool and needless to say, it's a big solar blanket....this reel makes it so easy to take the blanket on and off.
All in all, I love the reel and would recommend it highly."
However, I ordered it anyway and to my surprise, the base mounts are very sturdy metal.....they must have improved on it. I love the ease with which one person can operate this reel. It rolls up the blanket smoothly and with little effort.
Assembly and attaching the straps to the solar cover was a bit time consuming but that would be the case with any reel.
It's really nice also if one wants to lift the whole reel out of the bases and set it aside.....and can pivot off to the side if desired.
I have a 15 x 30 pool and needless to say, it's a big solar blanket....this reel makes it so easy to take the blanket on and off.
All in all, I love the reel and would recommend it highly."
Review 5 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Needs Updated,
Date:March 23, 2010
By Clawson
from Danville, IL
from Danville, IL
Pros: Rolls nice
Cons: Plastic mounts on rails broke within a month
"If it had alluminum mounts to fasten onto top of pool rail rather then the supplied plastic ones it would be great, Its a pain to roll up with broken mounts and one person CAN NOT DO IT ALONE when mounts are broke."
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review 6 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Love my reel,
Date:August 18, 2009
By Holliwood
from North Little Rock, AR
from North Little Rock, AR
Pros: Works great
Cons: none
"I had no problems with assembly or with parts provided. Reel works as described with no sag or other draw-backs."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 7 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Works great!,
Date:August 1, 2009
By Sierra
from WI
from WI
Pros: One person can easily handle it
Cons: Sags a little in the middle
"Installs easily. It is very easy to maneuver - my 13 year old can take the pool cover on & off. Glad we spent the money."
Review 8 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
wish I would have read the reviews before buying,
Date:July 11, 2009
By milo
from Indiana
from Indiana
Pros: better than rolling by hand
Cons: not worth the cost
"First problem: All of the bolts were the wrong size. Had to go purchase all new bolts in order to even put it together. Second: The very first time it was rolled, one of the brackets broke off. Cheap Plastic. Third: it does sag in the middle, and we do not have one of the heavier blankets either. Fourth: No way can it be "easily rolled up by one person" It takes at least two."
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review 9 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
no way,
Date:July 3, 2009
By emtblondie
from ct
from ct
Pros: easy to reel
"Very poor directions on sizes of bolts to use to put the pole togeather do not look at picture when mounting. Than when you unreel the cover to cover the pool again the cover sticks togeather this cover reel is a waste of money"
Review 10 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Poor Quality Control And Materials,
Date:May 26, 2009
By Hadtosaysomething
Pros: The design concept
Cons: Lack of quality materials and manufacturing
"The concept is is okay but some very poor quality components are used in the manufacture process. The brackets that mount to the pool are very fragile and break very easily. It comes with two collars that are suppose to go on the spindles on each end and the inside diameter is too big and the set screw holes are poorly machined and strip out before they tighten down. Had to make my own collars and am trying to get replacement mounting brackets. Buy if you dont mind fixing and making parts that should have been well made and correctly in the first place. Sorry, but it's the truth."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 11 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Worst reel I ever bought,
Date:December 4, 2008
By cinnamon
Pros: Steel ball bearings
Cons: Poor quaility material and design.
"The plastic flange mounting piece broke the first day of installing it. The reel is not strong enough. It bowed so much the solar cover hung in the water in the middle when the solar cover was rolled up on the reel. Granted I have the heavier solar cover, but the reels should be strong enough to hold whatever weight solar cover they sell. The fact that it has steel ball bearing did not inprove its ability to reel the cover in smoothly. I could not roll it up by myself. Even my husband could not roll easily.
The older reel I had with plastic ball bearings did a better job then this deluxe model."
The older reel I had with plastic ball bearings did a better job then this deluxe model."
Review 12 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Good Product,
Date:November 27, 2008
By pasooner
from PA
from PA
Pros: Stylish, keeps cover neat, comes apart easily
Cons: Plastic flanges break easily, rolling up too fast may cause tearing of solar cover
This customer did not provide a text review.
Review 13 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Best way to remove your cover.,
Date:August 28, 2008
By ssl604
from Ohio
from Ohio
Pros: One person can remove or put cover back on.
Cons: None
"We purchased a reel for our 27' round pool. My husband mounted it on two 4x4 posts at the far end of the pool. We placed the posts a little wider than the pool width. We bought extra rope so we could attach longer pieces to the solar cover. Now one person can roll or unroll the cover with no problems. There is no lifting or swinging the reel out of the way. This is the best and easiest way to remove your cover."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 14 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Deluxe - what a joke - Junk,
Date:July 9, 2008
By DrewGS
Pros: Good solid metal handle, easy to roll
Cons: Everything else
"My prior reel had a plastic handle and the handle broke. If I could find some of the broken parts I would go back to using it. I bought this because of the word "deluxe" and the metal handle. The metal handle and bearings are good, but the rest is cheap. One of the plastic plates was broken on arrival and In the Swim was responsive in replacing the piece. However the aluminum collars with a hex screw for holding the axles in stripped too easy and are useless. The ability to pivot is there if you have the strength to pull the locking pin out.
Unimpressive overall."
Unimpressive overall."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 15 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
good investment,
Date:June 25, 2008
By Buffy
from NJ
from NJ
Pros: fairly easy to use for 2 people, water temp rose 10* with cover
Cons: not meant for round pools..best for oval
"Still need 2 people to reel"
Review 16 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Broke First Day,
Date:June 18, 2008
By TomP333
from Michigan
from Michigan
Pros: Fit pool, easy instructions
Cons: Resin Mounting Brackets Broke first day! Should be metal
"Put it together on my 18'x35' above ground pool. resin mounting bracket on crank side broke and the one on the other side is cracked. Looked at my neighbor's and both of his had shattered, so he epoxied the aluminum bases directly to his rails. But now he can't put winter cover on over it.
Called GLI pool products help line. All you can do is leave message and no response."
Called GLI pool products help line. All you can do is leave message and no response."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 17 for Deluxe One-Person Solar Reel
Overall Rating:
Does the job, but...,
Date:June 16, 2008
By Stitch
from Lake of the Ozarks, MO
from Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Pros: Fast, convenient solar cover storage.
Cons: Mounting brackets flimsy, heavy to swing out of the way.
"I purchased this item looking for a fast, simple way to store my solar cover. For the most part it works as intended. There are a couple of things they do not tell you in the description. First, how heavy the whole thing is when you go to swing it out of the way. And to be sure you have a suitable place to rest the end. If you own a rectangle shaped pool, it won't be an issue. Second, the mounting brackets are made of a plastic resin. Very flimsy. They did think a head. They predrilled holes in the metal base mounts. If I were to do this again, I'd skip mounting the plastic and mount the metal right to the pool rail. And last but not least, is unrolling the solar cover. This is not a one person job. As you unroll it, someone needs to guide each side away from the reel. I guess one person could do this, but it would be alot of jumping in and out of the pool to get the job done."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.