GLI 16 ft. Hurricane Aluminum Solar Blanket Reel for In-Ground Pools

The GLI solar cover reel package arrived without the base, upon which the tube rests and thereby allows the cover to be reeled off the pool. Even though the picture clearly shows the item having both the tube and the base, apparently the base is sold separately. Clearly false advertising.

EDIT: the turquoise straps that attach the reel to the blanket are an utter waste. Less then one season and they literally turned to dust in my hands. Guess that's why they include twice as many straps as one needs... Wish I would have kept them :-(I took a bit of a risk ordering this but was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality. Although not mentioned, this reel comes with straps to attach a cover! In fact, it includes twice the number of straps that a typical install requires. (10 straps) Alll hardware is included plus a driver bit for the tek screws that attach the straps. The pole is a three part design that has the two outer pieces connect with the third larger diameter section. The pieces must be drilled with the included drill bit and bolted together.Assembly took about 20 minutes. The instructions are complete and easy to follow.Now the bad stuff, if you already have a cover for a pool that has an irregular shape, the straps may not work without modification. The instructions have you fold the cover and secure the grommets through the folded over portion. The instructions suggest that you cut your cover about 6 inches longer in order to accommodate this method of securing. This isn't a big deal unless you have an irregular shaped pool and a solar cover that is already cut. To address this, I made some elongated washers out of some old thin cutting boards I had and placed them I between the securing grommet and solar cover to provide additional tear resistance.I'm not knocking the product, as you can see by my 5 star rating. It was just a unique issue I ran into.This product is made in china. One of the bolt heads was deformed so much that a closed end 6 point wrench would not turn the bolt. I don't think they make bolts like that in Youngstown Ohio where the company is headquartered.

Living on the coast I had to consider the wind and elements. This reel best met my needs. It was rust-resistant aluminum and appeared to have a good, simple design that sets low to the ground. However, since the reel handIe turns so easily, I would have liked a simple brake to set to prevent the reel from unwinding when the wind blows. I found that a looped cord secured the reel handle from unwinding in the wind. Note: Do not discard the leftover pieces of the reel attachment straps because they can be handy as replacements, if needed.

The manufacturer needs to redesign their packaging for the 4" aluminum rod sections. I got the first one in ripped open and damaged so I returned it. The second one arrived again ripped open and missing the hardware.

For the price, I really thought it would be better constructed. It arrived missing the handle. I called the company on the instruction sheet, several times, to see if they would just send me the handle. Most calls went to voicemail and they never returned our calls or emailed us, which they said they would if we left an email address. After numerous calls over several days we finally reached a human. He said a missing part wasn't covered by warranty and that someone must have stole it. Essentially saying, not my problem, it's your problem. As others have stated, it is too light and the weight of the blanket will cause it to either tip over or slide into the pool. If you get one, better bolt it down. But based on my experience I would stay away from this company.

Don't know why it took me so long to cover the pool and keep it a lovely temperature when the winter temps hit Hawaii. This is the perfect gauge plastic for a 32' x 16' pool. Any thicker would have been too heavy to handle going in and out. I chose blue to still look the color of our pool water when I look out.[ The rack has been handy to attach the edge of the blanket to and so give it a "home."] But, frankly, we got tired of reeling it in and out after the second day! So when we're ready to swim, we just set the rack with the blanket edge attached a few feet back from the edge, and then proceed ( the 2 of us ) to each pick up our edge with one hand at about the stairs location and walk it back to the stand, drop it, pick up the next section of about the same length, walk it back and drop it and lastly the final edge!

Took two hours to put together, and it's flimsy at best. The worst part is the cheap plastic screws and clips that attach the straps to the cover.

The delivery was missing several pieces. I contacted the seller who was long on promises and short on action. Still waiting for the missing parts, and now they want digital pictures of the boxes and still haven't sent the missing parts 2 weeks later, but they're "working on getting the missing parts sent". Give me a break. Avoid this seller.

I believe this product is built well, however, when it came, all the parts was not there. I've read other reviews stating the same.

light and solid

Biggest complaint is the base it just too light so it topples over often in strong wind. Otherwise, very good quality.

Received tube reel with no triangle base and handle.

I only got the pole in the box. All other parts were missing.I was told there was no more left to replace it and after a few phone calls I got my money back.