VINGLI 18 Feet Pool Cover Reel Set Solar Pool Cover Reel for Inground Swimming Pool, Aluminum Solar Swimming Inground Cover Blanket Reel (Upgrade)

I was skeptical due to reviews that said it was difficult to understand the instructions, but I found them clear and watched a YouTube video of someone installing this unit, which was helpful. I was able to adjust it to make it wider than my pool to ensure that is rolled up without snagging-just make sure to leave at least a few inches on with side so that it is wide enough. Drilling the holes in order to assemble using the included self tapping screws is easy provided you use a bit for metal and not wood, just capture the shavings for easy clean up. It does tend to want to fall over if you pull the entire cover at once, so I unwrap 1/2 and met it fall into a pile, then cover the pool, making sure I overlap the end of the cover so that pool water doesn’t run over the cover, then the rest comes unwrapped easily and the unit doesn’t fall over. I like the screw handle lock. For another pool I had another reel that was lower to the ground then this one and more stable, but prices for one of those was four times this one, so I took a chance and bought this model. I’m glad I did because it’s well made, all stainless steel and aluminum, with a plastic insert between the two to avoid galvanic corrosion. Good design, great price, easy to install, and looks good. Would definitely buy again.

I am pleasantly surprised by this device — it’s sturdier than I expected, though an average-size 10yo could easily damage it. We have a 40x18 pool and the solar cover doesn’t sag at all in the middle. Hopefully it survives daily use, I’m a little worried my kids will bend the aluminum pipes. I’ve had it on the pool a few days now and it’s growing on me as I figure out it’s quirks. It’s not difficult to assemble, but as others have noted the directions aren’t the best. NOTE: This thing does NOT make taking the cover easier for us, it’s definitely a two-person job unless you have it anchored really well. Also the first day the wind blew it into the pool... needless to say you should anchor it! I’m pretty happy with it so far! My only regret is not making it wider before putting the screws in (see pictures, the cover is hard to get on perfectly and overlaps like 8 inches each side). At 18’ wide I’m worried going wider will reduce stability of the aluminum pipes, but the overlap is annoying.

The VINGLI 18 Feet Pool Cover Reel is fantastic! It was very easy to assemble, is incredibly sturdy, and works flawlessly—even for one-person operation. The only drawback I noticed was the plastic endcaps on one of the stands; they shatter easily and would be better if made of rubber. Thankfully, it’s an easy fix, as 1.5" rubber endcaps are widely available and work perfectly as replacements. Overall, this reel is a great buy and has made covering and uncovering my pool so much easier. Highly recommend!

Takes a little bit to assemble. Not an easy one person job, but possible. Works great and is very sturdy!

Worked okay until the wheels broke off

Updated 6/21/24: and now we have another 2 screw that have ended up in our pool. It is dangerous for the people swimming to have sharp screws and our pool liner bc it can get ripped. Design is VERY poor!! If I could give it 0 stars I would but I had to give it at least 1. Updated 5/30/2024: I normally don't update my reviews, but feel this is warranted. Since getting this pool reel, we have lost 4 screws out of the metal piece and one almost falling out. One came out within a week and luckily was on the cover. A few weeks later another fell into the pool. When we opened our pool this year we found a screw at the bottom of our deep end and there are 2 screws missing (so one is still MIA) and one that was about to fall out. Understand that this was cheap, but also not expensive. The design of the metal reel and the screws are VERY POOR quality. It's dangerous for the screws to fall out into the pool for both the people swimming, the liner, and the pool equipment! So my very handy husband (who built our in wall bookshelves) had a very difficult time putting this together. First the instructions are horrible, not proper English and not even visually easy to follow. The "self-tapping" screws didn't work so he still had to pre-drill the holes. Then the instructions stated "the buckle line had to be absolutely straight" which is not physically possible, so don't follow those instructions. We put it together and then took it apart and tried to make the buckle line "absolutely straight" as per the instructions, but it was physically impossible. It works, but we've only had it up for 2 days, so I cannot speak to durability. I do wish the clips were white instead of yellow.

This is essential if you have a solar pool cover. It is fairly simple to assemble. Just make sure you align the straps into the slots and space them out properly. The instructions don't specify several things, such as whether the clasps that clamp onto the cover should face up or down. I found that it doesn't matter, as long as they all face the same direction. You will want to order a reel that is wider than your pool. If your pool is 18 feet, order the 21 foot size. The covers never roll up evenly on both sides, so you need the extra space to account for that. I evaluated several brands, and this seems to be the most durable. The screw knob that is supposed to hold the reel in place after rolling up the cover doesn't do much, so I used a bungee cord around the cover and that worked great.

I think that this Reel is very well made. It does come with lots of parts to put together and not sure that the instructions were as clear as they needed to be especially for how to put the straps on. As for the non-wheeled side of the cart, very unstable. When rolling a pool cover onto this reel,the footed side falls over. I hasto put a cinderblock on he footto keep from flipping over, or have someone hold it down. however...works great for storing cover

Somewhat easy to assemble but very easy to use. Great quality You cant ask for better