COVERSTAR pool cover

Automatic pool cleaners, vacuum heads, pool covers,
decks, fencing, pool alarms and security ....
heartdoc

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby heartdoc » Tue 10 May, 2011 21:42

Anyone know a good service in ct? If so please e mail me vanlev@aol.com

this is the second time in four years the ropes broke and I am quite pissed off!!

coverstar is a piece of crapola


Shannon

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Shannon » Thu 19 May, 2011 19:19

Maybe I can help! I also have a Coverstar auto cover and have paid over $750 in service calls due to ongoing problems since installation 4 years ago! They continually pawned blame on everything but themselves! Cover would not close on one side and left a 2ft gap! Charged me to adjust it, and then blamed me because they say it was "Chemical Damage" or "Rodent Damage" What the heck! At the time....Pool was 3 months old! Ongoing problems with ropes, and getting stuck opening! I was so angry! I even called Utah the home office and had an attorney send a video, and pictures! The best they could do was pro-rate the warranty at a cost of $4670.00! And wanted $300 to come out from home office in Indianapolis! OMG! I was livid! Well guess what everyone! I had a guy from Jensen's Pools in Camby, Indiana come out and take a look at the cover 2 days ago, and in two hours...yes I said 2 hours.....FIXED MY COVER! Jensen's just started dealing with autocovers because of all the problems their pool customers were having! After 4 pool seasons and all the money I spent in service calls from those ruthless idiots....It took a guy with no coverstar experience 2 hours to fix my cover!!!!! And Coverstar wanted me to pay $4670 for a pro-rated new cover! Ha! That wouldn't have fixed the problem to begin with!!! If still having problems....not saying they can fix it....but give Jensen's Pools a call!!! 317-856-0600
jbacon

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby jbacon » Mon 23 May, 2011 19:56

I am the Vice President of Sales for Coverstar, LLC. Our President, Doug Larson, posted a comment on this forum several months ago regarding Coverstar’s ongoing goal to provide our customers with the most innovative and reliable pool cover products available on the market.

We are pleased today to announce the launch of our new PowerFlexTM rope, the next generation in autocover technology. Through a proprietary treatment process, PowerFlex rope behaves like a shock absorber that allows it to be more forgiving and self adjusting during operation. PowerFlex rope comes in a black color that allows it to blend into the background, and it is coated to add lubricity which minimizes friction along the track. What this should mean for you is an even more reliable and better performing product.

Our new PowerFlex rope comes with an industry-leading 2-year no break warranty when it is ordered as part of a full system, or when it is ordered with a replacement cover for a Coverstar system. If a PowerFlex rope breaks during the first two years after it has shipped from our factory, we will replace the ropes. No other manufacturer provides this type of no break warranty.

Although we believe this new rope technology is the best product available today, we will continue to look for ways to improve upon it as well as all of our autocover products. We appreciate your feedback (both positive and not so positive), and will do whatever we possibly can to ensure you are a satisfied customer.

If you have any comments or concerns about any of our products or services, feel free to contact me or one of our customer service representatives at 1-800-617-7283.

Sincerely,

John Bacon
Vice President Sales
Coverstar, LLC
vsurg

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby vsurg » Tue 24 May, 2011 17:15

Great forum. I have also been duped by coverstar (which we call fallenstar in our house). I am a busy surgeon and believed everything the service people have told me. We have had broken rope(s) the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and now the 6th year of ownership. Funny thing is the last time, which was two years ago, they must have only replaced one rope, because the two ropes are different, as a result of fading, colors. I believed them when they told me it was because of the salt water-HAH! I am getting to retirement time and have more time on my hand. When the rope broke yesterday, I spent about 30 mins figuring out what needed to do to replace the rope and the last 3 hours joining forums, researching rope and am now ready to fix it myself. SHAME on me to have spent $3600.00 already on broken ropes.

The guys that make a living changing ropes must be trying to keep secrets, because it is very difficult to get answers without reading and re-reading; furthermore there seems to be no consensus.............for the guy that now has 170 new customers how bout telling us exactly what you use and how? You will not be losing any business from most of us who do not live near you..........maybe you are so busy replacing rope you don't have time.......

Questions: How much rope is needed per side Lentgh x 2 + ? (i.e. how much extra is needed).
What is the material that is used to be sewn onto the rope (that attaches to the cover)?
Is there a consensus as to what rope to use. Diameter, strength, material?

From what I gather from reading and measuring my rope, the equation is Lx2+ 1/3L for the length needed for each side. The diameter is around 1/4in. or ~ 6mm. Kevlar is strong, but maybe too strong. (the new polyflex has some give). T-900 Technora/Dyneema Double braid in 6mm @4400lb. @ $1.71/ft but this works out to about $250 total for the rope.

Someone here suggested he could fix the problem for $150 + travel, using kevlar which at that price would have low stretch and ~ 1700 lbs (which does not meet the specs of the current coverstar rope at 4000lbs.) You can buy Polyester covered kevlar @ ~ $.68/ foot, but will this be strong enough?

I may not have the facts completely straight, but it has been a bear, sorting through all of this. There is also a paucity of photos.

time to stop.
MoneyPit

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby MoneyPit » Wed 25 May, 2011 12:57

Since I am in the same predicament, I feel compelled to respond as I am in total agreement with your post. It's almost like a secret society. I will figure out which rope to use and how to change them. Then, expose the society with all the sordid pictures I take along the way
DRRICK
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue 24 May, 2011 15:11
My Pool: 16x32 ft. rectangular, Goldline SWCG,
Location: oregon

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby DRRICK » Thu 26 May, 2011 12:32

"From what I gather from reading and measuring my rope, the equation is Lx2+ 1/3L for the length needed for each side"

More info. There is actually pretty good information on the coverstar central website (good for you Coverstar!). The strength of the rope they use-they call it proprietary (Which I call BS), is quoted on their site as 3200lbs, other sites have it at 4000lbs and 2000lbs.

The equation, IMO, is: Length of pool X 2 + 6ft. (add Width of pool to the far side rope).

DO NOT USE Kevlar if you have a Salt Water pool. It is an aramid and aramids do not like salt water.

Dyneema is a newer synthetic rope that is used in Yacht racing rigging and appears to be fantastic! It is 10x's stronger than the same weight of steel, is flexible and can be ordered in a variety of strenths from 3200lbs to 7500 lbs for 6mm diamter,which is more or less the diameter (by micrometer) of the rope in my cover now and is excellent for use on winches. What I am not sure of is which type of braid to use.

Here is a quote from "Boatlore.com"Braided line can be single braid, called hollow core and found mostly in small diameters, or double braid, which is the more common kind. It is stronger than laid line, does not stretch as much, passes more smoothly through a block, and can be coiled in either direction. It is more difficult to splice, however, and more susceptible to chafe. Three types of double braid are parallel core that has a braided cover over straight strands of fiber and is strongest, multibraid that has two pairs of Z-laid and two pairs of S-laid strands and is the most flexible, and braid on braid that has a braided cover over a braided core and has the least stretch.

So After much research and perusal of the online rope sources I have decided to go with an excellent yacht racing rope from http://www.ropeinc.com/cat-new-england-hightech.html called T-900. http://www.ropeinc.com/t900.htm It is a combination of polyester and dyneema. WIll cost me approx. $200, which I realize is expensive, but may be the last time needed to replace. stay tuned.
DRRICK
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue 24 May, 2011 15:11
My Pool: 16x32 ft. rectangular, Goldline SWCG,
Location: oregon

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby DRRICK » Fri 27 May, 2011 13:38

Ordered T-900 from ropeinc. only 1.31/ ft. Will up date as soon as I install it.
Pool Cover Services/UTAH

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Pool Cover Services/UTAH » Sun 03 Jul, 2011 10:38

hello everyone, My Business is Pool Cover Services/UTAH. I have been installing and servicing automatic pool covers for over 15 years, I have worked on every kind of pool cover out there. There is an answer to your problems. If your fortunate to live in Utah I can replace ropes on any cover for $65.00 per rope plus 1-2 hours labor. I would never buy from Coverstar. If you are outside of Utah, call Pool Specialists in Indiana, THey have very qualified techs. Rgardless of where you live Pool SPecialists will send you replacement rope kits that can easily be installed, the rope has been tested and I know first hand IT WORKS and will last for the life of the cover!!!
Anyone on this forum is welcome to call me anytime for information or contact numbers for help in getting your pool cover serviced! Bryan
cuff

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby cuff » Sat 13 Aug, 2011 22:19

While I haven't had any problems with coverstar yet (we had it installed in 2006) we are now having rope problems, haven't called any one yet just happened today Sat 8/12.having trouble closing it's stuck 1/3 open.
the customer service & other areas of service are big problems just like the previous folks have had, I can appreciate their frustation. we have had problems with almost everyone else in this industry starting with the pool builder saying one thing & doing another, not doing some things they said they would & then lying about the whole thing.
had the same problem with hot tub repair people saying they would fix it for one price then billing another, then telling the most amazing story to justify it, you would think Steven King was in the house. are the bells ringing yet.
,to me it sounds like all of the really dumb people are in this field called water recreation well not all of us could fit so we went other places. & did good & some took the easy way out, you thought i was going to say live off their inhairtence, nooooo they went in to politics. thats why I'm dumb I just realized it this week. & they have known about it all their lives. funny huh. hang in there
Ihateautocovers

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Ihateautocovers » Sat 20 Aug, 2011 16:10

It's not just Coverstar covers that sells problematic auto covers. I don't think there is any auto cover that has the technology to work correctly and trouble free over time.

We just had a Cover Pools automatic pool cover installed on our new build fiberglass pool just 10 days ago and it already won't open. Our entire experience with this ugly thing and incompetent pool installer has been nothing but a nightmare. It includes the installer using a 4 ft drain pipe to drain underneath a 6.5 ft deep pool and the pool popped out of the ground. Seriously.

After we spent $17,000 for our beautiful stamped concrete on our freeform pool, the installer laid 2 silver metal railroad tracks on either side of the pool, covering the trim and hanging over into the pool. We had no idea this was how it would look. We trusted that he knew what he was doing. I had read the info sent to us by the pool cover company explaining how their covers were installed on new build freeform pools, and I thought figured the installer knew the companies directions for installation. If he did, it didn’t make any difference. It was easier to throw the tracks on top of the deck and screw it in and charge us the same as one of the suggested installations.

BTW, can I ask what other deck mount auto pool cover owners paid for them and installation?
bcboy

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby bcboy » Mon 05 Dec, 2011 19:36

I was just quoted on a Coverstar Automatic Pool Cover System. Your efforts have paid off as I will not be going ahead with Coverstar.

Thanks for the posts
outdoorben

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby outdoorben » Wed 07 Dec, 2011 19:35

A follow-up to my previous post. I kept nursing along my cover, applying sunscreen and an occasional patch using a good contact cement. We also stopped leaving it closed as much as we used to (as in we DIDN'T use it...) so it got fewer UVs. It finally completely fell apart this year (6.5 total, better than the previous 3.5, but not because it was better quality -- it was because of the sunscreen, patches and simply not using it).

It's really not been safe for a full year, but it did help keep the water from evaporating during the summer.

Ironically, unlike so many others, we still have never had a rope break. Not in the two short-lived covers we have owned.

So... I'm having an independent cover contractor replace the cover at a lower cost than the local coverstar rep. This includes the aluminum tracks (quite corroded) AND the aluminum roller for the cover -- incredibly corroded and on its last legs already. We're replacing the original plain aluminum roller from coverstar with an anodized version which he says will last a lot longer. So far, unlike the coverstar dealer that we worked with before, we like the new contractor. Here's hoping we still do in 3 years :)

Long story, short: at quite a bit less than the new local coverstar dealer wants, this is still a 3k project. Coverstar covers do NOT save you money, unlike what their brochures say. And, I definitely would NOT recommend buying one. I still don't know about competitors, but coverstar get a big thumbs-down at this point :thumbdown:

I hope this helps someone in the market.

-Ben

outdoorben wrote:We have had a coverstar pool cover for about 8 years now. Haven't had any problems with the rope or main mechanisms, BUT:

1) key switch -- it wore out. I was going to replace it myself, but was really busy and had a pool party coming up. That stinking little switch cost $300.00 to replace! A team of two to replace the switch? I asked my wife "what is the most ridiculous amount you can imagine for that switch?" She said "$150.00". I said "double it" and she about hit the floor...

2) cover longevity part 1 -- no such thing. Our pool is on the south side of our house and it gets a lot of sun. Despite all their claims of longevity, the first lasted 3.5 years before is started cracking and leaking a ridiculous amount of water (very unsafe). Luckily, it was still under warranty so it didn't cost us an arm and a leg. However, to replace the whole cover (if it had been out of warranty) would have cost more than hiring a pool man for the entire time we owned the cover!

3) cover longevity part 2 -- despite their claims that we "got a bad batch of vinyl," our second cover started to crack again at just 3 years. Luckily, I found a product called 303 protectant that is a sunscreen for your stuff. That and some spot patching and we are nursing it along into year 4.5. This is despite Coverstar telling is to not put ANYTHING on the cover except for their special screen to the tune of hundreds of dollars per year as part of an incredibly overpriced "service call" that they "highly recommend". Sorry... I can clean out the leaves myself. Just tell me what the best sunscreen is for your short-live product! (BTW, I'm going to DOUSE my next cover from day one with sunscreen...)

4) The plastic runners that are on each side of the bar that spans the pool -- they wore out. I called Coverstar about replacements. They wanted $55.00 each! This is a poorly milled piece of plastic. I was fed-up at that point, so I went to a local plastics place and got some scrap. I then "milled" it on my table saw. A couple of hours later, I had 6 sets for $15.00 and some labor.

So, while I really like having a pool cover, I cannot recommend coverstar. Is there a better alternative? I don't know.

BTW, when this cover finally wears out, I'm going to try and find a local awning expert to make me a new one by copying the one I have.

-Ben
30yearsintheindustry

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby 30yearsintheindustry » Tue 17 Jan, 2012 15:03

I would like to offer some insight to the rope issues. When purchasing any rope the diameter of the pulley the rope travels around should be considered. There needs to be a compromise between strength and a minimal amount of stretch. Many ropes available may have a higher break strength but cannot be used with "1 pulleys which are used in the pulley caps on the end of the tracks by every auto cover manufacturer in the industry. When a rope has too much stretch the cover will not opeate smoothly and the longer rope of the two [non-motorside] will never run reliably straight. "Coverstar" mechanisms have a slip-clutch that prevents damage to the mechanism so "give" in the ropes is not necessary. If i could be of assistance in any way regarding a pool cover issue please message me.
Coverstarllc

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Coverstarllc » Fri 24 Feb, 2012 17:42

Outdoorben,

Coverstar goes to great lengths to ensure that we provide the best product and service in the industry, and we appreciate the feedback whether it is negative or positive, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our customers are satisfied with our products. We apologize for your unfortunate experience thus far with your local Coverstar dealer, and we encourage you to call our head office so that we may further assist your needs.

Please refer to our Use & Care Guide, and other flyers and brochures to learn more about Coverstar products (http://www.scribd.com/COVERSTAR) and how they should properly be used and maintained.

If you are ever not satisfied with the product or service that you have received from Coverstar or one of our dealers, we encourage you to call our head office so that we may ensure that we provide the best product and service in the industry. Please feel free to contact one of our customer service representatives at 1-800-617-7283.

Coverstar
info@coverstar.com
1-800-617-7283
John75

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby John75 » Sat 10 Mar, 2012 19:27

Hi Mike! Have you checked this guide about pool covers at www.indoorpoolguide.com/pool-covers

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