My kit came with instructions printed on the reverse side of the paper that was attached to the top of the product bag - easy to miss. Instructions were terse.

My problem with installation was that the straps come pre-cut to 26" length. This is stated in the product description, but I missed the significance of it. Pre-cut straps this short will ONLY work with a rectangular ended solar blanket. I have an oval end and I cut the solar cover to fit so I had to go shopping for a long, uncut piece of strapping material so that I could make the attachment from the reel to the blanket. Also, my pool is almost 40' long so the reel is quite high off the ground to accommodate the diameter of the rolled up blanket. The 26" straps provided were not even long enough to reach from the reel to the blanket.

If I was the kit manufacturer and I wanted to meet ALL customer needs I would include a generous amount of uncut roll of strap material instead of the short pre-cut straps. Currently it's a product that only fits a certain subset of pools.

Fortunately, the problem can be fixed by the customer, but it's a hassle and a waste of money to throw away the useless kit straps.

(Posted on 5/9/12)

The product works great, but I agree, an instruction sheet with the product would have been nice. It would taken me a lot longer to install if I didn't have Gail's instructions. Thanks, Gail.

(Posted on 6/1/10)

Works much better than velcro, but took me longer than it should to figure how to install, so here are instructions of how I did it, to help future purchasers:
1. Before you begin, take note of the distance from the pool cover while in pool to the bottom of the reel at intervals down the reel where you will be placing your straps. Remove reel from pool area to install straps as drilling the holes and inserting the screws will cause metal shavings which could damage your pool. I prefer to leave the end of the pool cover square rather than cutting it to fit pool, as it will always remain attached to the reel.
2. Holding fastener plate with ridge on hole facing downward, insert strap going down in slot farthest from hole. Pull through enough slack to be able to go up through next slot, then down through slot closest to hole and end up with hole in end of strap lining up with hole in fastener plate.
3. Place another fastener plate on opposite end in same manner. If your pool cover is not square on the end, depending on your pool cover shape, you may want to have some straps longer and others shorter so pool cover reels up evenly. Adjust your straps accordingly by centering holes closer to center of straps over holes in faster plates. You should end up with all straps having rounded ends of the fasteners out from the center of the straps.
4. Screws are self tapping, but I find it easier to get them started by drilling an 1/8" hole where I will be placing each strap. This keeps the fastener screw positioned correctly while screwing it in with the self tapping screw. If your reel has an indentation about the size of the fastener, this is an ideal place to put the screws, being sure to leave correct distance from indentation ridge in reel so there is room for the fastener plate. Measure out a uniform spacing on your reel in a straight line down reel and drill the holes you need.
5. Place the self tapping screw in the hole of the fastener plate with the ridged side of the plate facing the reel. Be sure the hole in the strap is lined up with the screw. With strap hanging down as it will into the pool, screw fastener plate to reel. Repeat with remaining straps.
6. Take reel into pool area and place reel where you will keep it with all straps hanging down onto cover.
7. To position each strap in the correct location, start at the center of the reel and cover, working to the outside. Make a hole in the pool cover about 3-4 inches from edge of cover. Put black screw cap on bottom, pushing up through pool cover, then through hole in strap, and screwing into the fastener plate hole.
8. Fasten each strap to the correct place on the pool cover, extending straps as necessary to reach curved or angled portions of the cover.

(Posted on 5/4/10)

The product works fine and is of decent quality but could have used an instruction sheet.The only problem I had was that there were no instructions of any kind and I had to figure the installation out.

(Posted on 8/10/09)

This is exactly what we needed to attach our solar cover to our cover rod. We have a 16 x 32 ft inground pool. The straps installed easily and make it possible for one person to roll up the cover without bunching. It also prevents us from pulling the cover off the reel when we cover the pool. I recommend this purchase. Wendy Wallace, Goshen Ohio

(Posted on 8/10/09)

I have used this product in the past and it works much better than the velcro alternative. It stays in place and makes rolling up the blanket by yourself possible. The strap material lasted as long as the solar blanket it was attached to (about 6 years).

(Posted on 11/18/08)