We have a large in ground pool, approx 19x7m.
Over winter it’s covered with a heavy specialised tarp - made to measure.
However it takes 2/3 people to put on/off.
We inherited this with the house and until now have just dragged the cover off and left it folded nearby.
This is getting to be a pain (in every sense!) and now we are finally ready to let the gites we don’t fancy the idea of a big pile of tarp just lying around.
Is there any roller system - similar to the ones for solar / summer covers - only suitable for heavy duty winter covers?
I’ve tried google and just get rollers for summer use.
Thanks in anticipation 
What you need to do is put “volet roulant piscine” into a search engine. You’ll find many examples of motorised horizontal roller shutters that cover pools securely, though they won’t be cheap. Here is one example.
Thanks. I know about this option but was trying to find some way of simply rolling on/off the existing cover. There’s a 5 yr plan (once a trust gets wound up to provide the cash) to install a cover allowing all year use so I’m trying to find some method to tied us over until then
Sounds like you need advice from a professional swimming pool installer reasonably local to your area. Surely they would have a solution to your problem. Try a google search for ‘piscine installation’ followed by the name of your departement. Good luck.
Already done that and was told such rollers don’t exist , at least not in France. Their only advice was don’t put the cover on, leave the pool open during the winter, which I’m reluctant to do because it is surrounded by three large ash and several flowering shrubs: lots of fallen leaves!
That is ridiculous advice. I used to look after a pool for some friends who decided to save money by not having a proper winter cover. Sorting out the pool for the next season was a complete nightmare due to the the amount of debris & dirt that it accumulated over the winter. They eventually invested in a proper heavy cover &, apart from the aforementioned hard work of removing/reinstalling it, it has been a total success in terms of keeping the pool clean. There is the additional benefit of having complete security during the winters months, both for humans & wildlife. It is so strong that I can roll from one side of the pool to the other on it!
Mechanically a roller system for a tarp type winter cover is going to need to be very powerful, & it would need to be clever to avoid the cover slipping from the sides & depositing any debris on it into the the pool. I’ve never seen such a system, but they might be out there.
As Jonathan says, don’t go down the “no cover” route. There may be a way to adapt your present cover. You may be aware of the covers that have the long bars across the width and roll up using a handle. If you can get one of those bars, wide enough to go across your tarp and find a way to attach it, (loops, ties, etc), you could either then use one of the handles to wind it up, although it still needs two people, one each side or there are actual motorised units that will wind it up. It’s called a Vektor. Not cheap, maybe 700€ new but you might get one second hand or cheaper on e-bay or somewhere and would, when you move to the electric cover, should have a value if you sell it.
If you go down this route I’ll be happy to give advice if you need it.
Thanks for that. I’m reluctant to go down the uncovered route anyway knowing how much grot accumulates over the winter.
George Topp.
George, did you get anywhere with your roller? A commercial roller with a reduction gearbox on the winding handle should do it. I have details if needed. I will check the spec on the one I am thinking of as 19mtr is a heavy load
Decided against the idea of a roller for such a short period. We are putting up a permanent year round cover (abri?) next year so this time will manage with its winter cover
But thanks for the advice and thinking about me
No problem George, just trying to assist if needed. good luck with the abri, that’s a big one, like to see a picture if possible.
We’ve spotted a few of similar size around here, including one owned by a
local councillor