You didn't mention which part of the country you are located in. Are you really sure about the salt water system? Our pool builder (with 30 years experience in So. CA) advised against salt water. I only mention this because we did get an automatic cover - sorry, a local company not any of the ones you're considering. Love the cover; in fact since it "shades" the pool from the sun when not in use it actually reduces the amount of chlorine needed in the pool. And it keeps debris out so you don't have to constantly vacuum. So although the emphasis is on safety and less water evaporation there are other wonderful benefits to covers! HTH

Thanks, 5Birdy. I am also in Southern California. My understanding is that salt water systems work well around here and that is mostly what both pool builders I am considering install. I have heard that there were some problems historically with the Pentair salt system (part of the reason for my post) but my understanding is that they have it figured out now. I've heard that heavy use can overwhelm a salt system, but I think that is true with any system. I've also heard about salt residue around the coping but I feel like I can deal with that and my understanding is that you need to rinse that cover tracks regularly regardless of how you chlorinate your pool...

Barrysag, you will love having a pool! Such a long swimming season. Our cover got our unheated pool up to 85 degrees in April. I'm very happy with the cover from this local company in case you want to check them out. It is taut and fits well.

Pool Safe

Hello Barrysag,

Our Hydramatic hydraulic automatic pool cover system has the longest most complete warranty on the market at 20 years, including the motors and controllers. Those items on other brands are usually only warrantied for 3 years. And those are your high cost components. Aquamatic is the oldest independent automatic cover manufacturer in the world, and we hold more patents and intellectual property than ALL other covers combined!

Regarding salt, the same conditions apply to ALL cover manufacturers. When the water leaves the vessel, and said water evaporates, that leaves a pure salt residue. That is very corrosive (think rust belt in the northeast, what does salt do to road and cars). While we have many, many customers that have salt pools with our cover, and have no issue, there are many that do. The key is maintenance. Meaning you need to rinse the mechanism on a frequent basis, and also clean the cover surface more often. Salt leaves a white chalky residue on the cover surface which beyond not looking nice, will also prematurely dry out the plasticizers in the vinyl.

The peripheral maintenance required with salt is not worth the perceived benefits.

If you would like a more in depth discussion, I can be reached at 800.262.4044 x205

Good luck with your decision making process

You'll love the pool! Such a long bathing season. Our cover brought our non-heated pool to 85 degrees in April. I hope you enjoy this local business coverage. Tight and a good fit.

Swimmingvac