I dunno on this one but I would say cut the cover.

As far as a reel or no reel depends on how much cover/pool we are
talking about. If is small enough you could probably just fold it a
few times and lift it out (we used to do this at my parents before they
got a reel.)

I dont see how much harm it would do if you did reel it though.. Those
are pretty flexible...

I would cut it as close as you can get it..it is a pain if it is cut
big but if it is a hair small you wont lose that much heat.

Hope this helps

Josh

wrote:
I'm thinking of buying a solar pool cover for our swimming pool. I
understand that these work by cutting the evaporation (there's some
useful info at
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/...mytopic=13140).
But our pool is kidney-shaped, and it's not clear to me whether it
would be better to

(1) cut the cover to the shape of the pool, or

(2) keep the cover rectangular, but don't cover all the water.

Are there durability issues if I do (1)? From what I've read, it
should buy a reel to make it easier to put on and take off. I'm
concerned that using the cover every day during the cooler season would
mean that the wider parts of the cover would rub on the narrower parts
of the pool as I reel it back and forth, and wear it out (more!)
quickly.

It's also unclear to me how well I can fit it when I do the cutting,
and whether a little excess cover or a little open water is better (or
maybe this doesn't make much difference).

Mike