Safety Cover On Non-winterized Pool

[reduca]

Our inground gunite pool in NE Oklahoma was just finished in early November. Like most pool owners in our area, we are leaving our pool open for the winter. We're not actually swimming in it, we're just not going to winterize it. This was recommended since the white plaster finish is so new. Anyway, for safety, our pool guy recommended that we get a safety cover for the winter. He said he has customers who do this, and even has one who leaves their Polaris pool cleaner connected and running on a daily basis beneath the cover. His recommendation is a Loop Loc mesh cover. I read Loop Loc's FAQ's and it says that the water level should be 15"-18" below the top of the pool. That would put it below the level of our skimmer opening and below the tile line, which would not be good for the curing of the new plaster.

What would be the cons of leaving the water at normal level, other than if someone ventured onto the cover, they would get wetter that if the water level was lower?

[ps558]

Our inground gunite pool in NE Oklahoma was just finished in early November. Like most pool owners in our area, we are leaving our pool open for the winter. We're not actually swimming in it, we're just not going to winterize it. This was recommended since the white plaster finish is so new. Anyway, for safety, our pool guy recommended that we get a safety cover for the winter. He said he has customers who do this, and even has one who leaves their Polaris pool cleaner connected and running on a daily basis beneath the cover. His recommendation is a Loop Loc mesh cover. I read Loop Loc's FAQ's and it says that the water level should be 15"-18" below the top of the pool. That would put it below the level of our skimmer opening and below the tile line, which would not be good for the curing of the new plaster.

What would be the cons of leaving the water at normal level, other than if someone ventured onto the cover, they would get wetter that if the water level was lower?

There is no harm in what you want to do. The water level should not be any lower then 18 inches for a safety cover. Of course i do not know what your average winter temp is.

[reduca]

So basically, there isn't really a minimum water level requirement, other than the cover should not be touching the water. If that's the case, then you've answered my question. Thank you.

FYI...The link below shows the "typical" weather for my location, although it already seems to be colder than usual:

http://www.accuweather.com/us/ok/broken-ar...=0&zipchg=1

[quantumchromodynamics]

Leaving the water at the normal operating level is fine. The mesh cover tension is adjustable and it should not sag very much. The higher water level will help support the cover if you get a lot of heavy snow.

One of the issues with a cover that sags into the water is safety, because if someone were to go onto the cover, it might sink deep enough to become a drowning hazard, especially for a child.

The other issue with a cover that sags into the water is that the cover could get frozen into the water if the pool water on top turned to ice, because that might damage the cover.

I think that if you keep the cover properly tensioned, then it will work properly. The proper tension is where the springs are compressed to about 50 to 75 % of their compressibility.

[StationWagon]

make sure you drain water out of the pipes so they don't freeze under the cold, it is good to get safety cover but that is up too you.

[quantumchromodynamics]

A few more tips to consider:

1) Continue to check all of the chemical levels and correct as necessary. It is easy to forget about doing such things in the winter while the pool is covered. Improper chemistry can seriously damage your plaster causing such problems as stains, scale or etching.

2) Periodically pull back the cover to check to make sure that the bottom is clean. Run the Polaris or vacuum as needed to keep the bottom clean. The mesh covers are good for safety, but they allow a lot of fine particulate matter to go through. Sand, silt, mulch, organic debris, leaves and such will go through the mesh. Some of the newer, tighter weaves work better at keeping out fine debris than older covers.

3) Be prepared to winterize the equipment if the electricity goes off long enough to freeze and damage the equipment. If you lose power for an extended period while the temperatures are low enough, you could seriously damage all of the equipment. Alternatively, you could use a gas-powered generator to power the equipment if necessary. Have a plan to switch to backup power if necessary.

[reduca]

Thanks for the suggestions. Our plan, at least for the rest of this winter, is to leave the equipment connected and running whether we decide to cover the pool or not. The filter pump is programmed to run daily to keep the water filtered. It runs even more so as it regularly goes into freeze protection. The Polaris is also programmed to run on a regular basis to keep the pool swept. We have been, and will continue to monitor the chemical content of the pool water throughout the winter.

We have already experienced a power outage. On Christmas eve we had blizzard conditions and the power went off for about three hours. The temperature outside was about 25 degrees at the time. After about ten minutes, I decided not to wait on the power to return, so I went outside, shut off all of the breakers to the equipment and pulled all of the drain plugs. The pool froze over that night and the next, which had me worrying about the water line tile cracking. On Saturday, it warmed enough that I was able to replace all of the plugs, prime the filter pump and get things running again. The ice in the pool quickly melted when the water began to move again. Ironically, just three days before the power went out, we did something we had talked about doing even before we got a pool. We contracted to have a standby generator installed. The model we purchased had to be ordered, so it wasn't immediately available to be installed in time to prevent the power outage.

We were advised not to close the pool this winter since the plaster is so fresh. We'll see how the rest of the winter goes and then evaluate whether or not we'll actually close pool down next winter. We haven't experienced a close/reopen process yet, so we're not sure if that will be more of a pain than dealing with and worrying about freezing conditions.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Having the water at the tile line does pose some risk to the tile if you get a hard enough freeze. It might be worthwhile to close the pool and lower the water level during the time where freezing is a concern.

If you definitely want to continue to operate the system, it might be worthwhile to create some sort of expansion break to reduce the risk of tile damage if you think that you could get more than superficial surface ice. Here are some ideas:

1) Get enough of those closed cell foam Pool Noodles to line the perimeter of the pool. Connect them by inserting a short piece of PVC pipe into the center hole of the noodle.

2) Get enough 2-inch PVC pipe to line the perimeter of the pool. Connect the PVC with 2-inch couplings (glued to make the pipe watertight) and cap both ends with 2-inch PVC caps. Then get some of those blue, closed-cell foam camping pads and wrap the pipe with the foam using plastic zip-ties. Each pipe section would be the length of a straight section of the pool.

3) Anything else you can think of that would do the same thing.

Make sure not to block the water flow into the skimmer. You will have to figure out some way to secure the expansion break near the tile so it does not float away.

[reduca]

Well, after experiencing two different incidences of our pool freezing over, we've decided to winterize and cover it for the remainder of the winter. We're in the process of getting estimates for solid safety covers, and as soon as the current layer of ice melts, I'm going to lower the water level to 2-3 inches below the tile/skimmer. That will put the water level at 8-9 inches above the returns and light. However, it will only be about 2-3 inches above the Polaris cleaner port. Therefore, I'm going to plug that port in case the pool freezes more that a couple of inches thick. Would it be best to plug that port with a rubber compression plug or with a threaded PVC plug? Also, how much insulation, if any, will a solid safety cover provide in minimizing the freezing of the pool water?

[quantumchromodynamics]

All of the plumbing should be cleared of water with compressed air and plugged. You can use rubber plugs or threaded plugs. The solid cover will help reduce freezing in the pool.