Freeze protection recommendations?

[stimpsonjcat]

I have an 'indoor' pool. It is 4000 gallons. It is an exercise pool that will have a 'fast lane' installed in it. We intend to use it year round.

The skimmer sticks out the side of the pool, here's a pic. I don't think this has much of a freeze potential.

There is also the normal PVC plumbing, maybe 25 feet of it exposed, going to and from the pump/filter/heater.

I have read the manuals for several pool control systems, and they all seem to have a 'freeze mode' where they simply run the pump and then alternate between spa and pool supply/returns. i will be doing a similar control in my PLC-controlled version.

I am considering adding heat-tape as a backup plan, mainly in case we lose power and I need to protect the system using my small generator. In this case I can wrap the pipe easily enough, what have folks done with the filter and pump?

 

[atttech-2]

I would say you have almost zero to worry about, I don't see the skimmer ever freezing since it will draw heat from the water inside the pool. It takes several hours at temps below 32F for a pipe to freeze and since the pool water is going to be well above freezing, convection is going to make it difficult for even the exposed pipe to freeze. If you want a bit more insurance I would think that foam insulation on the exposed pipe would be more than sufficient.

 

[stimpsonjcat]

Excellent!

OK, some insulation would make me sleep a bit better.