What kind of winter pool cover do you use?

[geekgranny]

I was just wondering. I have a ton of deer fencing. It is extremely light weight and we have enough wind that I bet the leaves would be blown off constantly. I'm going to think about that. It certainly would be easier to deal with and the cost would be minimal. The spacing is one inch but virtually all of our leaves are much bigger than that.

At any rate the "tent" is the ticket. WOW.

gg=alice

 

[GEM]

Only thing to watch is that you don't get too much water over winter and potentially pop your coping stone with ice from below.

And how do you do that? Drain it a few times with a pump on a warm winter day? Is the cover loose enough to squeeze a hose in there when the hooks are frozen in ice?

I used the tarp & bags last year and will do again this year but it's a pain.. on the other hand, I'm not really willing to pay 3k for a tarp since I don't need the safety feature of it (pool area is enclosed).

Haven't had to drain off any water yet (only 2 winters) and in our case we would need about 12 inches of water from the snow before the coping would be an issue. I believe the strategy is exactly what you laid out.... on a warm winter day where there's water on top they come and drain it off with a portable pump. Yes - the cover is held in place with spring loaded straps every couple feet.....you just loosen a couple of the straps and you'd have access to the pool.

When I added up the cost of the water to refill a newly opened pool, the additional cost of the full priced opening/closing (remember - I get them to do that because my pool warranty is extended) it doesn't take long before the cover has paid for itself.

 

[keeper]

this is a great topic..I can't stand putting my pool to sleep. I've only tried tarp & winch. Hate it!!! every year I say "there must be a better way". My big 8ft pillow will not stay tied and in place...I can never get my tarp tight enough so the rain will run off...thought about running a taut cable down the middle and draping a bigger tarp, similar to a tent. Maybe that would reduce the amount of water I would have to pump off. Kinda handcuffed myself when I built the deck (poor planning). I have no room to drape on half of the pool. I'll try something different this winter...thanks again for a great topic...

 

[ChiknNutz]

Not in the budget to go with a LoopLoc or similar, so looking at either a decent quality solid or mesh with the water bags. The problem I see with a full solid cover is the need to constantly drain or pump the water off the top. Plus, there would almost always be some standing water so I bet it gets nasty over several months if you aren't tending to it all the time. We get a LOT of rain here over winter (typically with very little snow, though we are sometimes surprised) so I can definitely see that as being an issue. The mesh seems better in that respect, but I've seen some reports that you still may get algae due to the sunlight getting thru...or is this not an issue with a tight enough mesh? The LoopLoc concept seems great, but we have no current need for the security aspect of it with the pool area being fully fenced. Also, we have a slide, diving board, ladder and grab rail at the shallow end that we've always left in place. When we had the new liner installed, they were unable to get the ladder out, so left it and worked around it. Is it okay to leave all of these in place or do I have to essentially "seal" the pool to keep algae from growing? So, looking for a few comments based on our needs. Thanks much.

 

[ChiknNutz]

*bump* Anyone?

 

[waterlily]

I have never used a cover; I just fantasize about having one every November and December when the leaves fall, skimmer baskets must be emptied almost daily and on some days hourly, and I'm in the big middle of preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Usually I get behind, give up on pool care, and end up with a green pool in January. The mesh safety cover is the one I dream about: water in, leaves out. Seems the way to go. I recently discovered leaf nets and ordered one without checking this website for all the pros/cons. I was thinking the net would be above the water and allow the leaves to blow away (I'm lousy at physics) solving my problem at far less expense. Alas, it's not to be, but we'll give it a go, try some of the ideas offered here regarding leaf nets and see if it's less troublesome than the skimmer baskets or if I manage to avoid the green pool. Meanwhile, I'll see my neighbor's new pool and wish, for the winter anyway, I had their backyard--no trees!

 

[offgrid]

Re: What kind of winter pool cover do you use? and cover wei

After the blue water bags spring a leak every year what do people use as winter cover weights ? I started buying $1 bags of top soil and placing them as far from the edge as the cover will allow - the soil turns to ice in November and then I can use the top soil in my garden come spring. So I use a Solid black pool tarp and about 15 bags of Topsoil. ( I am careful that none break or fall into the pool) I let the water collect on the tarp then in March I scoop off whatever leaves and debri have fallen, sprinkle a 1/2 bag of shock, and then simply pull the tarp off letting the water go into my pool. It is surprisingly clean. I am in Ottawa Canada so we get a lot of snow and Free cold clean water every spring. In 5 years I have never had to pay for water in the spring. I'll add a photo on my blog .... http://www.My-Pool.blogspot.com

 

[gonefishin]

I used to try all the various tricks for using a solid winter cover...each one was a pain the the rear to me...nothing worked well. It seemed wind, ice, snow or rain would always wreak havoc on my solid winter cover blues. But then I got a dark colored tight mesh winter cover for my above ground pool. It comes with the ratcheting red wire that tightens around the pool, below the top rails making it immovable in even the worst winter wind storms in Northern Illinois. Rain, snow and ice aren't a problem any longer with the mesh cover either.

I normally keep my pool running with good levels until the water temperature cools off a good deal and open in early spring, again when water temperature are still cold. We certainly aren't going to go swimming in early spring, but my pool water is always looks real good and clear. I'm not sure if my cover is one of the micro-mesh winter covers or another type. I bought it many years ago and haven't needed to replace it yet (amazing too!). It's a dark brown, a very fine weaved mesh and you cannot see through it at all.

Likewise, the closest selection I seen on the pool was a mesh safety cover. While this is a mesh, it is a different enough product where I didn't want to select it in the poll.

Dan

 

[cubbybeave08]

I used to try all the various tricks for using a solid winter cover...each one was a pain the the rear to me...nothing worked well. It seemed wind, ice, snow or rain would always wreak havoc on my solid winter cover blues. But then I got a dark colored tight mesh winter cover for my above ground pool. It comes with the ratcheting red wire that tightens around the pool, below the top rails making it immovable in even the worst winter wind storms in Northern Illinois. Rain, snow and ice aren't a problem any longer with the mesh cover either.

I normally keep my pool running with good levels until the water temperature cools off a good deal and open in early spring, again when water temperature are still cold. We certainly aren't going to go swimming in early spring, but my pool water is always looks real good and clear. I'm not sure if my cover is one of the micro-mesh winter covers or another type. I bought it many years ago and haven't needed to replace it yet (amazing too!). It's a dark brown, a very fine weaved mesh and you cannot see through it at all.

Likewise, the closest selection I seen on the pool was a mesh safety cover. While this is a mesh, it is a different enough product where I didn't want to select it in the poll.

Dan

The nice thing about those is that the water sits on the top of it and acts as ballast and keeps the cover from blowing in the wind. I also use my left over August and September Chlorine bottles filled with water and tie them to the eyelets on the cover and throw them on top of the cover...not hanging on the ground...but on the surface of the pool...this acts as ballast when there is no rain water on the top of the pool cover. I always try to keep it drained as much as possible. and I try to keep the leaves off the top as well this helps keep the cover in good shape for re use...I also use the rail clips to keep wind from getting underneath the cover. THis keeps it from potentially getting ripped...

Incidentally, how did your pool fare in the windstorm of November 17th...the day of the tornados???

Mine was tight and didn't even move...and we had 80 mph winds where I live.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Re: What kind of winter pool cover do you use? and cover wei

After the blue water bags spring a leak every year what do people use as winter cover weights ? I started buying $1 bags of top soil and placing them as far from the edge as the cover will allow - the soil turns to ice in November and then I can use the top soil in my garden come spring. So I use a Solid black pool tarp and about 15 bags of Topsoil. ( I am careful that none break or fall into the pool) I let the water collect on the tarp then in March I scoop off whatever leaves and debri have fallen, sprinkle a 1/2 bag of shock, and then simply pull the tarp off letting the water go into my pool. It is surprisingly clean. I am in Ottawa Canada so we get a lot of snow and Free cold clean water every spring. In 5 years I have never had to pay for water in the spring. I'll add a photo on my blog .... http://www.My-Pool.blogspot.com

I use my left over chlorine jugs...filled with water...about 3/4ths full. They do the same thing as the water bags and they are free and they are tougher than the water bags...and they don't usually burst. Give it a try...

 

[Matthewmon]

where on this site can I read about what to do during the winter? can i get a tarp cover and use a leaf cover over it? and use a cover pump to get water off....the leaf cover won't interfere? is a leaf cover over the tarp recommended? I have a lot of pine trees near my pool. thanks!

 

[pwrstrk]

There's an article in Pool School on closing an ig pool.
Yes you can put a leaf net over a winter cover. I don't think the leaf net would interfere with the pump as long as it lets the pump sit in the water. I use a leaf net over my winter cover but I don't use a cover pump. My cover has a mesh strip down the center which allows water to seep thru. ?

 

[pooladdict]

Loop loc here, left my pool uncovered for 4 winters, daily trips to clean up leaves before the freeze drove me nuts lol. The money you spend on a safety cover is well worth it IMO, I can close earlier, open later an enjoy watching the leaves blow across the tarp til snow flies lol. I close mid sept and open end of April. Our winters go to minus 30 Celsius for weeks at a time and snowfall amounts over 9'. I know one year I believe all my water was one huge ice cube.