Do I really need a pillow under the cover?

[Shelley N]

I heard that water freezes UP not OUT. Does this make the pillow unnecessary for me under my winter cover here in Colorado? I probably need a new liner and now's the time to figure this out. I haven't noticed bowing from the past 4 winters. What I HAVE noticed is liner damage/wrinkling on the sides from the water level going down too much from (I'm guessing) evaporation over our dry winters. We didn't have that problem so much when the cover was new and waterproof, but he past two years it has vented itself from wearing in places. Thoughts?

 

[X-PertPool]

Air pillows serve no purpose for ice-expansion as they float on the surface of the water (you can remove the pillow after the ice has frozen) I don't use them, as I see no benefit of them.

 

[Bama Rambler]

There are proponents on both sides. Some say not to and some say to use them. I plan on using one this year. While it doesn't freeze here, I'm using it to keep the leaves and debris closer to the sides.

 

[TimS]

My first winter with a pool, I didn't use a pillow, but I also had an undetected leak that drained most of my pool over the winter.

I used one last year, and it was helpful in keeping the rain and snow-melt water toward the sides of the cover. That is, until it popped. (Maybe over-inflated? Maybe by ice pressure once the pool froze? I'm not sure.) The problem with that is that it caused multiple pockets of water that I had to drain instead of just throwing a hose into the middle and draining it all at once. It was easier to position the hose in the closer pockets of water, but I had to keep moving it all the time.

This year, I'll go without a pillow again, and we'll see how it does. It should be easier to position the hose once and just leave it there. I don't use a cover pump, (I just siphon the water off as it melts,) so I don't have to take the hose out when it freezes.

 

[scott51884]

I'm on the side of using one for this simple reason: last year mine popped. All the water and Crud on top went to the center of the cover where I couldn't get to it to clean it off. We had a TON of snow (eastern PA) in February and it all went to the middle, what this did was push down in the center of the pool and push the water level up and it overflowed the sides. This gradually happened (pushing the non-frozen water up the sides of the frozen ring and out) and it lowered my water level 2ft, the cover was tied off around the edges and instead of floating ON the water floated in air with all that weight on it and caused the side walls to start bending in. I had to cut the cable and drop the cover before it pulled the pool down. I had to put the garden hose in the 3rd week of February to bring support to the walls. That is why I feel the air pillow helps, keeps the weight around the edges and the water doesn't push out, plus is easier to clean/drain around the edges. When I put my pillow in during closing, I actually take the hose and put a 2" ring of water around the outside of the cover to help keep the pillow centered. It tends to want to kick off to the sides no matter how good you tie it down. the water assists - just keep up on draining and you're fine. my $0.02

 

[Shelley N]

One winter I kept draining and draining the water on top of the winter cover, only to find out I was draining the pool, as the cover continually sank below the water level in the center. I have a 15 x 30 pool that I was planing to cover with a 18 x 33 cover. A pool store's web site said the cover should go straight down the sides and across the water so as to not pull on the sides. If it keeps sinking in the center due to leakiness, I wonder if the larger size will work.

 

[Bama Rambler]

The reason for not pulling the cover tight is that when it fills with water or snow it puts a lot of pressure on the sides of the pool which could deform and even collapse them. A larger cover wouldn't hurt and it may help if it overlaps the sides more. Making sure the seams aren't leaking will keep you from pumping water out of yoru pool when draining your cover.