Winter cover...do I put "some" water on top?

[Hiesman84]

Rookie pool person here...

I know there are "Pillows" and other things (like large innertubes in my case) used to support the center of my above ground pool winter cover. Do I want the center of the pool at such a peak that all water runs completely off the pool/cover? Do I want the center elevated but a bit of a "dip" around the sides so that a shallow channel of water accumulates to help hold the cover in place?

I seem to remember reading "Somewhere" that I would normally have the cover sag over the sides and into the pool and place a few inches of water on top to hold the cover in place. Is that true? What is the technique involved when using the tubes/pillows in the middle? Am I not supposed to BOTH use a middle support and the water?

 

[Bama Rambler]

You're gonna have some sag no matter what you do. You don't want to pull it tight enough to stretch it over the pool

 

[cramar]

The water can easily evaporate after a few reasonably hot days, also, if wind gets up under the cover it can easily push the water to one side.
I recommend just putting the cover on and securing it with the cord and/or lashed to many bleach jugs filled with water.
Once some snow gets in there it will provide some stable weight to keep the cover down, make sure there's ample slack for the weight of the snow to pull on the cover, if tied too tight it can buckle the walls.

 

[Pauls234]

Cramar,

What exactly is ample slack for the weight of the snow? I mean, how do I determine how tight to pull it? Also, is it advisable to brush the snow off with some frequency to avoid the extra stress?