Keep open or get cover in the upper South?

[CHD Dad]

I live in Greenville, SC. Pool is in my sig line. This is our first year for needing to worry about winter, dont ask about last year!

Winter temps do go below freezing at night but tend to warm quickly during the day. We have several pools in our neighborhood and its about 50% who close and cover vs. keep the pool open year round. Neither one can really give me a good reason to do one or the other. One who covers has a 2yr old who likes to explore the pool area so that was a no brainer.

We dont need to worry about kids or pets, the pool is away from the house in a locked fence. We have a LOT of trees along the property. 100ft tall white oaks, cedar, pine, etc. I am already cleaning leave out of the pool every other day.

Option 1 - keep pool open all winter and just deal with leaves until they are done.

Option 2 - buy a safety cover (wife doesnt like the basic covers), either mesh or solid.

If I go Option 2 I was told to wait until the water is down to 60 to control algae issues. By that time the leaves will be done which was one of the reasons I wanted the cover. Water is still in the upper 70's right now.

I did the math and paying for the power and small chem usage over the winter is much cheaper vs. the safety cover (quoted around $2K for a solid or a new fine mesh). I could keep it open every year for a decade and still be ahead money wise.

I think my Ecostar pump and Haywood SWG have a freeze protection built in where they will kick on if it gets below freezing. If not I can easily switch run cycle to run during the night vs. day or just keep it running if weather looks cold. I assume I just need to keep the speed high enough to make the water circulate.

Anything else I am missing? Again, the main reason for the cover was leaves! Prior to the pool being installed it was a leafy mess in the yard so I know how much will be heading towards my pool shortly.

 

[duraleigh]

Why not start out uncovered and see if you can deal with it?

If the leaves prove too much, you can always cover it next year.

 

[Isaac-1]

Also you may want to just temporarily cover while the leaves are falling light rain, then uncover for the rest or the winter.

 

[CHD Dad]

Well I am going to keep it open this year and see what happens. I ordered the Poolskim over the weekend and I'll see how well it copes with our avalanche of leaves on windy days. I figure on days I know they might drop heavy I can crank up the pump for more suction. I also want to see how well the Poolskim does this Spring with all the pollen we get. Turns the whole house, yard, cars, etc yellow! I saw a tip to add a paint strainer sock to it to filter out the fine particles.

Now I need to read up on changes to make for winter maintenance. I read chlorine usage really drops. I assume I should still watch my Ph and TA. Going to run the pump at night to combat freezing once temps drop. Need to pick my neighbors brains that keep theirs open all winter to see what they do.

 

[duraleigh]

Need to pick my neighbors brains that keep theirs open all winter to see what they do.

Simply do what you have done all summer....keep all your parameters in the correct ranges and keep your pool clean.

I leave mine open as well and get so many leaves no machine could possibly keep up. I purchased a VERY heavy duty pole and leaf net and have found it invaluable......the only issue I have with it is it doesn't seem to fit my wife's hands very well (I'm still working on that but don't hold out much hope )

 

[CHD Dad]

I need to pick up a leaf net. I have a basic net and it barely gets them off the floor of the pool once they sink. Anything works on the surface! Doesnt help my Polaris 360 is acting up now. Its near new and never has worked quite right. The leaves are already starting so I need to get moving!

 

[duraleigh]

I think I paid about 80 for a giant pole (I need a 20' reach) and somewhere around 90 or so for the net. Well worth it in my leaf-laden situation.

 

[CHD Dad]

Have any links to the net? They are all over the place price wise and shape wise. I dont know what would make one better than another. I dont mind paying its a quality piece of hardware! I like our pole, its pretty sturdy and reaches where needed.

 

[duraleigh]

The brand of the net is Red Devil......that's all I remember.

 

[CHD Dad]

Thanks. Found one by that name over in the UK. Shape seems the same as many others. I may swing my Leslies and see what they have in the same style.

 

[duraleigh]

I messed you up. It's "Red Baron" by Purity Pool. They have a lot of good ones from which to choose. All appear heavy duty.

 

[jblizzle]

I have one of the Stingray nets from Leslie's ... looks pretty similar to the Red Baron. I like that the net and the plastic "cuff" are independently replaceable. The plastic wears out from my pebbleshean surface and I can replace it for $8 I think and have basically a brand new net. There are also 2 different size meshes available for the net ... although I can not imagine needing the "fine" mesh for anything as the standard net gets just about anything.

 

[peacefulkancer]

I have one of the Stingray nets from Leslie's ... looks pretty similar to the Red Baron. I like that the net and the plastic "cuff" are independently replaceable. The plastic wears out from my pebbleshean surface and I can replace it for $8 I think and have basically a brand new net. There are also 2 different size meshes available for the net ... although I can not imagine needing the "fine" mesh for anything as the standard net gets just about anything.

I also have the stingray but in the fine mesh variety. While I like that I can pick up anything larger than dust, I feel that it is somewhat unnecessary. It actually makes it a bit harder to push around/up since the finer mesh creates more drag.