Anybody ever leave the solar cover on for the winter?

[Shelley N]

We live in Colorado and the air is very dry. We use a winter cover however have had issues with the pool draining to just 12" due to evaporation. We open to crystal clear water every year and were wondering if anyone, in freezing country, has ever left the solar cover on under the winter cover?

 

[Griswald]

I doubt that the solar cover would fair very well in cold temperatures. Any bubbles that got water inside them would probably break when the water froze and expanded.

Can't you just put a solid (ie. not mesh) cover on? It should help with evaporation to some extent.

 

[JohnT]

What kind of pool and cover do you have? I have to drain my pool several times over the winter to get rid of excess water. Seems like snow/rain would add plenty of water most places.

 

[Shelley N]

We've used solid, solid with draining (which I really like but doesn't help), and last year nothing. All result in draining the pool down to practically nothing. Not sure which costs more, filling the pool entirely, or getting a new solar cover....

 

[uncfan1573]

I'm surprised it would be evaporating through a solid cover. Are you sure you don't have a leak?

 

[pwrstrk]

I'm surprised it would be evaporating through a solid cover. Are you sure you don't have a leak?

That's what I'm thinking if it's a solid cover. ?

 

[RafaelS]

What kind of pool and cover do you have? I have to drain my pool several times over the winter to get rid of excess water. Seems like snow/rain would add plenty of water most places.

That seems strange to me also, I drain my pool below return level and still have to empty it during the winter multiple times as it fills up with rain and snow water.

 

[Shelley N]

Everyone is forgetting our annual precipitation for rain and snow together here is 17.3 inches. Well, this experiment has done the trick. The pool has remained full. Won't know the condition of the solar cover left on until the spring. There was some plastic smell in the fall on the first few warm days underneath the solid winter cover, but I'm not sure what it was.

 

[Shelley N]

Took the winter cover off on Sunday to find a full to the gunnells pool and a for the most part viable solar cover! The only differences in the 8 years prior, asside from it being full, was some clearish slime, and extremely low ph--below the lowest measurable amount. I'm on my 3rd box of Borax and it's only up to 6.5! Initailly added a 121oz jug of bleach, 2 hours later--no measurement, added another jug 8 hours later--no measurement, added 3/4 of a third and have been holding steady. Alk is 80, didn't test for calcium as it's a vinyl pool. Assuming the low PH hasn't caused any damage to the vinyl liner, I may do this every year.