Air Pillows

[Corvus]

Hey folks,
Just closed pool for the winter and used a few air pillows with a winter cover. The air pillows I bought on line don't seem very robust and when I shop around it seems that there is only manufacturer and everyone has the same models. Does anyone else have any concerns with these or do they tend to stand up better than I fear they will.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[jblizzle]

Bump for people with closing experience.

 

[pooladdict]

They will bust quicker than you can blink.

 

[Corvus]

Yeah...I was afraid of that. Thanks for your response. I will rig up something more durable to try and keep a high point in the center that will allow water to run off and make it easier to remove snow accumulation.

 

[pooladdict]

If you use a cover, not recommended for an area like ft Mac, make sure you keep excess water off it. The cover can become weighted by heavy snow and pull the walls inward.

I won't close a AG pool where the client insists on using a winter cover.

 

[Corvus]

Thanks pooladdict. I am going to try and secure better this weekend but if I can't, do I read your last post correctly and just take the cover off and pillows out and let it weather the winter?

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

What is the manufacturer and model of the pillows you purchased ??

 

[pooladdict]

Yep, lower water below returns, winterize skimmer with Gizmo or leave it open with lines taken off at the bottom.

Let it freeze up, I am not sure about your area, but if the pool collapses in my area, the insurance will not cover it if a cover has been installed and no auto pump was placed on the cover. The problem is, the cover works like a counterweight and pulls the sides in, also, the ice berg inside your pool, freezes to the liner, a cover can and will cause a rise in temp underneath it, that rise will melt some water, the ice berg releases from one side and not the other and a lil wind can make it move free and trust me, the ice is sharper then a knife. Resulting in an empty pool come spring and a call to insurance company. The key is who they call and what he says was the cause of collapse.

 

[pwrstrk]

Yep, lower water below returns, winterize skimmer with Gizmo or leave it open with lines taken off at the bottom.

Let it freeze up, I am not sure about your area, but if the pool collapses in my area, the insurance will not cover it if a cover has been installed and no auto pump was placed on the cover. The problem is, the cover works like a counterweight and pulls the sides in, also, the ice berg inside your pool, freezes to the liner, a cover can and will cause a rise in temp underneath it, that rise will melt some water, the ice berg releases from one side and not the other and a lil wind can make it move free and trust me, the ice is sharper then a knife. Resulting in an empty pool come spring and a call to insurance company. The key is who they call and what he says was the cause of collapse.

I had a cover on all winter long. Had snow, ice, water on it and had no problems with the walls. As for the ice berg, I had at least 2ft of frozen water and no damage to the liner. What happens when there is no cover used and the ice melts and floats around in the pool ? I'm not understanding how the the use of a cover is going to make any difference. There's going to be ice floating around no matter what. I would think the cover would help keep the wind from moving the ice around than not being covered. I've never heard of anybody having any problems in the area I live with collapses from a winter cover being used or damaged liners.
Maybe your area is different. ?

 

[pooladdict]

Yep. Ice will form, its the sun on the cover that adds to heating under it. Yep, my area is different, we have deep freezes of minus 20 celcius for 2 to 3 weeks. Ft Mac has similar if not colder weather. Talk to any AG pool manufacturer and they will warn against the use of a winter cover. Its just not me saying this. Your oval has way more supporting features then a round pool.

 

[pwrstrk]

Mines round.

 

[pooladdict]

Then you have been very lucky IMO, my area has 50 to 80 AG collapses a season. That's how much ice and snow we get. That's not just a story either, its the truth.

 

[pwrstrk]

Then you have been very lucky IMO, my area has 50 to 80 AG collapses a season. That's how much ice and snow we get. That's not just a story either, its the truth.

I only drain mine down to the bottom of the skimmer. I use an aquador to cover my skimmer opening. The water supports my cover and there's plenty of water in the pool to be structurally sound. My cover has a mesh strip down the middle to let water seep back into the pool. If I need to drain more off the pool as I've needed to do, it's no big deal. As for the ice melting I looked at the block of ice as it was melting and the edges were rounded. No sharp edges. No liner damage. I guess I'm lucky. ?

 

[pooladdict]

good for you, not so good for others...like I said, I wont close a customers AG pool if they insist on a winter cover.

PS. the damage occurs on the bottom of the ice, that's where its sharp as a razor, go look at some pools that collapsed or drained completely during winter, you will believe someone cut liner with a razor lol.

 

[pwrstrk]

I agree that the ice can damage a liner. If your in a cold winter climate like myself and yourself, I really don't see any way around the ice issue except for hopeing for the best. Just haven't seen any pool's collapsing like in your area. ?

 

[pooladdict]

its a pool builders haven up here, store I worked in last two years (There are 7 in my area) had 31 insurance claims 2014 and 28 2013. Pool stores love insurance claims cause insurance for some odd reason will pay more then the pool originally sold to the customer for. I guess its for clean up or whatever, but nuts to me.