First time closing with SWCG

[JamesR]

I’ve successfully closed my pool for the past 20+ years. This year, I converted to salt water so I’m wondering if there are any other things to consider. I’m putting the mesh cover on it today because the leaves are starting to fall. Anything different I need to do as far as balancing besides drop my pH a bit. Although with the water temp being so cold, the CSI is decent. Here are my numbers as of this chilly morning..,

 

[Texas Splash]

Jim, while technically you could just leave the cell in place (all water blown out of course), many folks in your region will remove the cell completely and insert a dummy cell or just close-off the exposed ends of plumbing to prevent critters from trying to get in there. That's about it really once you've balanced everything and shut it down.

 

[JamesR]

I was planning on removing it. I go a tad overboard and remove everything anyway.
I bring the pump, the multiport valve and the check valve indoors for the winter. Pretty much all that’s left out there is the hard plumbed valves, the heater and DE housing.
I was more asking about chemical levels. Nothing different due the salt stuff?

 

[Texas Splash]

Nothing different due the salt stuff?

Nope, nothing different. Other than lowering your pH a little as you already noted and doing any pre-algae control (FC level and/or Poly 60) you're good.

 

[JamesR]

I’ve never used poly 60 before. I’ll have to look into that.

 

[Texas Splash]

I’ve never used poly 60 before. I’ll have to look into that.

Not a must-do item. Many folks bump-up the FC and call it quits. Some people just like to use Polyquat 60 (non-copper) algaecide as insurance, but again, not mandatory. Personal choice. If the water is steady below 60 and you open early, chances are you'll be fine.

 

[JamesR]

I do typically open early. The mesh cover lets all sorts of debris get in over the closed season. It’s always green come April. I typically peel back the cover, pour a few gallons of LC in there and drop in the aquabot cleaner in there. It clears up in a couple days. You think the poly 60 will make a difference?

 

[Texas Splash]

You think the poly 60 will make a difference?

Since you use a mesh cover and stuff gets in there anyways, I sort of doubt it. You can always give it a shot one year as an experiment. There's two schools of thought really:
1 - Ensure the water is currently algae-free by passing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, then add the Poly 60 with a slightly elevated FC less that won't eat-up all the Poly.
2 - Omit the Poly 60 and just increase the FC to SLAM level. Let the FC protect the water when it's cold.

 

[Bperry]

I float a chlorine tablet thing in the water under the cover. Never opened to green water, but I open it in March.

 

[JamesR]

Are there any tablets left in the feeder in the spring? Does your water freeze? Mine gets a couple inches of ice during the winter. The feeder would also freeze. Opening in March….I’d have to run the snowblower over the cover to do that.

 

[Bperry]

Are there any tablets left in the feeder in the spring? Does your water freeze? Mine gets a couple inches of ice during the winter. The feeder would also freeze. Opening in March….I’d have to run the snowblower over the cover to do that.

I had a solid 3” of ice last year, but that’s a little more than normal. There’s very little of the pucks left (or nothing), but I close it in late November and open early March so just barely over 3 months of inactivity.

 

[JamesR]

I pulled the Circupool unit for the winter. The manufacturer recommends soaking and cleaning it with a solution of one part muriatic acid to 4 parts water. This is to remove scale. My unit was installed this summer and it looks perfectly clean. So I rinsed it with tap water and let it dry. Should that be good enough? I don’t want to use acid and unnecessary etch away any of the coating if it’s already clean.
Thoughts?

 

[JamesR]

For both of my skimmers I have always removed the weir doors when I closed the pool. The issue is that they are a major pain in the butt to reinstall in the spring. Any harm in leaving them in place?
I typically put a #10 plug in the bottom of the skimmer and have a weighted, empty 1 gallon jug in the skimmer area with RV/pool antifreeze poured in there around it.

 

[DavidArmenB]

I wouldn’t do anything to it especially with acid. Members here advise against acid cleaning even when the SWCG has scale inside, opting for less damaging options to clean the scale, for the reason you mentioned.

 

[Texas Splash]

I wished my cell looked that good. Even with constant acid use and control of pH, I get scale.

 

[Newdude]

+1 with @DavidArmenB. Inspect it periodically. If there's visible buildup (like hard toothpaste) then soak it with 50/50 vinegar and water. Work the bulk of it off first with anything soft-ish and non metallic. Folks have used popsicle sticks, wooden BBQ skewers, plastic spoon handles, etc.

 

[Newdude]

For both of my skimmers I have always removed the weir doors when I closed the pool. The issue is that they are a major pain in the butt to reinstall in the spring. Any harm in leaving them in place?

Pre-TFP I didn't know removing the doors was a thing. Several years later, they had survived plenty if deep freezes so I still leave them be.

You can remove them if you'd like when the door has the pegs/tabs. If you break one, you can replace the doors. When the skimmer has the pegs, you risk breaking the skimmer itself. They make spring loaded doors that you could use after the fact, but then you need to break off the good peg too, and it's just not worth the risk until it's necessary.

I just stuff the skimmer mouth with noodles so it can't be a 10 inch (?) block of ice.

 

[JamesR]

Is that stuffed with noodles with the flapper door wide open but still in place?

 

[Newdude]

Is that stuffed with noodles with the flapper door wide open but still in place?

Yup. Shoving them in there lays the door down flat.