Covered with Loop Loc but not closed - pump running

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JessM

JessM

0
Jan 3, 2015
39
Tulsa, OK
Pool Size
19000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I tried to find an answer for this, but a response in the old thread from 2013 that I linked below is the closest I could find. I would like to follow the TFP guidelines of not fully closing my pool until the water temperature is below 60°. I’m in Oklahoma though, and our weather varies wildly during this time. It may be December before our water stays below 60°. While waiting for the water to be 60°, we are surrounded by pasture lands and the dead heads of a lot of tall grass blow into the pool like crazy, clogging the skimmer basket, starting mid-October. Last year our fiberglass pool was installed in late October and not closed until the deck was poured in December. We had to set alarms in the middle of the night to go empty the very full skimmer basket if we had to run the pump overnight due to freezing temps. Miserable!

I’d like to put on my Loop Loc cover but not close the pool. In other words, I’d still run the pump several hours a day and continue to monitor chemicals. In the convo I linked below someone mentioned a PVC pipe with a 90 degree elbow under a section of the loop loc to use to get liquid chlorine into the pool. That would be easy for use to do. We would monitor the skimmer basket by removing two of the springs on the Loop Loc and using bungee cords instead near the skimmer. (The bungees would be much easier to remove and reattach than the springs.)

When our water temps are below 60 we would formally close the pool. We have a fiberglass pool so we don’t lower water levels or blow out water, so the cover wouldn’t be in our way for those tasks.
Is my plan feasible? What problems do you guys with more experience foresee. This is our first season with the pool, and the advice here has been the best thing for us. We are devoted to the TFP method.

Adding Chemicals Over the Winter Months

Folks- Wanted to break this out as it's own topic as I gotta figure others will want to know more about how/whether/ when to address treating the pool over the winter. My contact from Aqivations, the plaster manufacturer for Hydrazzo, stated that; "It is imperative to check and adjust...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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I think you have a good plan and makes sense given your scenario. Remember that with the pool covered that long, combined chlorine won't have a way to escape (no sun UV assistance), so your CC reading may begin to rise over time. Just depends on how much organic material is consumed by chlorine. If the pool is nice and clean before covering, hopefully not much. Between cooler temps and a cover, you shouldn't heave to add chlorine very often.
 
I use a open mesh leaf cover, anchored with string to my pool fencing. It’s not perfect but I could pull 25 garbage cans of wet leaves out without it each year. A few leaves sneak in, but a weekly removal of the robot and I’m all set.
Preferable to solid cover because it’s lighter and easier to jam in a crate until next year.
 
I did that last year with my pool. I have a Loop-Loc solid cover. I turned off my SWG. I vacuumed my pool by hand before putting on the cover. The FC level stayed level over the time. I think the cover delays closing the pool since the air layer between the cover and water is somewhat insulating and the pool does not get the benefit of really cold rainwater that helps lower the water temperature. IIRC, I closed early December last year.
 
JessM said:
...

I’d like to put on my Loop Loc cover but not close the pool. In other words, I’d still run the pump several hours a day and continue to monitor chemicals. In the convo I linked below someone mentioned a PVC pipe with a 90 degree elbow under a section of the loop loc to use to get liquid chlorine into the pool. That would be easy for use to do. We would monitor the skimmer basket by removing two of the springs on the Loop Loc and using bungee cords instead near the skimmer. (The bungees would be much easier to remove and reattach than the springs.)

When our water temps are below 60 we would formally close the pool. We have a fiberglass pool so we don’t lower water levels or blow out water, so the cover wouldn’t be in our way for those tasks.
Is my plan feasible? .....
Click to expand...
that is essentially what i do. when you add the chlorine using the pvc, do it in front of the return jets when the pump is running to be sure the chlorine gets distributed. i can access my skimmer without removing any springs. i do have to blow out lines but pull back only one side of the cover for the time it takes to do that, not a big deal. having the cover on definitely keeps out a lot of leaves. I also leave my robot in the pool to clean up anything that gets under the cover. i have a TON of leaves that fall on/around the pool. good luck.
 
+1 to all of the above. I ran covered both early and late. In the spring I’d be sitting around looking at the cover and have all the equipment back installed and running, ready to pop the cover at the first sight of warmth. In the fall the leaves would turn the pool into a tea so I’d cover it while not being ready to winterize yet until the water cooled.

Also as said above, it’s real easy to pop a corner and treat if need be. Just remember that the chlorine/acid is heavier than water and may pool up on the bottom. A few good brushings in the general area will take care of that, just in case.
 
No disrespect to the folks here that know a LOT more about pools than I ever will, but in the Midwest I shutdown the pool before the leaves start to fly. Winterize the system and done with it until opening in the spring.
Seems like a lot of effort going in to keeping the pool semi open, that could maybe go toward opening in the spring.
Probably just me, but I've had good luck doing it that way, and no worries about freak storms that could be a freeze issue.
 
The effort I put in during the fall to wait to shut down after the water drops below 60F pays itself back with clear spring openings. I never have opened to a green pool.
 
Woody007 said:
No disrespect to the folks here that know a LOT more about pools than I ever will, but in the Midwest I shutdown the pool before the leaves start to fly. Winterize the system and done with it until opening in the spring
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None taken Woody. Ever. Lol. We preach for everyone to weigh their options and hatch a plan that works best for them.

Thanks for sharing yours so OP can consider that also. (y)
 

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No. If it’s in there it will be waiting for you in the spring. BUT !!! If you get an early jump on it while it’s still dormant, it’s much easier to kill when it is not growing exponentially.
 
Newdude said:
+1 to all of the above. I ran covered both early and late. In the spring I’d be sitting around looking at the cover and have all the equipment back installed and running, ready to pop the cover at the first sight of warmth. In the fall the leaves would turn the pool into a tea so I’d cover it while not being ready to winterize yet until the water cooled.

Also as said above, it’s real easy to pop a corner and treat if need be. Just remember that the chlorine/acid is heavier than water and may pool up on the bottom. A few good brushings in the general area will take care of that, just in case.
Click to expand...
When you say equipment installed what do you remove from your pad at close? Do you put your pump and swg in your house?
 
Wolfepack88 said:
Do you put your pump and swg in your house?
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Yes I brought it all inside. The pump and SWG went in the house and the filter and heater went in the garage (half due to size and half due to lazy). :ROFLMAO:. They can totally weather the element but they also cost me a great deal of money so I didn’t want them buried in a snow drift for a month at a time. It was solely to help me sleep better, but still. It worked for me.
 
Newdude said:
Yes I brought it all inside. The pump and SWG went in the house and the filter and heater went in the garage (half due to size and half due to lazy). :ROFLMAO:. They can totally weather the element but they also cost me a great deal of money so I didn’t want them buried in a snow drift for a month at a time. It was solely to help me sleep better, but still. It worked for me
Click to expand...
Not a bad idea. what did you use to cap the open unions?
 
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