Tips for controlling above ground winter cover with wind.

[D.sebens]

Every year I struggle with the winter cover. Not the installation but the winds afterwards. I live in the country with fields all around. Filling with water above the cover doesnt work as the water will shift towards the direction of wind and the cover will still raise on the other side. It’s significant amounts of raising also. I’ve also tried a BUNCH of gallon jugs filled with water and tied to the sides, they just blow off when the cover lifts from the wind

I’ve thought about using 55gallon drums tied together as a raft and having the cover teepee? Any tips on what works out in the country?

 

[Donldson]

Truthfully, I solved it by no longer covering my pool. I keep the water circulating and chlorinated until it's under 50 and in the spring I start circulating it with a submersible pump and checking the FC level as soon as it's thawed and open the rest of the plumbing in mid-April. We do have to clean out some leaves, but with the skimmer still running so late in the season it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when the cover would inevitably come off.

When I still covered it I had some luck using the corkscrew stakes designed for dog chains and heavy duty bungee cords, but after some thawing and refreezing damaged my skimmer (the foam insert rose up and pushed against the cover so hard it bent the pool frame) I decided to stop bothering with a cover. I'm a sample size of one and my situation is not everyone's situation, but for now I'm sticking with it.

 

[SecoSteve]

If the cover is touching the pool water underneath, then water on top of the cover should not shift because of the wind. Do you lower your water level prior to covering? When I had an AGP, I also used a "pool pillow" near the center of the pool under the cover which helped when I needed to drain the cover water.

 

[D.sebens]

If the cover is touching the pool water underneath, then water on top of the cover should not shift because of the wind. Do you lower your water level prior to covering? When I had an AGP, I also used a "pool pillow" near the center of the pool under the cover which helped when I needed to drain the cover water.

You would think that but that’s not how that works. Water on water is effectively one body. If there’s a tarp in between you can raise the tarp up on one side, this causes the water on the tarp to go to the other side and the water under the tarp to shift towards the side you’re raising.

I’m sure this is hard to comprehend from words on line but I can confirm water does not work.

 

[Newdude]

It can be tricky for sure, even with a couple inches of water. If the cover billows at all at the edge it'll help even more water to the other side leaving the upwind side flapping dry.

Try wrapping the top edge with seran / cling wrap. You can buy the fance pool brand but I'd get the 2 pack at Bjs/Costco/Sam's and use them both. It's cheap for a $13(?) experiment. If the edge is well secured, several inches of water (like 6) will still push to the one side in strong winds, but hopefully leave enough to keep the cover in place.

 

[D.sebens]

It can be tricky for sure, even with a couple inches of water. If the cover billows at all at the edge it'll help even more water to the other side leaving the upwind side flapping dry.

Try wrapping the top edge with seran / cling wrap. You can buy the fance pool brand but I'd get the 2 pack at Bjs/Costco/Sam's and use them both. It's cheap for a $13(?) experiment. If the edge is well secured, several inches of water (like 6) will still push to the one side in strong winds, but hopefully leave enough to keep the cover in place.

Forgot to mention, I did that. It had no change. I think if I were to do it again it would need wrapped all the way to the bottom.

 

[Newdude]

I lost the OP to cite, but I always liked this idea

 

[D.sebens]

I lost the OP to cite, but I always liked this idea

View attachment 613621

Tried that with like a years worth. They eventually flip over the side. 30 mile an hour winds with no wind break are rough.

 

[Newdude]

I feel ya. When we moved to an open yard the trampoline lasted 5 whole days before it was the neighbors trampoline. He would have appreciated it with kids of his own but it was mangled in the process.

I didn't even try to cover the above ground we inherited, I just left it open. I would have mused a leaf net or a tarp for the fall if leaves were an issue and I would have pulled it as soon as the crud was done falling.

 

[Mdragger88]

I just use large binder clips in various locations- i keep my cover pumped off 99% of the time.

I likely don’t get quite the winds that you may though. Mine still gets flappy but has never ripped.
I have seen a video of a setup with pvc pipes installed ontop of the cover but up against the circumference of the pool if i find it i’ll link it.
Alternatively there’s this Ultimate cover, its fitted in a way - i have a deck 1/2 way around with no access so I can’t use one

 

[Mdragger88]

Here it is- he added a drain to his cover so he doesn’t need to pump it off

 

[D.sebens]

I have concerns about keeping the cover tight. That’s a lot of pressure on the pool frame and without 1/3 of the water it’s not near as strong. I used 2x6’s screwed to each other around the perimeter, that worked wore the tarp hard. The 2x6’s were installed during the wind blowing, was an idea out of necessity.

 

[Mdragger88]

Part of the issue is that on a permanent above ground pool the wind travels between the top rail and the pool wall. This is what wrapping with plastic wrap attempts to prevent but doesn’t always succeed.
Maybe adding some pool noodle pieces to that space might help prevent that part?

The “ultimate cover” (i think it has a few names) is a pretty robust cover that will likely last more than a couple of seasons. The long sides help keep the wind out- this could also be accomplished with an oversized tarp style cover that is modified with the pvc ring like in the video. The two types need to be deployed differently. The ultimate cover has a drain strip so it can be pulled tight as shown in the picture.
A solid tarp style must rest on the water or the weight from precipitation can cause the cover to pull on the walls/rails as you mentioned.

The tarp style covers simply won’t last. Getting 2 winters out of them is pretty much as far as they go before the scrim starts getting bare.
I squeezed 3 winters out of my first one and got super lucky that it didn’t rip until it was all pumped off and i was removing it. The saying with them is plan for 1 winter & hope for 2!