Usefulness of ice compensators in in-ground concrete tiled/painted pools?

[Hilton]

How necessary are ice compensators in in-ground, painted or tiled concrete pools? (some painted with a tile border, some tiled throughout).

Winters here have an average of night-time low of -4C for three months, with occasional night-time drops to -10C and the occasional cold snap of -20C for a handful of days once or twice a year. Record lows of -36C have happened.

Most of the pools I've seen do not use them. All are drained a bit below the tile, except for the ones that are completely tiled of course. Do ice compensators protect the paint? I thought ice damage to paint only happened when the ice sheet moved up or down, not from pressure.

 

[Patrick_B]

I'm sorry, I have no help on that, this being the first I've hear of a compensator. Granted, winterized pools are not my strongest suit.

 

[Leebo]

Compensator's or pillows aren't really needed in many cases, however they do tend to provide some insurance if the weather really decides to turn bad. May I ask where is your location? In many parts the winters simply doesn't get cold enough for long enough to extremely worry about damage from ice, however in other parts there is enough of a concern that justifies the extra cost involved with using addition barriers to protect against the weather.