Well, something went wrong

[2kCougar]

I thought our closing went so much better this year after using a radiant cover. It goes on so much better than the type with the wire, can easily be managed by two people and doesn't blow off. I think we were so impressed by the cover install that we missed something. We drained the pool below the return, put the plate on the skimmer, plugged the bottom of the skimmer, and put the plug on the return. Now it seems like there's water seeping out from the bottom of the frame for the skimmer. Apparently (no one told me until 2 days ago) the leak started last weekend and is active (so not related to precipitation)

Naturally, this happens when it's going to be a balmy 19 today but it's supposed to be above freezing this weekend. I want to try to get the ice off the pipes and see if the plate is still attached. Is there anything I should try to do or should I just cover it up and ignore it until the weather is warmer?

 

[JoeSelf]

By plate, do you mean aquadoor? If they are not on tight, meaning bang on the door where it goes over the flange on the skimmer plate, it will slowly leak out. I've always had that ice form out of the bottom of the skimmer. Not from the side. Might want to look at the side of the skimmer after the ice goes away to look for cracks..

 

[2kCougar]

We don't have an aquadoor. We have a metal plate that screws onto the frame for the skimmer on the inside of the pool.
It's like this: Hydrotools Stainless Steel Standard Skimmer Winter Plate

The ice started at the bottom. The bottom of the skimmer was visible yesterday.

Thanks for your response. Did you have damage from this kind of leak?

 

[Casey]

Oh man... that doesn't look good at all!

 

[dsmith99]

Not much benefit to using a skimmer cover and plugging the return if you are going to drain the pool below the return anyway. These are usually used to avoid draining the water.

I disconnect the plumbing from my pool, remove the pump and filter valve and store them inside safe from freezing. It takes only a few minutes to unscrew the unions and remove the plumbing. After the pipes are removed, any water that collects in or is displaced from the pool can run right out the return and onto the ground. Both the return and skimmer are left open. Water never reaches the skimmer because the return is slightly lower, but if it did it could drain right out through the skimmer also.

At minimum, you are probably going to need a new skimmer box. How securely did you plug the skimmer, did water get into the pump? If so, hopefully the drain plug was removed from the pump strainer.

 

[Teald024]

We drained the pool below the return, put the plate on the skimmer, plugged the bottom of the skimmer, and put the plug on the return. Now it seems like there's water seeping out from the bottom of the frame for the skimmer. Apparently (no one told me until 2 days ago) the leak started last weekend and is active (so not related to precipitation)

That doesn't look good for sure! I'm curious where all that water is coming from if you drained the pool level below the return.

It looks like you have the 4" coping with the cover that snaps in right above the liner. It looks like these covers are made to cover the entire surface of the water instead of bridging the surface. I'm inclined to say that the weight of the water / snow / ice on top of the winter cover is pushing the cover down into the pool water. The pool water below the cover is being displaced and pushed up between the liner and cover and submerging the skimmer and return) inlet. That coupled with the cover plate not sealed properly is causing water to leak out into the skimmer or around it altogether. It is hard to tell from this pic if the water is coming through a crack in the skimmer wall or just leaking around it. I'm not sure which is worse to be honest. Tightening the plate bolts may help prevent this if there are enough bolts.

This condition will get worse as more weight is added above the cover. If the water doesn't leak out anywhere, its possible that with enough weight on the cover, the water could rise up to where the cover snaps in (if it hasn't already). Hopefully it wont collect in the coping track and crack that.

Good luck

p.s. Ill be in your neck of the woods over the Christmas holiday visiting family. I grew up in the little town of Poestenkill.

 

[2kCougar]

Not much benefit to using a skimmer cover and plugging the return if you are going to drain the pool below the return anyway. These are usually used to avoid draining the water.

I disconnect the plumbing from my pool, remove the pump and filter valve and store them inside safe from freezing. It takes only a few minutes to unscrew the unions and remove the plumbing. After the pipes are removed, any water that collects in or is displaced from the pool can run right out the return and onto the ground. Both the return and skimmer are left open. Water never reaches the skimmer because the return is slightly lower, but if it did it could drain right out through the skimmer also.

At minimum, you are probably going to need a new skimmer box. How securely did you plug the skimmer, did water get into the pump? If so, hopefully the drain plug was removed from the pump strainer.

I'm going to try to disconnect the line between the skimmer and pump. I don't think I can get in to remove the cover on the return. The Ice seems high and im afraid I might damage the cover clips if I try to do anything now. I will be using your method for next year! The valves on the pump and filter are left open. My husband said that the plate didn't seem to fit as well as last year. I left most of this up to him this year since I was recovering from a shoulder injury.

 

[2kCougar]

That doesn't look good for sure! I'm curious where all that water is coming from if you drained the pool level below the return.

It looks like you have the 4" coping with the cover that snaps in right above the liner. It looks like these covers are made to cover the entire surface of the water instead of bridging the surface. I'm inclined to say that the weight of the water / snow / ice on top of the winter cover is pushing the cover down into the pool water. The pool water below the cover is being displaced and pushed up between the liner and cover and submerging the skimmer and return) inlet. That coupled with the cover plate not sealed properly is causing water to leak out into the skimmer or around it altogether. It is hard to tell from this pic if the water is coming through a crack in the skimmer wall or just leaking around it. I'm not sure which is worse to be honest. Tightening the plate bolts may help prevent this if there are enough bolts.

This condition will get worse as more weight is added above the cover. If the water doesn't leak out anywhere, its possible that with enough weight on the cover, the water could rise up to where the cover snaps in (if it hasn't already). Hopefully it wont collect in the coping track and crack that.

Good luck

p.s. Ill be in your neck of the woods over the Christmas holiday visiting family. I grew up in the little town of Poestenkill.

I think you're on the right track. I finally got a minute to inspect it yesterday (I home with a toddler all day and he's into everything). We didn't have any leaks when the water on the cover wasn't frozen. The water line (now frozen) in the pool is significantly higher than when we put the cover on. i really hope there's not a rip in the cover. At this point, I'm just hoping the damage is limited to something I can fix myself.

I'm familiar with Postenkill. My brother in law is from there. I hope you have good weather for traveling and a wonderful time with your family!

 

[Teald024]

Since the cover is new and unless there are some major debris on the cover itself, I don't think a cover rip is the issue. I don't think the freezing specifically is causing your problem, but just making it very noticeable looking out your window. I believe it is from the weight on the cover from the water / ice / snow.

Again good luck figuring this out.

Thank you, you have a good holiday as well.

 

[Teald024]

When I closed, I removed the return pipe and didn't install a plug. Doing so will let any water drain out onto the ground and not buildup in there.

I just went out to my pool and saw some icicles hanging from the return. On the ground, there was evidence that a fair amount of liquid water had come out of the open port. That means the water level went up a good 8" at the walls until it found the open return. I stuck my hand under the cover and sure enough the water (now ice with this artic blast) was about level with the return.

 

[2kCougar]

I think we are going to change quite a few things for next year. So much for the pool builders advice on closing the pool �� I managed to get the ice out of the skimmer today and removed the connection to the pump. Water was just barely seeping in around the steel plate we used to cover the skimmer opening. There are not any visible gaps or dents in the plate. There's just so much pressure on the plate that the water is finding a way. There are no cracks in the skimmer box �� It's now a lovely 32 degrees out with the winds making it feel like 18. Hopefully my work will be enough. Thanks for everyone's help!