I drained my gunite pool down 15 of so inches in late September but I noticed it has come up almost a foot and it is within 4 inches of my bullnose coping stones. I have tile underneath the coping so I am concerned some could get popped off with the ice. Any suggestions? There is already a thin sheet of ice under the cover, although it was be broken rather easily. I didn't close the pool last year but by the spring it was a little higher than the current level and there were no issues. I wish I could pump more water out but I don't want to cause a skating rink on my street. I live in Massachusetts so I have another 4+ months until I open it.
Winter water level with in-ground pool, mesh safety cover in snow belt
- Thread starter Blur811
- Start date
I'm also in Massachusetts and noticed the same thing. So I siphoned another foot or so of water out about a week ago. Should be good till spring.
I siphoned rather than pumped so the water went down over 3-4 days so as to not cause any flooding in the winter.
I siphoned rather than pumped so the water went down over 3-4 days so as to not cause any flooding in the winter.
I connect a garden hose to my water supply and run it to the pool and then turn on the water. Once the hose is full of water (no air), I disconnect the hose from the supply and while keeping the vacuum, just place that end of the hose on ground that is lower than the pool water level.It basically trickles out until the pool water level reaches the ground level where you put the end of the hose.
I purchased a small sump pump at Home Depot for $75 that hooks up to a garden hose. If we have a period of sustained rain I'll unhook one corner of our mesh cover and check the water level. If it needs to be drained I drop the sump pump in.
I did this recently and had to smash a hole through about an inch of ice. I use a hammer or my foot (with a boot) to open a hole. But if you're really worried you could use a drywall saw ($10 at Home Depot) to cut a hole in the ice.
I've found I need to pump a few inches out once a month or so if it's warm. This winter has been really warm and so we've had rain instead of snow. I don't worry about snow at all, the moisture content isn't high enough.
I did this recently and had to smash a hole through about an inch of ice. I use a hammer or my foot (with a boot) to open a hole. But if you're really worried you could use a drywall saw ($10 at Home Depot) to cut a hole in the ice.
I've found I need to pump a few inches out once a month or so if it's warm. This winter has been really warm and so we've had rain instead of snow. I don't worry about snow at all, the moisture content isn't high enough.
borjis
LifeTime Supporter
I'm dealing with that right now. Had freezing temps and a major snow dump that stuck around for a week.
I chiseled the ice in the pool last night, it's 5 inches thick! We have raining now and this morning the water
had reached the top of my liner. The pump/impellor is still frozen and the auxiliary drain in the skimmer is stuck.
Wish I'd drained it down much farther just before it froze. hopefully I won't get any wrinkles if the water gets behind
the liner but I think I'm going to get one of those pumps from Home depot for rare occasions like this.
I was planning on draining it down to just the top of ice layer. I'm afraid draining it further might cause the
water to not support the 5 inch thick ice all around and if it were to drop down ripping the liner off the track
and bending my ladder that would really suck.
I chiseled the ice in the pool last night, it's 5 inches thick! We have raining now and this morning the water
had reached the top of my liner. The pump/impellor is still frozen and the auxiliary drain in the skimmer is stuck.
Wish I'd drained it down much farther just before it froze. hopefully I won't get any wrinkles if the water gets behind
the liner but I think I'm going to get one of those pumps from Home depot for rare occasions like this.
I was planning on draining it down to just the top of ice layer. I'm afraid draining it further might cause the
water to not support the 5 inch thick ice all around and if it were to drop down ripping the liner off the track
and bending my ladder that would really suck.