What kind of tarp would you use to cover pool equipment?

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You do what ya gotta do, but Katy is well into the 5" or less frost line zone. I am too. I don't worry about my stuff freezing at all. It gets into the low 20s sometimes, mostly just dips below 32. My pumps run for freeze protection, I don't worry about the rest of the gear. I don't think it's ever stayed below 32 all day.

I can't imagine what could cause a fire under a tarp covering pool gear, as long as there are no exposed wires and the heater is rendered inactive (that's important, you can shut off the gas line if there is one). All you need is the typical plastic tarp, something to block the wind and the "view to the sky." They're not fire proof, but they're not exactly combustible material either.

But I really think you don't need a tarp, not while the pump is running...

Check it out:

Frost Line Penetration Map In The U.S. - Hammerpedia
 
I closed my pool last Saturday but the night before it dipped down in the mid to low twenties. This was my first time to have my pool open this late because it took so long for my water to reach 60 degrees.

I tented my equipment pad just to be on safe side. After doing this I would have to side with Dirk. It wasn't really necessary.
 
Thanks for that map, I had never heard of that before.
Yea last year we had 2 or more days where it stayed below freezing and a lot of people had pipes bursting (not sure about 2" pool pipes, just your sprinkler pipes and house pipes) so I am very weary of the pool pipes even though I maybe shouldn't be.

I know my waterhose connection on my house had a small drip and it was just COVERED in ice and I thought for sure it had burst even though I wrapped it all up but it turned out okay.
 
Pipes under pressure have nowhere to release the increased pressure of the expanding, freezing water. But a PVC pool pipe is not under pressure. As the pipe freezes from the outside in, the water in the pipe can escape, through the remaining channel in the middle, into the pool. It's not capped off like a house pipe is. Now if your system is configured in such a way that a section of pipe traps water, like a heater bypass or something like that, then that could be trouble. But, PVC doesn't succumb as fast as a copper pipe would, because PVC doesn't exchange heat like copper does.

No matter, if you've had bursting pipes in your area, then it certainly couldn't hurt to play it safe. Rig up the tarp to reduce wind chill and so the pipes are not open to the sky. Or use heat tape. Confirm your freeze protection is running as expected. It's pretty cheap insurance, even if you never actually need it.
 
tcason said:
Pipes do not feel wind chill only humans and animals.
Click to expand...

While it's true that wind will not cause an inanimate object to get colder than the actual temperature of the air, objects that have their own internal heat source, like humans and animals, are subject to cooling faster due to wind (any air circulation). Some pools would qualify. Wind chill won't make your external, above-ground pipes colder than the air temperature, but wind will cool the pipes off faster than they would if protected from the wind. And since it takes time for a pipe to freeze all the way through, the less time the pipe is subjected to circulating freezing air, the better.

And for a pool that is retaining heat from the day (from a heater or from the sun), above ground pipes will act like a radiator (while the pump is running), and keeping the wind off those pipes will slow the heat exchange. A tarp would also trap heat generated by pumps or a lightbulb under the tarp.

It's the same principle why external water pipes are wrapped in foam insulation. The foam isn't generating any heat, but it does slow the heat exchange.
 
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