Water level at closing time with Loop-Loc

[mtw826]

I have a loop-loc safety cover for the winter and have always drained down my pool in the fall about 15 inches. In early spring I always have to drain the pool back down because it is getting on the verge of getting too high which tells me we get about 15 to 20 inches of precipitation over the winter. Recently I had a pool professional tell me that didn’t need to drain the pool at all in the winter. He said leave it at the center of the skimmer and for whatever reason it will not overflow. I do use a gizmo in the skimmer so that it wont crack. He said he closes and opens between 50 and 100 pools a year and this is what he does. I have underground black plastic pipe going to my returns and he said as long as I have that I don’t need to drain the pool below them. What is the proper way to do this? If I am getting 15 to 20 inches of precipitation over the winter I have to believe that the pool will overflow. Maybe this is okay, I don’t know. I only have three years pool experience and I am still learning the best way to do things. His thoughts are you never want to drain water if you don’t have to because of the issues it can cause with your liner and pool walls. What do people who use these covers normally do? Any input is appreciated. Thanks

 

[bk406]

I drain mine down to just below the skimmer face. You dont want the water more than 18 inches below the top of the pool with a loop loc. More than that, the springs can get stretched by the weight of snow (if you live in northern climates that is). Most people use a submersible pump on the steps over the winter to pump out excess water. That is unless the pool freezes over january thru early march.

 

[JohnT]

I drain to the bottom of the skimmer just to make it easier to blow out the skimmer line.

I start a siphon and drain the pool to the skimmer opening as needed over the winter. Of course, that's as the weather allows.

If you let the water get too high, the cover will tend to lay down into the water. Then any leaves or debris that gets on the cover will stay there instead of blowng away.

 

[FinsUp]

Last year was the first year with our new pool and so the pool company closed for free. We too have safety cover like yourself, although not the same brand. The pool company only drained water while they were backwashing the filter, etc. Our water level when they walked away was basically right where it is all season. They attached a special 2 piece pipe fitting into the skimmer inlet and using air pressure blew all the water out of the lines & then capped off the 4 return lines so water couldn't back flow. Then they disconnected the pump, seperated the 2 piece pipe (which left a piece of pipe higher then the water in the skimmer, but not high enough to interfere with the skimmer cover) and capped that and replaced the skimmer cover. They installed the winter cover and effectively left. I say effectively because there was obviously some additional things they did with the equipment. From what I remember the labels on the winter cover warn against allowing the water level to get too low because it can void the warranty. We had a rainy fall, an average winter for snow, and some spring rains. When I took the cover off in mid-May the water level was above the top of the skimmer, but below the coping.

 

[mtw826]

Thanks everyone for your input. Looks like I will be going to the bottom of the skimmer and I will just have to keep an eye on it and pump down if need be. Just out of curiosity would any serious problems occur if the pool water level came above the pool to where it was overflowing?

Mitch