I had several 4 by 8 foot sections of the 2" thick construction insulation foam left over from my pool project. At $30 a piece, I figured they might be helpful for supporting a pool cover for the winter. I carefully planned out a framework where I could cut them up put them together like the internal supports of an airplane wing. I thought I could pull the cover tight enough so all rain would run off the cover and down onto the deck. Not so. Total failure after the first rain and I'm out there siphoning about 150 gallons from the top of the cover.
This led me to another idea. Perhaps it has been done here, but here goes:
1. Put nothing in the pool, except perhaps an air pillow or innertube for an ice block.
2. Drain pool level to below the skimmer.
3. Put a Hayward inlet fitting in the center of the cover. I use a water tight cover.
4. Put some deer netting around the fitting to keep debris out.
5. Put a hose between this fitting in the cover and the system return fitting that is under water.
6. Remove all hoses from the outside of the return fitting and winterize all pump and filter parts as normal.
With this scenario, if it rains, the water runs to the center of the cover and down through the hose in the pool and out the return fitting below the waterline.
No more worrying about draining the pool cover or overfilling the pool. The way I see it, this is the one huge advantage we have as above ground pool owners because we can use gravity to our advantage to drain the cover.
Anybody see a problem with this idea? I live in Williamsburg, Virginia so our winter is not a deep freeze.
This led me to another idea. Perhaps it has been done here, but here goes:
1. Put nothing in the pool, except perhaps an air pillow or innertube for an ice block.
2. Drain pool level to below the skimmer.
3. Put a Hayward inlet fitting in the center of the cover. I use a water tight cover.
4. Put some deer netting around the fitting to keep debris out.
5. Put a hose between this fitting in the cover and the system return fitting that is under water.
6. Remove all hoses from the outside of the return fitting and winterize all pump and filter parts as normal.
With this scenario, if it rains, the water runs to the center of the cover and down through the hose in the pool and out the return fitting below the waterline.
No more worrying about draining the pool cover or overfilling the pool. The way I see it, this is the one huge advantage we have as above ground pool owners because we can use gravity to our advantage to drain the cover.
Anybody see a problem with this idea? I live in Williamsburg, Virginia so our winter is not a deep freeze.
