Winter cover .....pump? EZ drain?..... HELP in choosing

[Moonlite swim]

Who can help me choose winter cover? Pool temp @87 won't be closing til late Sept. But want to get one now to have when ready. Winters in Chicago can be brutal. First time closer and yes I have read winter closing article. Do I need a pump for the cover? Anyone tried the EZ drain covers? Also is there any special component to be added when winterizing to protect liner? Or just slam and cover? Does anti freeze need to be added to flex hose or just water to be drained and blown out of lines? Do they need to come off or left attached?
Please advise
Thanks

 

[TSiGirl]

This will be my first closing too..and yes..winters here are brutal. I've been looking around for winter covers..want a leaf net too.

 

[bdex]

We have an APC automatic cover. It came with a Rule cover pump. It lasted for 3 years and we had to replace it.
If you look close on eBay you can find great deals on them. Most on here rip them and some prefer the lite giant pumps, but they all have the same review history. Most are not that durable, like everything else associated with a pool. We are in central Illinois so it is cold and snowy here as well. The rule pump has ice and freeze protection built in and it seems to work well.


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[Swampwoman]

I have a cover that's mostly solid but with a mesh square in the center. I've found it decent despite brutal Michigan winters with heavy snowfall...the draining square means I don't need to pump it off, yet the mostly solid part means if I close clean, I open mostly clean, unlike reports from those with the mesh.

It came with the house 3 years ago and presumably was more than 4-years-old then (pool guy thinks it was the original from 2001). It was purchased through the pool builder and ergo about 4k, he tells me. I've had a few small rips but was able to repair those. If its truly the original,n then worth the money.