Closed yesterday! Still have questions…

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thefloatqueen

thefloatqueen

Bronze Supporter
Dec 24, 2018
1,377
Columbus, Ohio
Pool Size
8000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Yesterday was closing day and it went well. I do have a question or two, though (yeah, I should’ve asked before closing, but we were on a huge time crunch lol). I used a Gizzmo in my Hayward skimmer but I’m wondering what I’m supposed to do with the lid? Do I take it off or keep it on? Does it even matter since it has a hole in the middle anyways? My solid cover is not long enough to cover the entire skimmer (unless I want it to be really short on the other end which is a big no lol) so it’s kind of just sitting there. I see no way of keeping water/ice out of it? I also bought the wrong size plug for my main return. Since I drained about 5 inches below it, should it be fine the way it is? I don’t know how to explain it so I might go take a pic, if needed. Temps at night will be below freezing this weekend and next week so I’m worried. Pump and cartridge filter were cleaned and brought inside until spring.

It is raining hard today and I am anxious because a lot of water is collecting on my cover so I ordered a pump from Amazon that is supposed to be here between 5 and 10pm tonight. I am worried about the cover caving in. 😩 I will likely have more questions so keep an eye on this post! Thanks in advance!! Here are a couple pretty sunset pics from yesterday while we were draining the last inch or two of water before we put the cover on….in the dark with flashlights. 😂 Pillow isn’t as off-center as it appears. Not perfect, but we tried. 🤷🏻‍♀️

F208BC89-FFEE-43F7-BF28-83062C4F2054.jpegEAC8D7EF-22F2-4768-8533-159D4A2B5401.jpeg
 
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thefloatqueen said:
Do I take it off or keep it on? Does it even matter since it has a hole in the middle anyways?
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The hole will only let a little water in co pared to the whole skimmer being open. Secure the lid down with a few wraps of a non gooey tape or Cling wrap and the hole will be sealed as a bonus.
thefloatqueen said:
. I also bought the wrong size plug for my main return. Since I drained about 5 inches below it, should it be fine the way it is?
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With a solid cover, yes. (y)
thefloatqueen said:
I am worried about the cover caving in. 😩
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Get the right return plug and you can raise the water level, to make less stress on the cover from top water.
thefloatqueen said:
Not perfect, but we tried. 🤷🏻‍♀️
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The sunset SURE is. Wowzers.

I'm regards to the pillow, yours can be no worse than the millions of pools without pillows. (Literally millions). It *may* even be better than those millions. :)
 
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Newdude said:
The hole will only let a little water in co pared to the whole skimmer being open. Secure the lid down with a few wraps of a non gooey tape or Cling wrap and the hole will be sealed as a bonus.

With a solid cover, yes. (y)

Get the right return plug and you can raise the water level, to make less stress on the cover from top water.

The sunset SURE is. Wowzers.

I'm regards to the pillow, yours can be no worse than the millions of pools without pillows. (Literally millions). It *may* even be better than those millions. :)
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My little cover pump from Amazon will be here sometime between now and 10 pm tonight. The sooner the better! Since I had the water perfectly balanced at SLAM level and super clean before closing, I would hate to add more water if I don’t need to. If I keep up with pumping the water off (and shoveling snow off, when that time comes), I should be fine though, right? All next week night time lows are in the upper 20s to low 30s. Pretty much below freezing every night. I’ll make sure to get as much water off as possible since obviously it’s going to freeze. I’m VERY thankful for the pillow! It is helping tremendously and the water looks like it’ll be very easy to pump off thanks to that massive pillow in the middle lol it’s a lot bigger than it looks in the photos. I couldn’t imagine not using one and all the water accumulating in the middle! 🤯 As you can tell, this is my first time ever using a solid cover! 😂
 
You don’t want the tarp cover covering the skimmer, the wire should go under the rails over the top of the skimmer.

You should be ok with the water on top of the cover but a pump is good if there is too much weight. I try and keep most of the water off the cover with my pump but a little is just fine and usually helps with wind.

The pillow being off center is also fine. Most of the time it shifts anyways. Your pillow looks like it’s filled a lot in the pics. Typically you don’t want to fill more then 75%. They usually pop when inflated all the way. If it’s not filled that much than you’re good.

Nice pics!
 
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Decoy205 said:
You don’t want the tarp cover covering the skimmer, the wire should go under the rails over the top of the skimmer.

You should be ok with the water on top of the cover but a pump is good if there is too much weight. I try and keep most of the water off the cover with my pump but a little is just fine and usually helps with wind.

The pillow being off center is also fine. Most of the time it shifts anyways. Your pillow looks like it’s filled a lot in the pics. Typically you don’t want to fill more then 75%. They usually pop when inflated all the way. If it’s not filled that much than you’re good.

Nice pics!
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Glad you mentioned that! The instructions said to fill it to 75%, which I tried my best to do. It is probably more like 80% lol but it is big no means fully filled and there is plenty of room for it to expand. I made sure not to overfill it. Hopefully it’ll be okay. The picture is pretty misleading. 🙂
 
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You drained 5" below the return with no water on the cover, yes? I've always done 4" but that should be fine, but like Newdude said get the right size return plug just for insurance. I leave a few inches of water on the cover to help protect against wind, then try and drain some off before full on winter sets in to allow for snow accumulation. As long as the cover isn't pulled tight and there is slack you should be good.

For the skimmer, I've never really done anything other than remove the lid, wier door and remove the suction line so any water just goes straight through.

Do you have a pic with cover on?
 
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Here is mine right now. Water level is about 1" below the return with this amount of water on top. I probably need to drain more from the pool but not exactly sure how much til I get the water off the top. I close in phases - Columbus day was in the 70s so heated the water to 90 for a last family swim, then put the cover on while it was still comfortable to get in (not required, but makes it easier). I think it was just last weekend where I began draining the pool and then removed plumbing/ equipment. Where you see wrinkles coming off the top rail is where the cover isn't perfectly oriented and those are the stress points if too much weight is on top, so ideally I remove some clips and try and get things a bit more evened out, but I've had worse and survived winter just fine. If cover were to get really stretched in spots in the midst of winter you can always just undo that section and toss that corner inside the pool until thaw/drain can occur. Also, in my experience the cover will tear or the clips will pull off before it collapses a wall.

It is great you are wanting to be diligent and there is the unknown since first time you are doing it this way, but there is more room for error than you think! Can you tell which way the wind blows through my yard?

20221112_103922.jpg
 
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Decoy205 said:
The way I judge is I fill it to where I think it’s there and then step on it , you should be able to press all the way to the floor.
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Eeeeeek. Mine is more filled than that lol I went by the instructions and tried to estimate it as close to 75% as I could. The pillow is really thick and durable and I left room for it to expand. I made sure to buy a high quality one with great reviews despite the higher price tag. We shall see how it goes. It looks funny with the cover on lol
 
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Decoy205 said:
You don’t want the tarp cover covering the skimmer, the wire should go under the rails over the top of the skimmer.

You should be ok with the water on top of the cover but a pump is good if there is too much weight. I try and keep most of the water off the cover with my pump but a little is just fine and usually helps with wind.

The pillow being off center is also fine. Most of the time it shifts anyways. Your pillow looks like it’s filled a lot in the pics. Typically you don’t want to fill more then 75%. They usually pop when inflated all the way. If it’s not filled that much than you’re good.

Nice pics!
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I was getting ready to write this ! I have also added a tiny tarp with a bungee around my skimmer so I can take it off & check the water level/condition etc without the lid being frozen.
 
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So just leave the skimmer completely open with no lid or anything? Obviously I took the “door” off of it so I’m hoping critters won’t get in. Maybe I’ll keep the lid on? So confused lol. In the past, I didn’t cover my pool and used a mesh cover one year. I cannot remember.
 
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Keep the lid on - just don’t put the pool cover or cover cable around the skimmer, it will pull on the skimmer. The cable should be just under the top rail above the skimmer against the wall just like the rest of the way around the pool.
 
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You don't need the Gizmo in the skimmer if you removed the hose on the bottom of the skimmer. Water will not accumulate enough to create an ice problem. Any water will drain out the bottom. I would remove the Gizmo and put the skimmer top back on if the hose is disconnected. Did you cover the skimmer opening inside the pool with a plastic seal(like a tupperware lid designed for the skimmer)? That will keep critters out of the pool.
 
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SecoSteve said:
You don't need the Gizmo in the skimmer if you removed the hose on the bottom of the skimmer. Water will not accumulate enough to create an ice problem. Any water will drain out the bottom. I would remove the Gizmo and put the skimmer top back on if the hose is disconnected. Did you cover the skimmer opening inside the pool with a plastic seal(like a tupperware lid designed for the skimmer)? That will keep critters out of the pool.
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Yep I figured that out too and removed it last night before temps hit freezing! I feel dumb haha I just always see them talked about on here lol. And to answer your question, no I did not cover the skimmer opening but I love that idea!! I’ve been thinking of ways to block it all out so no critters can get in. Thank you!!
 
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