Closing AGP and leaving it up... In North Dakota.

[Gopherboy6956]

So - This is probably a bad idea - but i'm gonna do it anyways. More on that later.

I have an Intex XTR 18" Round pool with Sand filter. I am going to leave it up this winter with some amount of water in it. I will put the filter, pump, hoses in the heated garage.


My questions are this: What gives me the best chance of this thing surviving?

Is it:

A: No chance, she's a goner!

B: Drain past the filter inlet and outlet, cover it, hope for the best

C: Drain halfway or more, cover it and hope for the best

D: Do not drain it much, cap the inlet and outlets, cover and hope you did the math right on ice expansion.

E: Don't drain it. Don't cover it. I have no trees yet anyways...

I've also considered draining it half way, and building a brace to cross the pool like an X to keep the walls from pulling in witht the cover on.
It's also not about the water. I don't "NEED" to keep it, I just don't want to take the pool down. It's next to our deck and in the perfect spot.

So - TLDR: Does anyone do this in the north? It WILL freeze solid, will that destroy the liner? Does it freeze outisde in? Top to bottom? Can't uses how a lake freezes as a comparision really.

And finally - i'm willing to risk it, because as some point i'm getting a steel sided AGP so I can landscape up to it, and this proof of concept pool just keeps lasting.


Thank you!

 

[Woodstock1234]

I have an intex and I'm going with D.
Like many, I have a covid intex. I'm plugging the holes, covering it and hoping for the best. . There are a lot of people on this forum doing the same.

 

[Texas Splash]

I think you are fine to leave it up. A tear-down can cause more problems next spring. Have you seen our page below?

Closing (Winterizing) Your Above Ground Pool

Closing an above ground pool at season’s end should be a fast and worry-free process. Learn the basics of above ground pool winterization in easy steps.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[cowboycasey]

My Intex has been up for over 5 years now and I have never emptied it.. I also do not cover it in the winter when I close.. I Use E. from your list...

This is what it looks like in the spring/Mar when I open back up...

2017-03-04 10.33.32.jpg

• cowboycasey
• Sep 12, 2020

 

[PieterS]

Doesn't look like it freezes much where you are though @cowboycasey

For those of us in northern climates - curious why you wouldn't at least drain it past the inlet holes? I guess those holes themselves are not necessarily prone to damage - but seems like that would be sensible. In Minnesota here, took it down just last weekend - but planning on leaving it up next year.

 

[cowboycasey]

I have had 6 to 12 inches of ice in mine and no problems at all, mine is really a normal above ground pool... I do have everything hard piped so not your normal Intex soft pipe pool...

 

[Woodstock1234]

Doesn't look like it freezes much where you are though @cowboycasey

For those of us in northern climates - curious why you wouldn't at least drain it past the inlet holes? I guess those holes themselves are not necessarily prone to damage - but seems like that would be sensible. In Minnesota here, took it down just last weekend - but planning on leaving it up next year.

I was going to drain it a bit but decided against it. My cover will sit on top of the water so I don't see why I need to lower the water. I think the ice/water will help support the sides . This is my first year so this is all a guess. I'll let you know in the spring if it worked out.

 

[Gopherboy6956]

I have an intex and I'm going with D.
Like many, I have a covid intex. I'm plugging the holes, covering it and hoping for the best. . There are a lot of people on this forum doing the same.

I lucked out and got this in 2019 - but in like August, so it was really my first pool year this year.

I think you are fine to leave it up. A tear-down can cause more problems next spring. Have you seen our page below?

Closing (Winterizing) Your Above Ground Pool

Closing an above ground pool at season’s end should be a fast and worry-free process. Learn the basics of above ground pool winterization in easy steps.

www.troublefreepool.com

I hadn't seen that yet. I checked it out, seems pretty normal. The only real thing I'm worried about is it freezing 100% solid. There's a very real chance of that here in Fargo. We are FAR below freezing for 3-4 months.

I was going to drain it a bit but decided against it. My cover will sit on top of the water so I don't see why I need to lower the water. I think the ice/water will help support the sides . This is my first year so this is all a guess. I'll let you know in the spring if it worked out.

So last weekend, I uncovered it, vac'd it, ran the removable skimmer, and drained it down past the filter ports. Then, I decided I'm going to go with the plug method, and keep the water just above the inlets. We had a wave of weather around 75 all this week and I wasn't comfortable leaving it unfiltered yet. Then I figured I'll add a pillow to it and cover it. I can always plug the holes and remove the filter and bring it inside when it gets consitently under 50 here, which should be by November or so. Can't make too much of a difference if the water is +/- a foot or so.

I ended getting this cover for now - then i'll add a winter cover over it once it's 100% closed and ready for winter. This cover seems easy to open and check on in the meantime. My next consideration then is a good quality winter cover, since my pool has direct exposure to the NorthWest Wind we get, which also happens to come in my yard un obstructed. It'll face 30-40mph winds regularly.