Closing or not closing the pool in winter?

[Muna]

Is it ok to not close the pool in Winston-Salem, NC?

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

What are your Januarys like, especially at night? I would guess you are a little cold and could risk pipes freezing there, but maybe I am wrong. There are some articles here about how long it takes to have pipes freeze, I'd look at those in detail. We get 20's F here in January but not for more than 4-5 hours so it's a non issue with the pump's freeze protection running. But if that were a couple of days, we would be done for at that point.

Look at historical records and you should be able to figure out a worst case for freeze time. Compare that against the articles on water freezing in pipes. And make your decision from there. In theory as long as you keep the water moving in the cold times, you should be okay with the mass of water you have, but you probably don't want to risk a pump failure or a power outage splitting pipes.

 

[Homebrewale]

I'm near Raleigh, NC so my weather is similar. Yes, there are pool owners that leave their pools open all year long. When I was picking up my Loop-Loc cover at my pool company last week, I asked the pool employee how many people never close their pools. He said about 70% close and 30% leave the pool running. Personally, I close my pool every year. It is closed from about mid-October to mid-April which is about 6 months. With closing, it's just do it and forget about it. No worries at night when the meteorologist are predicting an ice storm that may cause widespread power outages. No checking the equipment everyday to see if something failed.

 

[DorsalSpine]

I a friend in Charlotte that leaves his open all year. As long as you have electricity you can run the pump to prevent freezing during the cold snaps. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Richard320]

Let's ask @OTPirate She lives in the area.

 

[OTPirate]

Hey! I never close my pool during the winter. I'm a little embarrassed to say that. I keep the pump running if below freezing. If electricity stops, I do have a generator. It seems like once we did have a power outage, I did not have a generator and I was worried about the water freezing and expanding so @duraleigh told me to throw in some empty milk jugs (they will collapse and take on force of expansion), and all my pipes are underground. Maybe @duraleigh can explain that better than I can...