Keep the pool open during fall/winter, or close completely?

[LoriWilfer]

I'm considering just leaving my pool "open" instead of closing like I did last year. This summer was my 1st experience at opening a pool, and let's just say I didn't enjoy it much. After my water balanced, I have no issues and only require daily bleach, so I'm thinking I will prefer leaving it open.

I'm not sure if my location is in my signature or not, but I am in southwest Louisiana so we don't experience much winter.
Any advice or tips would be appreciated!

 

[OTPirate]

I keep my pool open all winter in NC. It is a lot easier to maintain in the winter as algae is less of a problem. One thing to keep in mind-if you do happen to have hard freeze, put a couple 2 liter bottles filled halfway with water in the skimmer or on the steps so they are about half in the water and half out. This allows for expansion of the ice during a freeze-you don't want the ice pushing against the walls of your pool. Hope others chime in with some tips!

 

[Foxy]

I don't close my pool, but we don't get any freezes here in the desert. I just maintain my water all year long, it takes a lot less chemicals in the cooler weather than during swim season and I can also go longer between tests without any problems.

 

[bordelond]

LoriWilfer, I'm glad you started this thread. I was wondering the same myself. I'm in the New Orleans metro, so the weather issues will be similar to yours.

My original plan was to drain down to about 12" of water, cover the pool, and maybe just throw a little bleach under the cover once a week. Not sure if it would be easier just to ( a ) maintain a one-foot-deep pool for six months or ( b ) just maintain the full pool like normal all fall & winter long.

I have no concerns whatsoever about ice. I haven't had to wear a jacket in the winter for several years ... temps below 32 F are both infrequent and short-lived when they do occur.

 

[mariane]

LoriWilfer, I'm glad you started this thread. I was wondering the same myself. I'm in the New Orleans metro, so the weather issues will be similar to yours.
My original plan was to drain down to about 12" of water, cover the pool, and maybe just throw a little bleach under the cover once a week. Not sure if it would be easier just to ( a ) maintain a one-foot-deep pool for six months or ( b ) just maintain the full pool like normal all fall & winter long.


bordelond:
If you add bleach without the pump running, you will bleach the liner and decrease its lifespan. Bleach is heavier than water and will settle to the bottom unless the water is circulated. I followed the instructions from the pool store to add bleach when the pool was half full, without the pump running and badly bleached the liner in several spots. Even with a submersible pump, it was not enough to circulate the bleach evenly thru the water.
Hope this helps.

 

[bordelond]

bordelond:
If you add bleach without the pump running, you will bleach the liner and decrease its lifespan. Bleach is heavier than water and will settle to the bottom unless the water is circulated. I followed the instructions from the pool store to add bleach when the pool was half full, without the pump running and badly bleached the liner in several spots. Even with a submersible pump, it was not enough to circulate the bleach evenly thru the water.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip.

Maybe I will start a new thread about keeping so-called seasonal pools semi-open year round. "Semi-open" means that no water is drained at the end of swim season, but the pool gets covered, the pump runs maybe half or 1/4 as much, and chlorination doses decrease in frequency. Carrying over the same water to the 2018 swim season has some appeal, but not if I'm maintaining it all fall and winter the same way I'm maintaining the water during the summer.

Alternatively, I could attempt to drain the pool of almost all of it's water. I don't think I'll be able to get that last two inches or so without disassembling the pool. But maybe I could leave the pool assembled, and somehow maintain (or not?) a few inches of water?

 

[NorthTexasNovice]

Will the walls of your above ground pool stay intact without much water? I used to have an above ground and thought I was told the pressure of the water helped to keep the shape of the pool. That was years ago though. Maybe your pool is different or better than my old cheap above ground.

 

[mariane]

Alternatively, I could attempt to drain the pool of almost all of it's water. I don't think I'll be able to get that last two inches or so without disassembling the pool. But maybe I could leave the pool assembled, and somehow maintain (or not?) a few inches of water?

I'm not familiar with Intex pools and if this would compromise the walls of the pool. Maybe someone else will comment.
With our hard sided pool it is not recommended since the walls could collapse and then its time to buy a new pool. But in Michigan with a hard freeze, we can't empty too much and we cannot run the pump periodically. :santa:

 

[Richard320]

If you're not in danger of freezing, keep it open. It'll be too cold to swim is all. Mid-what-passes-for-winter here my chlorine consumption goes from a quart a day to about a quart a week. Minimal expense to say the least. And since nobody's swimming, I get to be less fastidious about vacuuming. Scoop the big stuff with the leaf rake and let the rest wait a while. The cold water means I no longer want to plunge my arm in to get a sample, which is when I start using a 45' piece of ½ PVC pipe as a pipette.

 

[LFrankow]

If we didn't get ice I would leave my pool up and running year round,setting the pump timer to turn on from 4 am to about 9 am, in case of a frost. As your pool cools off you will need to add less and less FC as intruders don't do so well in cold water.
As it is my pool has been up since I set it up 3 years ago, I drain down 8 inches of water, winterize everything, then watch it slowly turn into a 24 foot hockey puck.

 

[bordelond]

If you're not in danger of freezing, keep it open. It'll be too cold to swim is all. Mid-what-passes-for-winter here my chlorine consumption goes from a quart a day to about a quart a week.

This is the info I was missing: how chlorine consumption is affected by (a) colder outdoor temperatures and (b) the pool water remaining covered virtually 24/7.

The cover will keep sun off the water, so I know that will make a huge difference in chlorine consumption. But I'm not clear on where that temperature breakpoint is at which algae growth risk is significantly reduced (or even eliminated?).

Our winters start later and are mild, but will likely be somewhat colder and more humid than you're experiencing in SoCal. So if you're able to back off the water maintenance and forget about algae for a few months ... I should be able to, as well.

 

[Richard320]

This is the info I was missing: how chlorine consumption is affected by (a) colder outdoor temperatures and (b) the pool water remaining covered virtually 24/7.

The cover will keep sun off the water, so I know that will make a huge difference in chlorine consumption. But I'm not clear on where that temperature breakpoint is at which algae growth risk is significantly reduced (or even eliminated?).

Our winters start later and are mild, but will likely be somewhat colder and more humid than you're experiencing in SoCal. So if you're able to back off the water maintenance and forget about algae for a few months ... I should be able to, as well.

If you have it covered, you'll need even less chlorine. Mine is uncovered 365 days a year. The temperature line seems to be about 50F water temp. You can get real lazy and still not get algae.

 

[bordelond]

Will the walls of your above ground pool stay intact without much water?

The metal legs and framing of the Intex Prism Set pool will keep the pool upright even when drained low. A lot of people around here who have these rigid-frame Intex pools drain down low (maybe a foot deep?) every off-season while keeping the frame and liner assembled. Then they re-fill in the spring.

I have noticed, though, that these pools - if empty for a long spell - can shift around some. Not usually enough to necessitate reassembly, but enough to leave one of the corners too loose/saggy, say, causing extra water splashout during summertime use. Keeping the pool filled over the offseason would avoid this potential shifting issue.

 

[laweatherred]

I have noticed, though, that these pools - if empty for a long spell - can shift around some. Not usually enough to necessitate reassembly, but enough to leave one of the corners too loose/saggy, say, causing extra water splashout during summertime use. Keeping the pool filled over the offseason would avoid this potential shifting issue.

So if we kept the Intex pool full would we plug the holes and disassemble the pump and filter or continue to run it each day. Would this keep it from freezing?? We live in West Texas and we can have pretty harsh winters.