Please help, in panic mode

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R

rexbolt

Member
Feb 7, 2025
7
Ohio
First year owner in Ohio. 30ft above ground. Drained to bottom of skimmer but not return valve. Guy at store said to drain just to bottom of skimmer door, put in Aquadoor, and plug return. All was good, until it got a little warm. Now water coming out of drain plug and skimmer. Put camera under cover and can see aquadoor is cracked in half. I can't drain the cover, as we recently had feet of snow and it hasn't thawed enough to drain. 1000001549.jpg1000001548.jpg1000001547.jpg
 
Welcome to TFP.

Open up the top of the skimmer lid and stuff some cut up pool noodle foam into the skimmer. That will create a crush zone for ice and the skimmer should not crack.

Do you have a submersible pump to drain water off the pool cover and from the pool once the snow and ice melts?
 
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The water on top of the cover has displaced the water in the pool. Once it thaws you need to pump off the cover and it will probably be sufficient. If there’s ice in the pool don’t disturb it- you risk slicing the liner.
Until then you can attach the hoses to the return & skimmer to divert the current drainage away from the base of the pool so you don’t cause a washout situation.
The cover looks very tight in places. Loosen it so its not pulling on the pool wall /toprails since the cover will only pull harder as the water in pool water lowers. No need for this to turn into a cave in.
 
Thanks for the replies. So unfortunately we are back in freeze mode here and now the Ice is starting to build up inside the return jet tube and a Iittle bit in the skimmer. I know they say not to, but should I try to chip some ice chucks around the perimeter of the cover to reduce some of the weight? I don't really care if the cover rips, supposing that's better than structural damage to the pool. Again, the rest of the pool is solid ice, its just melting a bit on that wall when the sun heats it up.
 
Do not disturb the ice.
Do not attempt to melt the ice - this will be fruitless anyway.
Since its back to freezing - If you can - put the cut pool noodles in the skimmer & return holes to minimize ice damage. & simply loosen the cover so its not pulling on the top rails/walls. Just let it lay there
 
What kind of plug did you use for the return ?

An expandable rubber plug (of the proper size) on the outside will probably be able to hold the little bit of pressure back and stop the leak.
 
Newdude said:
What kind of plug did you use for the return ?

An expandable rubber plug (of the proper size) on the outside will probably be able to hold the little bit of pressure back and stop the leak.
Click to expand...
That will trap water that can freeze and crack the fitting. Letting it leak is safer unless it can be plugged from the inside of the pool to keep water out of the fitting.
 
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