Pool cover is wayyyyy underwater. Pumping possible or lost cause?

[Scooch]

How much water can one expect to pump off a cover when it's wayyyyyyy underwater?!

I bought a new pool cover last fall for my 21' circular above ground pool, and it stinks. My previous one didn't allow much transference, but this one has been a sieve. Add to that my air pillow popped mid-winter, so my cover is stretched to it's limits and has a good 18+ inches of water on top of it. Swampy brown water at that!

I started running my pump this afternoon in advance of opening the pool on Saturday, but I'm thinking this may be a lost cause. Not sure I'll be able to get water off enough to do much more than just loosen the cover, have it sag to the bottom, and dump tons of cruddy water into the pool.

If anyone has any bright ideas I'm all ears!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Got a couple of hoses you can use to siphon the water off? Youtube shows how to siphon if you don't know how.

Maddie

 

[Richard320]

Can you push some of that bilge water off using a push broom or a leaf blower?

 

[Scooch]

Got a couple of hoses you can use to siphon the water off? Youtube shows how to siphon if you don't know how.

Maddie

Can you push some of that bilge water off using a push broom or a leaf blower?

Both great ideas. I'll give 'em a shot!

 

[VeronicaKG]

We used to use a winter cover and had to deal with having to pump it every time we got some rain. We now use an oversized solar cover and the water just evaporates off within a few days. We have not had to use a pump to get the water off our cover ever since. We have to consistently keep the cover on when not in use especially at night or the raccoons will get in the pool and contaminate it. The only drawback is in the summer the water can get a bit too warm.

 

[Esloser]

I used to have a cover that would fall in. Instead of pumping the water off and refilling the pool, I would pump the water off and back under the cover. Might want to try that?

 

[Scooch]

I used to have a cover that would fall in. Instead of pumping the water off and refilling the pool, I would pump the water off and back under the cover. Might want to try that?

Thanks. I suppose that'd still put the swampy cover-top water in the pool, but at least it'll be easier to get the cover off this weekend!

 

[thetekgeek]

A cheap solution I have used comes from my old wakesurfing days. Get a few Atwood T800 aerator pumps, you can get them for about $25 on many boating sites. They are small plastic pumps that run on 12V. I wired a couple into an old car battery charger and run it on trickle charge setting, or you could use one of those portable car jump packs if it has a 12V connector. They don't self prime, so they need to be under the water but would work well for pumping water off the top of your cover. I have 5 of them just lying around my garage, I was able to empty my seasonal pool (5000 gallons) last year in a few hours.

 

[JoeSelf]

3/8 clear tube inside of 3/4" pvc to weight it down to create or in a low spot. clear tube long enough to get away from pool. Start siphon and drop. Clear tube so you can see the water coming.

Always blow into the tube first every time but the first time, before starting siphon. Wrap your hand around the end of the tube don't put the tube in your mouth.