We're on our 3rd winter with the pool. 1st winter was mild temps and had no issues keeping the pool/spa open. 2nd winter we had 9 days of below-freezing temps and our chlorinator froze and burst around day 3 so we had to do a last-minute winterization since there wasn't a bypass valve. Now that we've removed the chlorinator and simplified the plumbing on our equipment pad (all 2" pipes), I was hoping we'd be able to keep it open for our 3rd winter. But now the problem I'm encountering is that the evaporation is so bad that we need to add water to the pool every other day to prevent the water level from getting so low that the skimmers suck air into the system. I know the simple solution is to keep adding water to the pool...but I'm worried the outdoor spigot will freeze (last year it did freeze, even with the hose detached, and fortunately after we thawed it out there was no apparent damage).
I'm curious what others would do in this situation, and if there is something I may be missing? As far as I can tell, my options are:
1) winterize the pool (downside is we can't use spa in winter)
2) keep pool open and add water every other day, hoping the outdoor spigot doesn't freeze/burst inside the wall
3) keep pool open and don't add water when temps are freezing, but instead close the valves that pull water from the skimmer to the pump so that the pump is only pulling water from the main drain (risk here I think would be water in skimmer freezing since it wouldn't be circulating)
Right now I'm leaning towards #1, but I would love to hear from folks who successfully keep theirs open in the winter and if they have the same evaporation/refill issues. Thanks!
I'm curious what others would do in this situation, and if there is something I may be missing? As far as I can tell, my options are:
1) winterize the pool (downside is we can't use spa in winter)
2) keep pool open and add water every other day, hoping the outdoor spigot doesn't freeze/burst inside the wall
3) keep pool open and don't add water when temps are freezing, but instead close the valves that pull water from the skimmer to the pump so that the pump is only pulling water from the main drain (risk here I think would be water in skimmer freezing since it wouldn't be circulating)
Right now I'm leaning towards #1, but I would love to hear from folks who successfully keep theirs open in the winter and if they have the same evaporation/refill issues. Thanks!