Hello, I live in the North East, very cold. I have a ton of ice on top of my above ground pool cover. I put a plug in the skimmer to winterize but unfortunate did not drain the water below the skimmer. Apparently the plug got lose or popped out as water is now leaking from the skimmer opening as the weather has been above freezing for a few days. There is a solid block of ice in the skimmer connected to the inside of my pool. I am nervous the pool wall is going to collapse by the skimmer as the water drains since it is connected. Is there anything I can do? Should I close the skimmer valve to stop the water from draining? I understand the skimmer will most like crack but I would prefer that o er a destroyed pool. Thanks!
Skimmer plug popped out deep freeze how to prevent disaster?
- Thread starter Amorphous
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,861
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Lol. I've been sitting on the fence for a while now thinking this one through. Guess I'm off it now. 
So the water loss needs to stop asap. If the main mass of ice falls into the pool from its current suspended bridge like state, it may take the skimmer with it and buckle the wall. Most likely the weight of the ice above the cover is pushing the pool water up the wall and out the skimmer. The skimmer is holding up that part of the pool ice on that side while the other sinks.
If you close the valve under the skimmer, that may freeze possibly breaking it and putting you back to square 1. But that would likely be fixable and the buckled wall will forever be weaker *if* its fixable. So i guess I'd risk sacrificing the valve area of the plumbing
So the water loss needs to stop asap. If the main mass of ice falls into the pool from its current suspended bridge like state, it may take the skimmer with it and buckle the wall. Most likely the weight of the ice above the cover is pushing the pool water up the wall and out the skimmer. The skimmer is holding up that part of the pool ice on that side while the other sinks.
If you close the valve under the skimmer, that may freeze possibly breaking it and putting you back to square 1. But that would likely be fixable and the buckled wall will forever be weaker *if* its fixable. So i guess I'd risk sacrificing the valve area of the plumbing
Last edited:
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,881
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Note that the sides of ice can be sharp and disturbing ice in the pool can tear the liner.
Thank you. Do you think if I do nothing it 100% guarantees a destroyed skimmer wall? I've attached some images if it helps. It looks to me like the ice is level on top of the pool. It's been draining for days.Lol. I've been sitting on the fence for a while now thinking this one through. Guess I'm off it now.
So the water loss needs to stop asap. If the main mass of ice falls into the pool from its current suspended bridge like state, it may take the skimmer with it and buckle the wall. Most likely the weight of the ice above the cover is pushing the pool water up the wall and out the skimmer. The skimmer is holding up that part of the pool ice on that side while the other sinks.
If you close the valve under the skimmer, that may freeze possibly breaking it and putting you back to square 1. But that would likely be fixable and the buckled wall will forever be weaker *if* its fixable. So i guess I'd risk sacrificing the valve area of the plumbing
Attachments
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,881
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Dont disturb the ice anywhere in your pool.
The ice in the skimmer can expand upwards and down with the valve open. I would leave it that way and hope for the best until you get a good thaw.
Next year put a half empty jug in the skimmer or cut up pool noodles.
No, not at all. Only that it's a possibility.
So the water in the pool froze and at some point the above ice on the cover became heavy enough to push the under ice / pool water down. Except it has nowhere to go, so some water escapes up the wall and out the skimmer. If the skimmer wasn't a brick of ice attached to the pool ice, it would eventually stop without harm. But the part of the pool ice in the skimmer is holding that side up and the other end of the pool has no support and continues to sink. If enough of an air pocket is created, or the pool ice is pushed far enough by the above weight, the pool ice will break and if it breaks further away from the skimmer a large block of it may want to pull the skimmer and wall.
*said ice very well may just break off from skimmer and fall into the pool without harm if it snaps at the face of the skimmer instead of trying to pull the fat light bulb shaped end through the skinnier skimmer opening. Entirely possible no harm is done and/or the ice doesn't break in the first place*
But we won't know which will happen until it does. If the pool ice was below the skimmer I'd say to leave the valve open and let as much drain as it wants. The pool ice would continue down the pool wall without harm as it displaced new water out of the skimmer. Even if that skimmer water froze it would be 1/2 inch or less and wouldn't have a stronghold on the skimmer to yank it if the big pool ice shifted.
So I think stopping the leak (shutting the valve) will leave the pool ice at the current height, somewhat supported still by the pool water. Even if it's not fully supported, it won't get any worse than it is.
Next year I would get a skimmer faceplate plug. Most of them don't fully seal as the new plug is perfectly square but the not brand new skimmer has warped in the sun, if only a teeny tiny bit, and the skimmer will fill with pool water anyway. The skimmer only has to be a hair off for water to get in. But the faceplate plug will stop the ice in the skimmer from being attached to the ice rink inside the pool. Then use pool noodles / milk jug / gizzmo to absorb the ice inside the skimmer.