To drain or not to drain....winterizing an Intex Ultra Frame XTR

[KayDub23]

Hello all, New England gal here, I've read "all" the posts on here about winterizing Intex AGPs and haven't found an answer to this...I read the Swim University article on winterizing, as recommended by many folks here: (How to Winterize An Above Ground Pool in 11 Steps). There's just one thing we don't quite understand: Swim Uni says not to drain the water below the skimmer if you don't need to, just plug up the holes and leave the water in because it's better for the pool walls. Intex also says to just plug the holes and leave the water in, albeit those are the directions for warmer climates. We are inclined to leave the water full, since it's easier and because the walls on this style of pool bow in when it's anything but full.

Anyone in a colder climate have experience leaving the water in? I will post some pics of our set up later today, but it's the out-of-the box Intex skimmer/return with no modifications. TIA!!!! : )

 

[cowboycasey]

yes ma'am, you will blow the water out of any pipes or disconnect the pipes if you have a little pump after you plug the holes.. then just leave the water in.. I do not cover mine up but some do...

 

[jlt19]

I'm thinking of doing this with my "regular" AGP. I'm not really understanding the benefit of wasting all of the water to drain below the return, then refilling in spring. I keep a submersible pump "on" all winter over the cover, so I'm not worried about overflowing the pool. Are there any other considerations I need to consider? I plan on covering the skimmer with a heavy duty garbage bag and I take off all the hoses and store inside.

 

[CT-Steven]

We're not draining. The pool came with some black plugs, we loosened the hose clamps removed the plastic intake and return and plugged the holes. I would assume that you could also just use rubber stoppers from your hardware store. I'll be closing this coming weekend, all the equipment will be washed and put away in the garage...

 

[Woodstock1234]

Ok this is a stupid question, but doesn't water just pour out of the hole when you remove the hoses to plug the holes? What am I missing?

 

[CT-Steven]

Unscrew the strainer from the inlet (might have 2 screws holding this in place).
Loosen the hose clamp on the back of the 1.25" hose just enough to allow the intake assembly the ability to move (do not remove hose or clamp yet).
Carefully wiggle the plastic intake assembly out of the liners insert.
Place plug that came with pool in hole.
Remove hose.

 

[Woodstock1234]

Unscrew the strainer from the inlet (might have 2 screws holding this in place).
Loosen the hose clamp on the back of the 1.25" hose just enough to allow the intake assembly the ability to move (do not remove hose or clamp yet).
Carefully wiggle the plastic intake assembly out of the liners insert.
Place plug that came with pool in hole.
Remove hose.

Got it thanks! I couldn't get my hose through to the inside of the pool, so it sits on the outside clamped. It hasn't leaked so I left it. (One woman show here lol)
Will try to push it all the way through or will drain some water as I had planned. I like the idea of leaving as much water in the pool as possible.

 

[bjmsam]

We're not draining. The pool came with some black plugs, we loosened the hose clamps removed the plastic intake and return and plugged the holes. I would assume that you could also just use rubber stoppers from your hardware store. I'll be closing this coming weekend, all the equipment will be washed and put away in the garage...

This is my plan as well (first attempt as documented in my thread). Any lessons learned last winter that you can share?

Unscrew the strainer from the inlet (might have 2 screws holding this in place).
Loosen the hose clamp on the back of the 1.25" hose just enough to allow the intake assembly the ability to move (do not remove hose or clamp yet).
Carefully wiggle the plastic intake assembly out of the liners insert.
Place plug that came with pool in hole.
Remove hose.

The three black caps that came with my pool are concave and fit perfectly over the grated dome on the assemblies that it sounds like you removed from the liner. If you're referring to the same plugs, then how are they held in the liner? I'm not confident they would stay on the assemblies, either, considering low water pressure near the surface...

plug the holes.. then just leave the water in.. I do not cover mine up but some do...

How do you keep debris out of the pool?

For those who cover, how do you keep water from accumulating on it? I'm not off to a good start:

 

[cowboycasey]

A pool cover pump to pump the water off

Amazon.com : pool cover pump

 

[bjmsam]

Thanks! I could simply re-purpose my self-priming solar heater pump to do this during the off season!

Update: The solar heater pump works but too slowly (1 GPM) and lacks a float switch, so I ordered a 12 VDC bilge pump (760 GPH) for $20.

 

[Woodstock1234]

This is my plan as well (first attempt as documented in my thread). Any lessons learned last winter that you can share?


The three black caps that came with my pool are concave and fit perfectly over the grated dome on the assemblies that it sounds like you removed from the liner. If you're referring to the same plugs, then how are they held in the liner? I'm not confident they would stay on the assemblies, either, considering low water pressure near the surface...


How do you keep debris out of the pool?

For those who cover, how do you keep water from accumulating on it? I'm not off to a good start:

The intex cover is way too small and never stayed on my pool. They really need to make them bigger. I used a tarp like cover and used pool wrap on all the sides . I have a cover pump to remove water. I think it's called Little Giant.

 

[bfdl]

Left the water in the pool last year - lowered it below all the in/out holes, and plugged those at the liner. Brought the pump and filter inside after draining the water, and emptying the sand. Put on the intex cover after putting two larger inner tubes at the center, which allows for any rainwater to run off of the cover and is said to help with freezing. After a period of rain that would have worried Noah, the pool was full, and this was followed by the worst cold snap in twenty years. We basically had an above ground ice rink. If it wasn't frozen solid, it did a near perfect impression of it. After things warmed up, the ice melted, the liner was sound, and other than a bit of green (remedied in three days, which won me $100 from my wife, who thought it impossible to fix, and foolishly bet against me) the pool was ready by memorial day. This was much easier than draining it and setting it up all over again.

 

[Andrew_D]

Up here, our pool turns into a giant ice cube for 6 months. I've never left it full or half full, although some friends up here have with their 18ft round. I'm worried what might happen to the liner/walls of my 16x32 if I left it right full. Same at even half full, especially with how much bowing the walls do. So I have emptied most of it and left 6-12 inches of water in the pool to freeze for winter. The bit of water weights it down so the wind doesn't blow it away!

Andrew

 

[KML in MA]

Hello all, New England gal here, I've read "all" the posts on here about winterizing Intex AGPs and haven't found an answer to this...I read the Swim University article on winterizing, as recommended by many folks here: (How to Winterize An Above Ground Pool in 11 Steps). There's just one thing we don't quite understand: Swim Uni says not to drain the water below the skimmer if you don't need to, just plug up the holes and leave the water in because it's better for the pool walls. Intex also says to just plug the holes and leave the water in, albeit those are the directions for warmer climates. We are inclined to leave the water full, since it's easier and because the walls on this style of pool bow in when it's anything but full.

Anyone in a colder climate have experience leaving the water in? I will post some pics of our set up later today, but it's the out-of-the box Intex skimmer/return with no modifications. TIA!!!! : )

How did this end up going? Did your pool survive the winter well? I’m wondering whether to leave the water level higher this year on my Intex Rectangular. Usually I drain below all inlet/outlet holes when closing, but with the rectangular pool I always worry a bit re: walls straining inward. Would love an update.

 

[CT-Steven]

I have a modified Intex as it uses 1.5" PVC piping throughout and a Hayward pump/filter. However, the method and process of winterizing is the same. We plugged the holes, disconnected the pipes drained the water from the pipes, pump, and filter and brought what we could into the garage. We then winterize as any normal pool. As noted, the Intex cover is basically useless for trying to use as a winter cover. I have a BlueWaves cover that overlaps the pool by 3 feet on each side. I then use pool wrap to hold it in place. You want to stop the wind from getting under it as it will destroy the cover. Unfortunately, Intex are rectangular so the best you can do is an oval cover. Be careful with the solar pump as it might not be rated to handle the winter conditions. They make pumps specifically for this.