water level in a closed pool

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greg,

Thanks and no. I dont remove anything on the skimmer. I just drain the water down and then when I blow the lines out, I connect a pipe to the skimmer hole and shoot air through it that throws it up back into the pool. I do the same thing while I add pool antifreeze. It turns pink and then I know there is antifreeze in the lines. Looks like and L is all. Great tool with only a couple fittings and some inch and a half pipe. Then I plug the hole in the skimmer with my gizmo, and put a half emply bottle of antifreeze upside down in the skimmer. Then I take ducktape and tape the skimmer cover edges so that no rainwater gets in there. For an extra measure, I take some landscapping plastic and lay it over the top of the skimmer cover and then put a 2 ft sqare piece of plywood over the top of it with a large rock on top. That way no water penetrates it at all.

Thanks on the topiary. Yes I trim it about 3 times each spring-fall. In the fall I let it grow out some because of the cold during the winter. That way when I trim it in the spring, it gets ride of the dead look and the green comes out faster.

Hope that helps! :goodjob:

Chad
 
For skimmers, blow through extentions or Ultra-Gizmos are the way to go. No antifreeze needed.

Pools with tile lines get step pumps to keep the water line down. No need to pump off so much water. Unplug in the Spring and let the pool refill and it's ready for the initial vacuuming to waste.

Returns and spa drains get plugs inserted as they are being blown out.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ
 
FWIW, in my situation, just a spishex said earlier in this thread, “…I should drain my pool to below the tile line, plus a few inches since I have a mesh cover and water will come in. I want to keep it just below the tile, which can be tricky with a mesh cover. That's why Scott above recommends a sump pump on the step which is the easiest way to take care of water over the winter.”

I think I drained it a bit too low, more like 4 inches from the tile line, then we had a snow, only 1- 1.5 inches of snow. The cover sank in like crazy. Can't be good on the cover or anchors, right?

I should have drained it, and kept it, just 2 inches from the tile line so the cover & anchors don’t get stressed that badly? Or is my thinking wrong because, say an 10 inch snowfall, will accumulate even more weight; the weight of 10 inches of snow & ice on the cover is such that it would sink the cover below a waterline that I kept just 2 inches below the tile line? In which case the water inside the pool would be displaced into the skimmer & elsewhere?

What are the ideal conditions for the cover in a snowfall? Or there is simply no way around the cover sinking in & a sinking cover & stressed anchors is not a serious concern? Ideally I suppose, keep snow off the cover, but that is rarely possible.

As soon as it was possible, we went out & got all the snow & ice off the cover (hard work!). The cover remained bowed/sunken for another ~ 36 hrs (until the temperature rose, wasn't the wt & it was not frozen, had to be the temperature, which surprised me).Was this de-snowing the cover unnecessary?

All comments appreciated.
 
The water level should be no more than 18 inches from the top of the pool for a mesh loop lock cover. The cover SHOULD sink and rest on the top of the water. Some prople put the cover on with the springs pulled so tight that it's like trampoline. When snow accumulates, theres not much give at all and that puts too much tension on the springs. Dont worry about the anchors, they wont go anywhere. And for the love of pete, dont kill youself getting snow off the cover. Its supposed to sink. 1.5 inches of snow? Thats a dusting. I had 2 feet on mine last month. Now its melted and the cover snapped right back. Also, FWIW, a couple feet of snow is only good for an inch and a half or so of water, so it would take a lot of snow to flood the pool over the winter.

Sit back, relax, and have a beer. Everytihng will be ok in april :-D
(poolguy posted before i could hit enter) :mrgreen:
 
Even though snow takes about 12" to yield an inch of rain, rain still happens more frequently while pools are closed in my neck of the woods. This fact is why I strongly urge my tile lined pool customers and this board to install an automatic step pump to keep the water off the tile.

When snow happens, it will displace water. Make sure the hose is drained after a good rain. Trapped water may freeze and create a blockage. When snow happens, it will displace water, assuming the pool isn't frozen more than a few inches thick. That water needs to be drained off so an extended cold snap doesn't cause the newly forming ice to expand against the tile, possibly cracking of popping it. This situation can and does happen, even with solid covers.

Scott
 
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