Winter cover purchase calling all mesh cover owners

[Superblue72]

This is my first Sumner with my pool. Ot was installed last fall and was closed right away with a tarp style cover with the water bags.

I am in the market for a safety cover, I was leaning towards the mesh to make things easier, no pump, lighter. But after doing more research I read that mesh covers since they allow all the water to drain into the pool you have to pump the pool every so often. This seems like a real inconvenience and almost seems easier just to have a solid with a pump.

I'm curious as to others experiences, I know the style of cover is a preference, I'm mostly curious if the folks that have mesh covers, especially in cold climates have to pump water from inside thier pools. This will be my deciding deciding factor on which way I go.

 

[PoolGate]

This really depends on how much precipitation you get. I lower my water around 2 feet, put my mesh cover on, and basically ignore the pool all winter. I think I've drained it 2 years out of 7. And it probably didn't need that.

 

[Superblue72]

This really depends on how much precipitation you get. I lower my water around 2 feet, put my mesh cover on, and basically ignore the pool all winter. I think I've drained it 2 years out of 7. And it probably didn't need that.

Hmmm that might be a way to do it. Lowering the water before close. I'm assuming this will affect salt levels and in the spring you will have to add some. My PB recommends not lowering the water at all. Blow the lines and equipment pad. Plug lines ans use gizmos in skimmer. Last year it was closed this way as the tarp style cover was used and that needs the water ro support it.

 

[Superblue72]

Anyone else that have mesh safety covers want to share experience. Especially in colder climates. Is the pool overflowing ever a problem? Do you need to pump your pool?

 

[blazer58]

I drain below returns (about 18”) plug returns skimmer ect
I have never had to pump out water
Mesh does let in some dirt but it cleans up easy in the spring

 

[Newdude]

I start low, then drain 2 or 3 more times as needed (every year is different). Usually at least 1 of them is preventative as I keep an eye on the long range forcast and reset it low before any deep freezes to buy whatever time I need for that span.

I experimented with the new pool and found the water completely stratified with 0s on top and exactly like I left it at the bottom. Everything increased the deeper I tested fairly evenly.

So last winter I hung the pump in a bucket to only get top water. I used to just pump from the bottom and opened with little chemicals left each year. This spring I opened with 75% left instead of 25%. Then I kicked myself for pumping the good stuff all those years. Even after draining causing some mixing for a few hours, the top water was still 0s so I tossed the discharge hose on the cover and sunk the pump to the bottom. I ran 20 mins each on the left, right and center of the cover to stir it up well.

It sounds like a pain but it takes 20 mins to set up, and an occasional peek to see how it's doing. You can even run errands once you know about how fast it's draining. Especially in the beginning, you'll have hours you can be doing anything else. Then its 20 mins to put it all away. It's about an hour total, here and there throughout the day. You can even pull power to the pump and leave it until you have more time later when its time to stop. Or call home to the Mrs and have her pull the power if it's time and the kids soccer game went into OT.

It's very easy to find that time 2 or 3 times a winter when life is generally slower and opening to a clear pool was worth every second of effort.

 

[sande005]

Mesh cover user since we bought the house - approx 28 years. I pump the pool down to below the returns. Blow out the plumbing/pool equip, add antifreeze to all the pipes and plug them on the pool side. Put on the cover. In really bad winters, can have up to 4 ft of snow accumulate on the cover. Between that and fall/spring rains, sometimes the level gets up to the top of the skimmers when I pull the cover (usually when the ice goes out on the nearby lakes - sometimes there is still a major iceberg in the pool). Never have had to think about the pool overflowing - and it doesn't matter due to all the other snow drifts everywhere else. When it is all liquid, I may fire up the pump, and vacuum to waste any junk that made it through the cover over the winter. At that point, having extra water is a good thing. This past spring, I needed a few pounds of CYA, 2 bags of salt, and added CH (even though with vinyl I don't really need to). Tweaked pH as needed. Then added liquid CL periodically until the water temp was above 55, when I could turn on the SWCG.
The big advantage to the safety cover - with snow and possible thin ice before it gets really hard, the dogs could try to run across not knowing - with the cover, no big deal.

 

[Newdude]

The big advantage to the safety cover - with snow and possible thin ice before it gets really hard, the dogs could try to run across not knowing - with the cover, no big deal.

My basset who is high anxiety was digging in for dear life and ripping the brand new cover. So I had to fence the cover to protect it from the dogs, with the cover meant to protect the dogs from falling though the ice when it froze. I coulda just done the fence and pocketed the $3400 for the cover.

 

[Superblue72]

What would happen if you didn't pump the pool and just let in overflow? I have a vinyl liner pool. Another thing I thought of is what if you put a pump on top of the mesh? If I went mesh it would be a 99% mesh cover and I'm assuming they would take longer to let the water drain? Would this work.

The pool dealer of lathem covers was saying he's been doing this 20 years and never drains pools unless they have tile. He didn't have an answer on what happens if it overflows.

Last year I didn't drain the pool it was built then closed. The lines were blown, plugged, gizmos and covered with the tarp style cover.

Another question as far as the cover the dealer gave me an option of 5' or 3' squares, so having straps every 5 or 3 feet. Which dobyou guys recommend.

 

[Newdude]

He didn't have an answer on what happens if it overflows.

Your coping will either start out not watertight, or get there quickly. Then any excess water finds it's way out under the patio or behind the liner. Or both. Mine stops dead at the liner track and it could be leaving either way.

Pretty much everyone I know with pools either closes it and either ignores it, or takes off to FL for the winter with even less thought about it. They all somehow get by just fine. Or maybe that's why their patios all need resetting every 5 to 10 years from waffling. I dunno.

 

[Superblue72]

Your coping will either start out not watertight, or get there quickly. Then any excess water finds it's way out under the patio or behind the liner. Or both. Mine stops dead at the liner track and it could be leaving either way.

Pretty much everyone I know with pools either closes it and either ignores it, or takes off to FL for the winter with even less thought about it. They all somehow get by just fine. Or maybe that's why their patios all need resetting every 5 to 10 years from waffling. I dunno.

Ya know I was just in the pool an realized having the pool overflow would bot be good. I would overflow into the autocover housing then it could freeze in there creating all kinds of problems.

 

[PoolGate]

Ya know I was just in the pool an realized having the pool overflow would bot be good. I would overflow into the autocover housing then it could freeze in there creating all kinds of problems.

?? If you have an auto-cover why are you getting a mesh safety cover?

 

[Newdude]

If you have an auto-cover why are you getting a mesh safety cover?

I would baby the bejesus out of mine if I had one for the cost of a replacement.

If a $3k safety cover got a few more years out of the autocover, I'd be happy. I'd tell myself it did either way.

 

[Superblue72]

?? If you have an auto-cover why are you getting a mesh safety cover?

If I didn't get snow I wouldn't bother...it I recommended not to use an autocover when you can get heavy snow. It puts to much pressure on the tracks and could even damage the cantilever coping. At least this is what I've read and have been told.

 

[Superblue72]

I got some pricing from 3 different dealers and cover manufacturers and now I need ro make a decision.
Dealer 1) lathem mesh 98% $3500 installed

Dealer 2) looplocsuoer dense mesh 95% $1900 aqua extreme 99% $2800 and solid $2550

Dealer 3) and my pool builder Merlin smart mesh 100% $3900 with closing.

I believe the first 2 dealers said it would be $350 to close, I might do the close myself tho and just close my auto cover until the winter civer gets installed

I'm also thinking now the drain I have in the auto cover box is a blessing, it sits on top of the pool wall which is like 4 inches lower than the concrete coping around the rest if the pool. So if the pool does get to high the water has somewhere to go. Less chance of needing to pump anything from inside the pool.

I know brands probably don't matter much and is personal preference but if anyone has any experience with the brands and covers I mentioned please share.

 

[Newdude]

So if the pool does get to high the water has somewhere to go

Until it freezes and busts the exit pipe somewhere. It could be real problematic if it was at the wall. Keep an eye on the extended weather and plug it when any deep freezes are coming. Dipping into freezing at night shouldn't matter as the pool water will remain above freezing and takes some time, possibly days to catch up to the air temps.

 

[PoolGate]

I got some pricing from 3 different dealers and cover manufacturers and now I need ro make a decision.
Dealer 1) lathem mesh 98% $3500 installed

Dealer 2) looplocsuoer dense mesh 95% $1900 aqua extreme 99% $2800 and solid $2550

Dealer 3) and my pool builder Merlin smart mesh 100% $3900 with closing.

I believe the first 2 dealers said it would be $350 to close, I might do the close myself tho and just close my auto cover until the winter civer gets installed

I'm also thinking now the drain I have in the auto cover box is a blessing, it sits on top of the pool wall which is like 4 inches lower than the concrete coping around the rest if the pool. So if the pool does get to high the water has somewhere to go. Less chance of needing to pump anything from inside the pool.

I know brands probably don't matter much and is personal preference but if anyone has any experience with the brands and covers I mentioned please share.

Here is me putting on my looplock style mesh cover all by myself. My pool is 42x22.

 

[Homebrewale]

I have a Loop Loc mesh cover. Out of the 15 years that I've used one, I have had to drain some water out maybe 3 or 4 years. I just pull back the mesh cover near the stairs and drop a utility pump on one of the stairs. I do that for two reasons. One is to drain water more towards the surface of the pool. The second is that I don't forget about the pump and end up draining the whole pool.

I'm not sure what @Newdude is doing with that bucket. Just a few feet away is a perfectly good seating ledge to set the pump on.

 

[Superblue72]

Until it freezes and busts the exit pipe somewhere. It could be real problematic if it was at the wall. Keep an eye on the extended weather and plug it when any deep freezes are coming. Dipping into freezing at night shouldn't matter as the pool water will remain above freezing and takes some time, possibly days to catch up to the air temps.

The drain is at the bottom of the auto cover pan. There is no pipe. The plastic housing has a cement frame around it, at the bottom there is a drain that has gravel and just drains into the ground.

 

[Newdude]

I'm not sure what @Newdude is doing with that bucket. Just a few feet away is a perfectly good seating ledge to set the pump on.

I wanted to drain as high from the top as possible and with the bucket rig it only took the top couple of inches which were rain water per the tests.