Winterize Above Ground Pool Without Draining?

[ToddGak]

Last summer I bought a house with an existing above-ground pool. I followed the winterizing instructions in the Pool School ebook and drained the water to 4 inches below the return.

This spring I removed the cover to find crystal-clear water, so overall I'm happy—but, since I have well water and it would take me forever to fill my pool with the hose, I had to pay a few hundred dollars to have water trucked in.
When winterizing, can I leave the water at the normal level and do something—plug?— the skimmer and return? This is to avoid having to pay for water every spring.

 

[ajw22]

Leaving water above the skimmers leave it open to cracking from freezing water. There are winterizing plugs for return lines but they have to seal well to protect the pipes. Not sure what you need on your AGP.

 

[zea3]

You can plug the skimmer and stuff it full of old cut up pool noodles. You can also try a skimmer plug like this one Simpooltec Skimmer Plug AGSD-H
The return line can be plugged and drained. If you post a picture of your equipment set up at the pool we can advise you better.