As long as there isn’t any water displacement and the ice doesn’t move after it latches on to the strainer cap, you should be fine. So just make sure you’re not losing any water during the winter/spring and thawing time.So I'm hoping I'm not going to regret this but since I closed down so late I didn't take out the strainer and just put the top hat on and the strainer cap back on just like @charliej . We will see how it holds up if it freezes. Wish me luck guys..
