Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Above ground pool owners questions for you #2819409
09/10/20 05:23 PM
09/10/20 05:23 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
hotairballoonpilot Offline OP
master
hotairballoonpilot  Offline OP
master

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
We just bought a different house and moved in this past weekend. It has an above ground 16 foot diameter pool. It came with a lot of accessories but the one that I wish it did it did not. It did not have a winter cover or a solar cover. The previous owner said he drained it in the fall and left the structure standing. It is I believe 3 or 4 years old. I believe he bought a new house and a new pool and kept the covers. So being in South Dakota and fall coming I need to look for at least a winter cover and come next year i would like a solar cover. Any suggestions to look into or paces to buy from?

corey


Contact Me about AMD Prices
Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: hotairballoonpilot] #2819418
09/10/20 05:53 PM
09/10/20 05:53 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country
T
TC@HP2 Offline
master
TC@HP2  Offline
master
T

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: TC@HP2] #2819482
09/10/20 09:10 PM
09/10/20 09:10 PM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,828
Ontario, Canada
S
Stanton Online content
Don't question me!
Stanton  Online Content
Don't question me!
S

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,828
Ontario, Canada
I always drained mine down past the skimmer and plugged the lines and drained those. A plain ol' tarp is all you need just to keep the crud out - that's the only purpose it serves. Let it droop down and lay on top of the water. You can keep it from blowing away with bleach bottles filled with water and tied to the eyelets and hanging down the sides of the pool.

Solar covers only last a few years before they start to break down and fill your skimmer and filter with bits of plastic so its a good possibility that's what happened rather than him taking it. Buy a new one in the spring.

Last edited by Stanton; 09/10/20 09:12 PM.
Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: Stanton] #2819498
09/10/20 10:02 PM
09/10/20 10:02 PM
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,427
S.E. Missouri
AeroMonte Offline
master
AeroMonte  Offline
master

Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,427
S.E. Missouri
I have a 16' above ground pool. I drain it completely and take the pump and sand filter into the basement for the winter. Yes it gets some leaves and bugs in it but it's not that much work to clean in the spring. I leave the structure up year round.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: AeroMonte] #2819559
09/11/20 12:51 AM
09/11/20 12:51 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,131
Canada -- Posts: 4034 -Registe...
5
5thAve Offline
Doesn't care what this says anyway
5thAve  Offline
Doesn't care what this says anyway
5

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,131
Canada -- Posts: 4034 -Registe...
The seller was probably telling the truth. Pool covers don't last it was probably hardly worth him keeping for another house unless it was brand new.
A friend of ours had above ground pool for years. I think they ended up using a tarp and after getting tired of replacing that they didn't bother with anything and spent more time with clean up in the spring.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: 5thAve] #2819579
09/11/20 07:16 AM
09/11/20 07:16 AM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,631
Port Huron, Michigan
MI_Custumz Offline
master
MI_Custumz  Offline
master

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,631
Port Huron, Michigan
I usually get my stuff from In The Swim. What I do is vacuum and chemical the pool. Place a 4'x6' (or so) pillow in the middle and use a nylon type rope to tie it to the sides to keep it centered. Then I pull the cover over. To secure the cover I use the cable as well as spring clamps (heavy duty ones from Harbor Freight) to hold it in place. Once adjusted, I have 1"x4" strips of wood that go between the uprights to hold the cover to the rail. I sanded the wood to keep it smooth. I place the wood under the lip so it pinches the cover to the lip and clamp it with one clamp on the left and one on the right of the panel section. I have seen hard winds blow our cover up in the air before, but not after using this method. The only real place the wind can get in is where the uprights are. I backwash the filter to help drain some water. Once it's to a certain point, I just unhook the hoses from the pool and let it drain until it stops. This puts it just below the inlet and below the skimmer. If the cover gets too much rain on it, I just siphon it off with a garden hose or roof rake if it's too much snow. Some leave the water or snow on for weight to combat the wind. I don't really need it.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: MI_Custumz] #2819609
09/11/20 09:31 AM
09/11/20 09:31 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country
T
TC@HP2 Offline
master
TC@HP2  Offline
master
T

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country
I used to drain my down past the inlet/outlet openings. Anymore, I don't bother. My logic is since I'm removing the connecting hoses and pump and capping the holes, why drain it down. Sure, it leaks a bit of water during the disconnect and cap process and again in the spring when I reverse the process, but its less than the amount it would take to drain to get below the holes. However, your mileage may vary as water where I live is pretty pricey and and saving a few hundred gallons every spring is worth it.

For winterizing, I use a chemical closing kit from Dohenys. Once that cycle is complete, I disconnect the pump and solar heater system. Drain and remove the pump and drain the sand filter and solar panels and leave them in place. Next is float inflatable pillows on the water to keep the cover elevated, put a fitted cover over the pillows, and then a tarp over the cover. I stake down one side of the tarp and bungey the other three so it can expand and contract based on the winter heat cycles. Winter sun at my house can be intense at times and the floating pillows will grow and shrink based on sun exposure. Bungeys allow for this growth without tearing holes in the tarp.

Agree with others that most solar covers left on a pool will break down. Some quickly, some less so, but they all fail at some point. I've bought cheap 1 year warranty units and expensive 5 year warranty. They all fail. The warranty period and pro-rating of it within the 2-3 year time frame of failure is how I purchase these now.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: TC@HP2] #2819694
09/11/20 01:49 PM
09/11/20 01:49 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
hotairballoonpilot Offline OP
master
hotairballoonpilot  Offline OP
master

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
thanks everyone. I was thinking I needed to remove all the water out of it being in South Dakota and winters usually in the teens below zero to mid 20's above zero here in the south east area of SD. I was planning on removing the pump and putting it inside but thought the water needed to be out or it would freeze solid and ruin the pool. Are any of you in the areas where I am at or in warmer areas were freezing is not as bad.

corey


Contact Me about AMD Prices
Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: hotairballoonpilot] #2819747
09/11/20 05:21 PM
09/11/20 05:21 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country
T
TC@HP2 Offline
master
TC@HP2  Offline
master
T

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,385
Pikes Peak Country
I'm in Colo Spgs at 6000'. Our average winter high/lows temps are probably 10-15 degrees warmer than Sioux Fall, and we do get a lot of sun through the winter.

I have a 12x24 rectangular pool. Yes, I'm sure a pretty good amount of my pool freezes, but I couldn't begin to estimate how much. Once I get it all sealed up, I try to avoid opening it up until spring.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: hotairballoonpilot] #2819860
09/12/20 12:13 AM
09/12/20 12:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,131
Canada -- Posts: 4034 -Registe...
5
5thAve Offline
Doesn't care what this says anyway
5thAve  Offline
Doesn't care what this says anyway
5

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,131
Canada -- Posts: 4034 -Registe...
Originally Posted by hotairballoonpilot
thanks everyone. I was thinking I needed to remove all the water out of it being in South Dakota and winters usually in the teens below zero to mid 20's above zero here in the south east area of SD. I was planning on removing the pump and putting it inside but thought the water needed to be out or it would freeze solid and ruin the pool. Are any of you in the areas where I am at or in warmer areas were freezing is not as bad.

corey


It can get into the -30s here during winter.

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: 5thAve] #2819863
09/12/20 12:31 AM
09/12/20 12:31 AM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,497
North East USA
B
BIGGERED Offline
Reasonable Title
BIGGERED  Offline
Reasonable Title
B

Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,497
North East USA
Depending on the age of the liner removing all the water can make it brittle and break down.
The instructions on my larger above ground mentioned that and when I removed my parents pool I watched it happen in a couple of days.
Their pool was still standing as I was removing the balance of water over a couple of days. Day three less than an inch of water was left, the liner became very tight and started shredding on its own.

Kevin

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: BIGGERED] #2819904
09/12/20 08:52 AM
09/12/20 08:52 AM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,828
Ontario, Canada
S
Stanton Online content
Don't question me!
Stanton  Online Content
Don't question me!
S

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,828
Ontario, Canada
Quote
were freezing is not as bad.



Hmmm, let's see ... water freezes at 32* ... is it any worse at -40* ?!?!?! Froze is froze bud !!

Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: hotairballoonpilot] #2820894
09/15/20 12:29 AM
09/15/20 12:29 AM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,993
Salem
Grizzly Offline
Moparts Proctologist
Grizzly  Offline
Moparts Proctologist

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,993
Salem
No, you don't have to remove your water for freezing weather.

I drain a little water down to get the pump and hoses off, put them inside and forget about it until next year. It's like any container you put in the freezer without a lid: the water pushes UP not OUT. You save the cost of adding water and salt every year.

I don't bother with a cover anymore because all it does is collect all the stuff from the trees and air anyway, mixes it with the snow and it all winds up in the pool no matter what you do. I throw a black tarp over it when the snow starts to melt and it starts heating the pool: it's unbelievable how much and how fast it heats 5000 gallons of ice. Grade 5 Science stuff, Folks. up Been working for me for a few years now, I highly recommend it.



Mo' Farts

Moderated by "tbagger".
Re: Above ground pool owners questions for you [Re: Grizzly] #2821109
09/15/20 02:14 PM
09/15/20 02:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
hotairballoonpilot Offline OP
master
hotairballoonpilot  Offline OP
master

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,651
South Dakota
thanks guys. yes I know water freezes thanks for the great comment from one of you. I was worried on the liner cracking from the frozen water.

thanks

corey


Contact Me about AMD Prices






Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1