Winter cover and wind

I have a 27' above ground and I live in a rural area (Illinois) that is windy all winter long. This winter will be the 3rd winter for the pool and I need to find a way to keep the winter cover from blowing around. The first season we had a conventional cover that torn appart by spring. The second season we had a cover that allowed rain water through which also torn appart by spring. I have tried the wrap and clips to hold the cover tight and they dont seem to help. I think the wind blowing over the pool just lifts the cover up and doesnt get under it. I have tried some water on top and when the wind blows hard it throws all the water off of the cover. At times the cover flaps so hard the noise keeps my family awake. To make matters worse the cover rubs the paint off of the top rails and every summer I have to repaint the edges. If anyone has any advice to offer I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Maybe just go sans cover. It doesn't have to be covered you know. Last year, I initially covered mine. But, it came uncovered and I didn't bother to put it back on. Most of the leaves had already fallen from the trees so at least it was on to keep most of them out of the pool. I'm not even sure if I'm gonna bother with it at all this year. We'll see. Some people, like Al, never cover their pools. If you have that much trouble with covering it, you may want to consider just not fooling with it. Just my $.02.

I had trouble keeping my cover on our 27' round pool also. Regular clips were worthless and the wrap was worse!! For the past two years I have used the "Cover Loc Jr" clips and they have been great. The wind whips through here, though probably not as serious as where you are, and these clips hang on all winter long! It's a two-piece system; one clips on the rail, wrap the cover over it and clip the second piece over the cover/clip. They recommend three per top rail between posts...I use four per rail. IF you decide to cover your pool again, you may want to try these clips. They were easy to find online.

dave:

I had an issue with the wind blowing my cover off once.

I have a problem in that I have a deck that comes up to the pool on one side so I can only pull the cover down just over the top rim around there. This is where the wind blew it off. I concluded that I didn't have enough water on top of the cover weighing it down.

I use a plastic coated wire (not sure what a wrap is) through the cover holes, cinched tight, and use some clips where I can. I have a large 4' x 16' air pillow that goes across the width of the pool, and a lot of water on top of the cover to weigh it down. I've not seemed to have any additional problems as long as I kept enough water on top.

However, Watermom:

Interesting comments on going coverless. I've covered mine every year. I hate messing with the cover though - both putting it on, and expecially taking it off. I've got an 18' x 36' pool, and it's just difficult with a cover that large. Even though I wait for most leaves to fall, usually there are enough left to fall on the cover, that mix with water, and pollen in the spring to make it a mess.

My cover now seems to have enough leaks, and this year the pool itself was an algae mess. Sort of like this:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=8040


I hate to buy another cover, or continue going through the motions with the current cover, if there is not too much difference with going coverless.

I assume when you went coverless, you did not run the pump at all. If not, how badly did algae build up? Thanks ...

You are right. I did not run my pump at all during the winter that my pool was uncovered. My water level had been dropped below the skimmer and return. I did not have any algae at all. Some dirt and leaves on the bottom, but that was easily cleaned up. But, as far as algae --- none.

Thanks much for the response. I'm not sure what I'm going to do although I don't think I want to buy another $200 cover ....

I spent enough during my bacquacil years to last a lifetime ...

This is our first year w/ an AG pool.
We are NOT going to put a winter cover on.
I just don't think they are necessary and would cause us more problems than it would be worth.

What harm could come to your pool w/o a cover anyway?;)

Good luck,
Hoffmans

I think I will take a chance this year and go without the winter cover. Will I run into algea problems since the filter and pump will be off? Should I throw some shock in once in a while to keep algea down? I also have a Roboclean vac and should be able to run that every now and then to clean the bottom until it freezes. Thanks again for everyones input. Wish me luck.

I have a 30 foot round also rural also windy - the first year I attempted a winter cover for about 2 weeks, but the wind was wreaking havoc on everything, so I removed it, I'd rather have a pool come spring time even if I need to clean it a bit more.
The winds were billowing the cover even with a ton of water on it and the pool walls were getting more stress that necessary.

I have a 30' round AG pool and live out in the country.....very windy. I've had the pool around 6 years.....the first year I covered it......got a bad storm and it ripped the VERY WELL secured cover off, taking with it three top rails and a stand up piece.

I never again covered it. I just lower the water level, put a aquadoor on the skimmer, undo the filter hoses and plug the outlet.....that's it.

Yes, I have over 200 trees on my 3 acres, and I get some leaves in the pool. It takes me 30 minutes to scoop them out in the spring. No big deal.

My pool stays clean and clear and looks great once the ice melts. Sometimes I will take the outlet plug off if the water level gets too high...that's it.

Once spring comes, I will add chlorine to the water if the water temp gets too high before the official opening.

BTW, I live outside of Buffalo NY, so we do get winter.

Frank D.