Cover Options and Cover Types

[Steveromo]

I need some expert opinions about winter covers and ways to use them. My first winter I used the cover the standard way, air pillow in the middle, cable wench around the outside of the pool. Every rain resulted in multiple puddles and pumping and re-positioning and pumping some more - over and over each rain! The I decided to build a frame using 1" PVC pipes set upon two air pillows to raise the cover about 6 inches above the pool sides and I attached about 12 half-filled jugs of water around the perimeter grommets to pull the cover taut. It worked great! Rainwater ran right off and I never needed to pump any puddles. But last winter was very snowy, and the snow does not run off. Instead, it bent the PVC and deflated the air pillows. I'm afraid of what could have happened if the pvc snapped and punctured the liner! Now I don't know which method to use. I HATE pumping the water off after each rain, but the PVC frame presents a danger to the liner. I also need a new cover this year and I want one that will be strong enough to hold a large puddle or a heavy pile of snow without ripping. I also would like a thicker edge where the grommets are so they don't rip off like my starter cover did. I see terms like 12x12 scrim and 8x8 scrim and I don't know what they mean. Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated!

[Watermom]

Or........ don't cover the pool. I never cover mine and haven't for years with no issues. Another of the former moderators, Poconos, who lives in NE Pennsylvania also never covered his. Just something to ponder.

[CarlD]

I'm not covering mine this year!

[Steveromo]

Interesting... I will ponder, but still would like opinions about my cover options. However, I'd like to know more... if uncovered, do you have to continue running the pump / filter? How often do you fish out the leaves and debris? Do you drain the water level after heavy rain / snow? --- All things that take time to do in cold weather as opposed to my maintenance-free PVC cover method. Point / counterpoint comments welcomed!

[swimdaddy]

I am going to try a mesh cover this year which is supposed to let the water through, so no siphoning. However, when things are frozen and its snowing the mesh won't matter much so I will still use a pillow, but when it warms up a little I am hoping it will drain through. Makes sense to me, but I have never used a mesh cover before. I am still considering not covering, like Watermom, but for some reason that is a mental hurdle for me. Leaves, animals, kids, liability, all tumbling around around in my head saying "cover you pool"!

[BigDave]

I felt the need to chime in here regarding the safety issue. Even covered you still need to exclude people especially unsupervised children from the pool area.

I cover my AG pool. I leave quite a bit of water on top of the cover, I only pump it off when the cover gets tight. The water on top keeps the wind from filpping the cover up.