mesh or leafnet for winter: pillow still needed?

[matt4x4]

If the micro mesh covers are rated to do the job of a winter cover, tehn they should also be warratied.
Likely they are made of some sort of plastic less likely to get destroyed, probably flexible and stretchable enough to survive the growing and contracting of the ice it will be embedded in.

[NWMNMom]

Most of them say 8 yr warranty (I think pro-rated like most covers) Anyways, wondering if they require a pillow under the center or just lay on the top of the water? It doesn't really say in the ads - don't show pillows on them, they all show a diagram with snow on top and melting snow draining through into the pool, but they all have a 3-4' overlap so I'm guessing they are designed for a fair amount of drop (up to 18" or so?) to below the skimmer and return where it would be drained for winter.

Was hoping someone with winter conditions would have had one of these and can say yay or nay on money's worth or just take my chances with a solid poly cover. Kinda wish I had your situation, Matt, with no leaves or debris to worry about - I would just leave it uncovered -how much more simple that would be!!

[tphaggerty]

I have a mesh cover (Coverlon I believe) that we left on all winter. At times, there was about 2 feet of snow on top, other times it was 6 to 12" of ice. Our water level was initially dropped below the skimmers, but here in NY, unless you drop 2 or 3 feet, it comes back up. So we started low but by the end of winter our water was better than 1/2 way up the skimmers (good thing we had the crushable pipe blocks in place).

Anyway, the cover has heavy duty springs that allow at least 6" of travel, so that is about 12" total. The cover seemed fine, I didn't notice any loose seams or wear marks. Our cover tie downs are about 18" back from the pool, the actual cover extends about 9" back.

The only issue we had was when we opened. I had to tighten the cover in order to lift it up off the water so all of the stuff on top could dry and blow away (which it did). There was a lot of silt in the pool but very little large stuff, so the cover did its job. As for the big pillows, I have thought about putting some in, but I'm not sure that they would really make that much difference.

[prh129]

I bought an Enviro-mesh cover earlier this year which is what it sounds like you're talking about. I believe I got it from pools.com. They recommended using a pillow underneath so I bought one. This is my first winter though so I can't give you any first-hand experience. If nothing else, it should make it easier to fish out leaves and other big debris that will fall in during the winter.

Peter

[NWMNMom]

Thats what I am looking for, thanks! I think I want to go with that - we get a lot of snow/ice some years (some years almost none! bad for snowmobilers!) Anyways, there is also large debris falling or blowing from all around so I want to keep that out - silt can be vacuumed/filtered out in the spring. I just hate the thought of the swamp on top in the spring and that is the biggest problem I see with solid. I'm gonna look at the Enviro-mesh and the Coverlon(sp?) see whats out there. Thanks a bunch!!

[tenax]

spoke with a big canadian pool store just north of you in winnipeg, MOM..they get darn cold winters and lots of snow. here is what he told me:

Thanks for your email.



"During our conversations, I don’t know if I mentioned to you that I and one of my co workers use only a leaf net for our winter cover.

I stretch the leaf net and use the water bags. Once the snow accumulates the leaf net starts to sag because of the snow load. In the spring your water level will be higher so less water to add. The only draw back may more sediment in the pool. To get rid of that, just add more water and then vacuum on waste so the sediment will by pass the filter."

[Poconos]

Just my quarters worth. Have a Loop-Lock for my IG and gave up on it. Here in Northeast PA, comes late Winter it would be totally frozen in the block of ice known as my pool. Repeated snow, sun, melt, freezing, would load the thing down and eventually lock it in ice. I've measured up to 18" of ice over the years. Now...don't even bother to cover. Keep equipment running as long as possible to allow vacuuming and chemistry balance, then winterize. Then in late February or March I drink beers and play with ways to melt the ice using my old Jacuzzi pump.
Al

[NWMNMom]

Well, I kind of think I'm leaning towards leafnet IF I can get one at a reasonably lower price than the micromesh - a lot of places they were almost the same darn price! Wish I could leave it open, but with all the crap that would fall in, I'm afraid I would have to get a wetsuit and go diving every spring in the icy waters of Plum Ridge Beach (What we call the pool) to dredge out sludge and gunk. No thanks - I have Koi ponds I have to dredge out in the spring and its not pretty and nice to smell, don't want to start doing the pool too (XXXX times larger!) YIKES.