Is a Gizmo really needed?

[anotherpyr]

I would use them unless you want to be checking the skimmers all winter long to make sure that water hasn't found a way in. I typically find water in mine every spring regardless of what I do to try to seal them up. I haven't tried the AquaDoors, which sound great, but only if I don't have to lower the water level. But the first question on my mind after seeing the AquaDoor ad was, "What prevents ice on the surface from popping the covers off?"

Basically the Gizmo compresses as the water freezes in order to prevent the expansion of the water as it solidifies from cracking the skimmer. Based on my experience it works. So weigh the cost of one versus replacing the skimmer. With an IG pool and a cement deck, I think I'll use gizmos even if I find a way to keep the skimmers high and dry every winter just in case.

But this is all based on my experience with an IG pool, so I can't open a drain to allow water out of the skimmers. The skimmer covers themselves are strong enough to stand on, but have a finger hole which will allow water in. To cover this I cut a piece of plastic larger than the cover and place it under the cover and then secure the cover in place.

[waste]

The question of aquadoors and skimmers / Gizzmos etc, has come up a couple of times today and there's something I haven't seen addressed yet. When you cover a pool with a solid cover, any rain, snow or ice on the cover raises the pool water level. If you have an open skimmer, the water will enter when it gets high enough, if you drain the pool far enough below the skimmer and are diligent about removing water from the cover, you can have a dry skimmer all winter, if not ...
Of course, mesh covers allow water to p*** through so the skimmer will fill if no aquadoor is in place.
I've noticed that the people responding to the 2 threads are talking about IGPs and AGPs yet we're not specifying which kind is being talked about (I realise that some people have specified), which may be part of the confusion, I base most of my comments on IGPs, esp when the type of pool isn't specified - maybe we should all add afew more words to our posts defining which type we're addressing - at least for the closings, the two close quite differently and what applies to one is totally wrong for the other.

[Poconos]

I'm in the process of putting together a sticky for closing IG pools similar to what Watermom did for AGs. I'll post then solicit comments and additions. On the gizmo issue, I don't rely on that solely for expansion, I pack the skimmer with noodle type closed cell foam. Gives a lot more room for expansion. For the skimmer pipe, I blow that dry, inssert gizmo, then fill the pipe with RV antifreeze up to the pump inlet which in my case is higher than the pool water level. If the gizmo leaks the AF will run into the pool. Another step before the AF is to pressure test the line to make sure the gizmo threads don't leak...most people don't do that. I also don't drain below the skimmer because of ground water issues.
Al