Take the pool down for winter or leave up?

[ssweaser]

I live in the heart of TX and left mine up for 2 winters. The only problem I had was with keeping the cover on it as the ring tends to deflate in the cold. Also, on the nights it gets below freezing, I had to run my pump to keep it from freezing over.

If it's a fairly small pool, personally, I'd take it down. It's less hassle that way. I had an 18 x 48, so I just left it up.

This year I have an 18 x 48 metal frame...still debating on leaving it up. I found that leaving it means I have to watch for freezing temps on the pump, but that it's also hard on the pump hoses and they are expensive to replace through Intex.

Update 10/29/06: So far so good. The only problem is the cover doesn't want to stay on. Intex claims you're supposed to pull it tight across the top so it doesn't touch the water. I don't know what they're smoking, but it's not possible to do that with this cover. Wrapped a rope around the outside of it to hold it down better as the draw string won't hold it no matter how tight you tie it. It lasted through 2 rain storms and several windy days before the 45 mph day pulled it into the pool. Can't say it's great, but it's better than last year with the Easy Set.