Help! didnt winterize before first hard freeze!

[waste]

Carl has pretty much covered it. How much iced is on the surface? - this will be a good indicator as to the rest of the system. Open the pump and see if there is ice in it, if there is you'll need to cover the whole system and apply some heat to defrost it. As you just reran the lines, how deep did you run them? are they below the frost level?

If you remembered to run the pump when the temps were below 30* - the water should still be liquid.

You've gotta do as much as you still can NOW! to protect the pool for the winter. If you need any more tips I'll check in every few hours to see if you've posted an update.

Good luck with this and the other stuff going on in your life

[Poconos]

Haven't been on in a couple days but I mention this for anyone. Careful draining the pool when it is frozen with any significant ice thickness. The surface is a big block of ice and lowering the water level could put a tremendous strain on the stairs and even the skimmer if the ice is frozen into the opening. I have periodically had to drain mine during the winter with ice many inches think, in fact I've had 17" of ice once. The skimmer opening has a foam block in it to keep the ice out and I use a backup pump and a stream of water to clear ice from around the return opening plugs and cut the block over the stairs loose from the main ice block. I've now got a large block of ice, free floating, and not catching on anything. To give me access to liquid water for the pump suction line I partially sink a couple 5 gallon pails in places. I use a 5 gallon pail with an inner bucket loaded with crushed stone to sink the big one. Obviously cover it to keep out rain and snow. Pull out the inner pail and then pull out the 5 gallon and you have an ice fishing hole. If the big one is frozen in just pour some warm water in and wait a few minutes and it will come out.
Hope all went well with no damage and please let us know what happened.
Happy Turkey Day.
Al

[cableguy1]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information, I thought I would be out of luck since its so late in the posting season
Over the holiday, we were blessed with 2 days of 40 degree weather which allowed the skimmer to thaw and the surface ice to become paper thin. The return lines are about 36" buried, so I think I may be in luck as far as the freezing of those. I was able to disconnect the filter and pump, winterize both and drop the water level about 36 inches. I was trying, amatuer, I know, to avoid dropping the water below the returns, that was my initial plan, to save water. Does anyone have any opinions on the 1 way valves that are sold for the returns? Or should I just hurry, drop the water line and quit dilly dallying around?