Will our drained pool survive a NE winter?

December 9, 2008 12:45 PM

Will an empty in-ground plaster pool survive a winter in the North East US or does it need to be filled/winterized/etc.?

We drained our 30,000 gallon, in-ground plaster pool this summer to paint it and ended up never painting or refilling it with water because of money issues. The pool is about 30 years old.

To provide a little history (and the source of our concern due to this being the first year we are not following this pattern), every winter in the past, the pool has been filled about 75% of the way with water (to ensure the water level was below the pool filter jet/pipes), and winterized using chemicals from a pool store, then covered with a non-water tight cover (it's basically a tarp weighed down on the sides with sand bags). This worked fine in the past and the pool has been in good shape the following summers.

Now that the North Eastern US winter is arriving (sub-freezing temperatures at night, a few feet of snow expected over the coming months, etc.) we are worried that the lack of water in the pool might hurt it (cracking, the pool itself "rising" due to the lack of water in it weighing it down? (if this is even possible)).

This year we have blown out the pool filter jet/pipes to ensure no water remained in them and prevent a freezeing/cracking problem. We also removed the pool pump (normal procedure) and blew any remaining water out of those pipes as well.

Our Ask For You: Now our concern is the pool itself. Does anyone out there in the MeFi hive mind know if the pool will survive the winter without any water in it?

Please be blunt, we would much rather spend the money to fill the pool and winterize it with chemicals than loose the pool due to a crack (which would cost more to repair than filling it).

Thank you muchly!

posted by thankyoumuchly to home & garden (4 answers total)

Your best bet is to keep water in it, drained down below the skimmers. It's also recommend you fill the skimmer lines with RV antifreeze and seal them for the winter.

I suspect that, with no water mass pushing back against the walls, frost heaves will play havoc with the walls, resulting in cracking.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:41 PM on December 9, 2008

@Thorzdad

Thanks for the quick response. A few clarification questions:

1.) how much of the RV antifreeze should I fill the skimmer lines with? Just enough to coat the bottom of the pipes, half of the pipe, all of the pipe?
2.) why "RV" antifreeze, as opposed to regular car or truck antifreeze?
3.) can you recommend a brand of RV antifreeze?
posted by thankyoumuchly at 3:35 PM on December 9, 2008

1. Fill 'em as best you can and seal them up.
2 & 3. The antifreeze is non-toxic. Car antifreeze kills. Pool supply shops have the stuff. I've just always heard it called the same as RV antifreeze. I guess you treat the pipes in an RV that's going to sit over winter the same way. Can't recommend a particular brand. It's just whatever the supplier carries.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:01 PM on December 9, 2008

RV antifreeze is propylene glycol. Practically any brand is good because unlike regular antifreeze there aren't any corrosion inhibitors or anything added to differentiate products. You want to totally fill your lines so that a pocket of water can't form causing localized freezing. While it is much less toxic than regular antifreeze it is still mildly posionous so you should keep it away from kids and pets (especially cats) who might drink it.
posted by Mitheral at 7:17 PM on December 9, 2008