Intex ultra frame xtr 24' x 52" keeping it up year round in cold climates.

[digidoggie18]

Hello all,

I am new to this site and joined to learn some tips and tricks as here and there we struggle with our pool. We got ours about 3 years ago however, our liner only lasted a couple years. We would love to keep it up year round as it can be a hassle to pull down, etc.. We were wondering if there was anyone in a similar environment where it gets cold that leaves their pool up all year and what you do to help keep it from collapsing, tearing, etc.. I had thought about air pillows over 10% of the surface but I am still unsure if that would be ok. also, is there anything that you use to close the pool? Our stores out here tend to be less than helpful. Currently there is no cyanuric acid anywhere out here. I asked both of our pool stores if they knew of an alternative and they stated to just keep running our chlorine generator 24/7. Unfortunately our manuals say not to run them longer than 12 hrs. instead we stocked up with a 40lb container of it from home depot.

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! We do have some members in northern areas that leave their pool up year round. Some cover and some don't. You at least want to cover it while leaves are falling. Remove the hoses and plug the openings. Drain the pump/filter and move it inside.
@jseyfert3 any advice to offer?

 

[S-Merry]

We left one up through the winter in MN. Following suggestions here, we drained a few inches below the hoses, and then covered it with the included Intex cover. The cover didn't manage to stay on all winter, but the pool was fine. Because we were using the original pump and tiny filter, we did end up draining it all the way once it thawed to scrub it out (so much yuck), then refilled with new water and treated that. If I had to do it again, I'd invest in a nice mesh winter cover like we use with our current traditional AGP, and upgrade the equipment a bit.

That was the one and only time we didn't open to leaks in the liner (and our third intex). I think folding them up and putting them away might be harder on the liner than leaving them out, though the people we gave it to left it folded for a year before they used it, and they didn't have leaks when they finally put it up, so who knows?

 

[jseyfert3]

I'm in Wisconsin, based on reading of multiple people here leaving their pools up I left ours up too:

No cover, no pillows. Just drained several inches below all openings. I'll probably add some PolyQuat 60 algeacide on closing next year. I don't think I'm going to both with a cover this year either. If anything a mesh cover just to keep the leaves out.

 

[Woodstock1234]

I'm in IL and I left mine up last winter. I removed all the hoses and plugged the openings. I used a pillow, covered with a solid tarp like cover, and pool wrapped the sides. I opened early and the water was crystal clear. I did not use any extra chemicals.

 

[PieterS]

I'm in IL and I left mine up last winter. I removed all the hoses and plugged the openings. I used a pillow, covered with a solid tarp like cover, and pool wrapped the sides. I opened early and the water was crystal clear. I did not use any extra chemicals.

Thanks for the info! Hoping to leave mine up this winter too...

What do you mean by 'pool wrapped the sides'?

Thanks!

 

[jseyfert3]

I removed all the hoses and plugged the openings. I used a pillow, covered with a solid tarp like cover, and pool wrapped the sides. I opened early and the water was crystal clear. I did not use any extra chemicals.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. Removing all hoses is important. I brought my pump indoors where it wouldn't freeze. My filter too, but so long as you open the drain and leave the valve in the winter position the filter should be fine to leave outside.

 

[Woodstock1234]

Thanks for the info! Hoping to leave mine up this winter too...

What do you mean by 'pool wrapped the sides'?

Thanks!

This is what it looked like when I closed it last year. Pool wrap is like very large saran wrap. I think it's also marketed as moving wrap. It kept all the debris out of the pool.

 

[digidoggie18]

We left one up through the winter in MN. Following suggestions here, we drained a few inches below the hoses, and then covered it with the included Intex cover. The cover didn't manage to stay on all winter, but the pool was fine. Because we were using the original pump and tiny filter, we did end up draining it all the way once it thawed to scrub it out (so much yuck), then refilled with new water and treated that. If I had to do it again, I'd invest in a nice mesh winter cover like we use with our current traditional AGP, and upgrade the equipment a bit.

That was the one and only time we didn't open to leaks in the liner (and our third intex). I think folding them up and putting them away might be harder on the liner than leaving them out, though the people we gave it to left it folded for a year before they used it, and they didn't have leaks when they finally put it up, so who knows?

our cover will be hard as heck to keep on all year due to our extremely high winds here outside of Pueblo Colorado. Our averages through the winter tend to be 30-60MPH on the daily and more towards the evenings. During the days it hits lik3 40-50ish and throughout the summer its practically 100 degrees every day and dips down into the 60's frequently. very extreme temps. as for leaves, we don't have those at all being mountain desert and are still waiting to put up oak trees. We left it up last year but noticed that we had a ring of damage from where the ice looks like it had expanded. later that year it collapsed on me in september but i feel that was more because I drained the water down to 1/4 of the pool capacity, (do you think that would be accurate in saying?)

 

[digidoggie18]

We left one up through the winter in MN. Following suggestions here, we drained a few inches below the hoses, and then covered it with the included Intex cover. The cover didn't manage to stay on all winter, but the pool was fine. Because we were using the original pump and tiny filter, we did end up draining it all the way once it thawed to scrub it out (so much yuck), then refilled with new water and treated that. If I had to do it again, I'd invest in a nice mesh winter cover like we use with our current traditional AGP, and upgrade the equipment a bit.

That was the one and only time we didn't open to leaks in the liner (and our third intex). I think folding them up and putting them away might be harder on the liner than leaving them out, though the people we gave it to left it folded for a year before they used it, and they didn't have leaks when they finally put it up, so who knows?

any recommendation for upgraded equipment? we haven't found much on it throughout our google searches. Yesterday we just added a skimmer and it helped immensely with cleaning this morning

 

[digidoggie18]

Such awesome advice so far!!

 

[Woodstock1234]

our cover will be hard as heck to keep on all year due to our extremely high winds here outside of Pueblo Colorado. Our averages through the winter tend to be 30-60MPH on the daily and more towards the evenings. During the days it hits lik3 40-50ish and throughout the summer its practically 100 degrees every day and dips down into the 60's frequently. very extreme temps. as for leaves, we don't have those at all being mountain desert and are still waiting to put up oak trees. We left it up last year but noticed that we had a ring of damage from where the ice looks like it had expanded. later that year it collapsed on me in september but i feel that was more because I drained the water down to 1/4 of the pool capacity, (do you think that would be accurate in saying?)

Oh you definitely don't want to drain that much water. The water keeps the pool stable. Some people drain below the skimmer, but I didn't drain any water. I think I drained the cover once or twice in the fall and spring. The rest of the time, it was frozen and I did nothing.

 

[Selenap]

Pool wrapping usually refers to using plastic wrap (the kind used for securing stuff on pallets) and wrapping this around the top rails and a little down the wall to keep a winter cover from getting wind under it and blowing off. This goes over the ends of the tarp. There are companies who do it professionally but if you can get the plastic wrap, it’s simple to do yourself. If you have a deck around you pool it can be tricky working between it and the top rails off the pool.

 

[digidoggie18]

Pool wrapping usually refers to using plastic wrap (the kind used for securing stuff on pallets) and wrapping this around the top rails and a little down the wall to keep a winter cover from getting wind under it and blowing off. This goes over the ends of the tarp. There are companies who do it professionally but if you can get the plastic wrap, it’s simple to do yourself. If you have a deck around you pool it can be tricky working between it and the top rails off the pool.

We will keep that in mind when we deck around ours.. Maybe we can do some sort of insert where we can pull out the edges to get to the top of the pool easier..

 

[CT-Steven]

Here is my closing last year. I am a bit different this year as I have different filtration but the pool in itself is the same.

Intex Closing (pictures)

Well first summer is now behind us and it was time to close. Being in New England and wanting to keep the pool up vs disassembly, I thought I would post a few pictures of my current setup and its closing. I think I am just going to shrink wrap the entire pool seeing as I have more of that...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[digidoggie18]

Here is my closing last year. I am a bit different this year as I have different filtration but the pool in itself is the same.

Intex Closing (pictures)

Well first summer is now behind us and it was time to close. Being in New England and wanting to keep the pool up vs disassembly, I thought I would post a few pictures of my current setup and its closing. I think I am just going to shrink wrap the entire pool seeing as I have more of that...

www.troublefreepool.com

I like it, Did you have any pushing into the sides of the liner? We left ours up the first year and after speaking with others, had lowered the water wayyy too low. This year we will cover like that and add a couple 4'x8' air pillows and wrap. We are hoping the ice doesn't put stretch marks in the liner again though...

 

[CT-Steven]

I like it, Did you have any pushing into the sides of the liner? We left ours up the first year and after speaking with others, had lowered the water wayyy too low. This year we will cover like that and add a couple 4'x8' air pillows and wrap. We are hoping the ice doesn't put stretch marks in the liner again though...

We had zero issues and in fact the water was crystal clear when we pulled the cover off.

 

[PieterS]

We had zero issues and in fact the water was crystal clear when we pulled the cover off.

Thanks for sharing - good to know. Looking for my options this winter as well!

Were you able to prevent most 'pooling' of water on top of the cover? Like how you strung the guidelines off the center floating ball!

Who has experience here with mesh covers and AGPs in colder climates? Chime in!

 

[CT-Steven]

Thanks for sharing - good to know. Looking for my options this winter as well!

Were you able to prevent most 'pooling' of water on top of the cover? Like how you strung the guidelines off the center floating ball!

Who has experience here with mesh covers and AGPs in colder climates? Chime in!

Yes and no... In the beginning I had the cover taught enough that the water shed off. Then came a storm and while the cover stayed, the weight of the snow made the cover sag over the water. I just used a cover pump from tie to time to clear the water. Was not bad and will be repeating the same steps this year.

 

[digidoggie18]

We had zero issues and in fact the water was crystal clear when we pulled the cover off.

I love it, looks like this will be the route we are going this year then!! Thanks for all the insight!!