How to Protect Your Pool Equipment During the Winter Months

October 11, 2022

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There are a lot of fibreglass pools that will need to endure against freezing temperatures during the winter months. Should the surface of your fibreglass pool experience a minor freeze across its surface, then there isn’t anything to worry about. However, if your pool equipment hasn’t been winterised, then water can freeze inside your pool pump, the heater, and even the filter.

When this happens, you’ll need to pay for expensive repair work. That is why preventing your pool equipment from freezing is actually the cheapest solution to the problem.

How Do You Stop Pool Equipment From Freezing?

There are three ways that you can prevent freeze damage from affecting your pool equipment. These include:

You’ll need to winterise your pool equipment as well as the pool plumbing.
The pump should be kept running with the valves open.
Freeze protection should be installed on your pool equipment.

Now let’s look at these in depth.

Winterizing Your Pool

To do a partial winterisation of your pool, you’ll need to drain the pump, the heater, as well as the filter. You’ll also need to drain other equipment that is above the ground. Note that you’ll need to remove the drain plugs. This is before they end up freezing.

You can pour swimming pool antifreeze into the pipes or the hoses that have water. To complete winterising your pool, you’ll need to blow the water out of the pipes and the equipment. Then, plug the pipes into the pool. This will help keep water from entering it.

Keeping The Pool Pumps Running

If the climate you live in is normally mild, then pay attention to any freeze warnings that might be provided through the news. If there is a freeze warning, you’ll need to run your pool pump 24×7 until the weather starts to warm up.

As long as you can ensure that water is flowing through the pipes of your pool, the water won’t freeze. For climates that are colder, you may not want to continuously run your pool pump all the way till spring. What you can do instead, is set up an alarm that lets you know when the temperature dips below a certain level. When this does happen, run your pool pump until the temperature rises again.

Installing Equipment For Freeze Protection

With equipment for freeze protection, there’s a sensor that can measure the temperature outside. The pool pump is turned on when the threshold for low temperatures is reached.

There are also advanced controllers that you can buy, that can open valves that are closed, turn on the pumps, and more. You can also consider getting an air temp sensor. This allows you to program the clock to turn the pump on when a certain temperature is reached.

Power Failure During The Winter Months

When there’s a snowstorm, you can experience power failure as well. The pool pump could shut off, should you not have a generator at home that takes over. Should this happen to a pool that isn’t winterised, it could damage your Gold Coast fibreglass pool.

What you should do is unscrew the drain plugs that are on the heater and the pump. And also the drain plug on the single filter. You’ll need to open the air bleeder as well as any pool line valves that are closed. The power should be shut from the breaker this ensures that the pump won’t start while there isn’t any water inside.

Once the power comes back, you can replace the plugs. First prime your pool pump, and then start it back up.

Dealing With Pool Equipment That Is Frozen

In case you missed the chance to do these and your pool equipment is frozen, here is what you can do:

First, ensure that all power is shut off from the breaker.
Then place woollen blankets, preferably heavy ones, over the pool equipment.
Create a makeshift ‘tent’ with the woollen blankets.
Place a small space heater inside this ‘tent’.
Monitor the space closely until it’s thawed, and also inspect the space closely in case any cracks develop.
Should repair work be needed, you can drain your equipment until they are repaired.

The Four Steps To Winterizing Your Pool

Here is how to protect your pool equipment during the winter months.

Run The Pool Pump

When the temperature is below freezing, your pool pump should be running continuously. You should consider getting a freeze-protection device. This will automatically turn the pump off should the temperature drop below the threshold. With a freeze protector, your pool can be kept running as long as the temperature outside is close to freezing.

Clean The Pool

Ensure that the water in your pool is kept clean. This is as should the main drain and the skimmers be blocked with leaves as well as other debris. Then it can stop the pump from moving around water. This is what stops the water from freezing.

If the skimmer and the main drain are clogged, the pump won’t be able to move water around, and this can damage your pool equipment as well. The skimmer baskets should be checked daily, in order to ensure they are clean.

Maintaining The Water Level

You’ll need to maintain the proper water level in your pool. Should the water level be lower than what it should be, the pool pump will lose price. When this happens there won’t be any water moving through the pool equipment. As a result, it’s more likely that the plumbing will freeze.

Removing The Drain Plug

You should either remove the drain plug or start the hose bib that’s on the backwash line. Backwash lines can sometimes retain water. If they aren’t drained, then they can freeze and break.

Conclusion

Winterizing your pool helps you protect it from freezing temperatures during the winter months. Otherwise, you may need to pay for expensive repairs when the summer months roll around. Use this guide to learn how you can winterise your pool.