Why Use An Ice-Compensator In Your Skimmer?

An ice­compensator is a hollow bottle with an expansion plug on the bottom. Once inserted in the skimmer it will expand and tighten which will allow you to keep a higher water level over the winter. It is used to absorb ice expansion in the skimmer. When the water freezes it will collapse inward on the compensator rather than expanding out and potentially cracking
your skimmer.

Why Plug The Returns?

Plugging the returns or jets in your pool allows you to keep a higher water level. Expansion plugs are the most used but also come in a thread style. These plugs will prevent any water from leaking back into your filtration lines. If plugs are not used when covering the pool you must drain the water down. By draining water out of the pool you may get a lot of rain/snow accumulation that will become heavy if not pumped off. This is how covers rip and walls cave in.

Why Raise The Water When Closing An Above-Ground Pool?

Raising the water level in a pool when closing has more benefits than lowering it. You just paid for closing chemicals. Why would you empty 6 inches or so of water you just treated?? By plugging the skimmer and returns you are able to save the chemicals that are helping your water over the winter months. Using these same plugs allows you to raise the water level and add an air pillow under your cover. The higher the water level the higher your pillow will be. The pillow allows the rain/snow to run to the sides of the pool rather than sinking in the middle. By lowering the water level in the pool, the pillow will not help you with rain/snow runoff. You must then pump water off the cover to ensure no damage to your pool or winter cover. But be careful not to pump the actual pool water out. Raising your water level and using winter plugs is in our opinion the safest and easiest choice. Step by step instructions are available.