Cost of closing down pool for winter?

16 years ago

I realize winter is almost over but I'm thinking ahead for next year. I have a large 50,000 gallon underground pool with pentair filter, pump, heater and solar. First year in the house the heater and pvc froze - big expense. Installed a freeze protector and it's working fine this winter except now I have another big expense - the electric bill. Temps fluctuate from the low 20's to the mid 60's here in the winter but it's not uncommon to go several days with temps in the 30's, especially when storms come in.

I thought about installing one of those new fancy smancy multispeed intelliflos and just having it set at a very low flow but not sure I want to go to that expense, especially since the 2HP Whisperflo on their now is only 2 years old.

So now I'm considering just shutting down the pool for the winter next year. Can somebody tell me what exactly this involves and what I can expect to pay a pool service guy to do this. I assume there's a cost to shut it down at the onset of winter and then another cost to start it back up in the spring. I would like to get some ballpark figures before I start calling around. Thanks.

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Comments (5)

poolguynj
16 years ago
Big pool! Do you have a spa, water features such as lighted deck jets, sheer decents, waterfall, safety cover?

1st timers sometimes get shocked by how much can be involved and the costs, not just for the service but also the materials such as winter plugs and gizmos, cover pumps and step pumps if needed at closing and at openings, new return fittings if the old ones are no longer serviceable or are ugly, lost..., pump plugs if needed, and other little stuff that can get lost over the winter. Opening and closing crews usually have the little stuff with them.

Don't expect them to make serious repairs such as repairing cracked fittings, balky heaters and the like. They usually have to defer that to another technician so they can go on to the next pool.

Closings should be done by professionals. Most are happy to answer questions during the closing as long as it doesn't disrupt the work flow of the team. They are there to provide a specific service, closing your pool, not to teach you how.

Prices tend to vary by market.
socalroadie
Original Author
16 years ago
poolguynj,

Yes, there is a 8' x 5' raised spa with overflow into pool. No other feature and no safety cover. Thought about covering for winter but one side of pool is raised.

Tried calling a few local pool service places but none of them do winter closings and couldn't recommend anyone.
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Tile laying flat has no concerns. Tile on the wall's waterline does. When the pool's surface freezes, it will expand sideways and then vertically. Keeping the water level below the tile line allows it for do it's expanding against the plaster finish which is backed by the gunite. No fear. When it expands upward, it will have already expanded laterally and start going vertically with no further lateral expansion. The deep end tile below the swim out will be fine. In fact, the swim out step is usually the best place to sit the pump. It brings the water level to just under the top tile line. The rest of your tiles are far enough down. The expansion only happens at the water line. The automatic pump I have been recommending for years is linked below. The blow through extension and Ultra-Gizmo are two different products. The black cap on the Ultra-Gizmo is fine as it is. Remove the cap, blow the line, insert the cap. In a couple years, that cap can be replaced with a #0 or #1 winter plug, I forget which works and at the moment, it's moot. Here is a link that might be useful: Step Pump Scott Likes
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Back wall, you understand except I would go to the level of the the top of the rock on the right (picture #2). Request a 9" overlap, drill a standard anchor and use a "D" ring or short spring on the strap. At the drop off by the skimmer, put a small pillow to fill the space and keep critters out. Long straps for the front of the spa with standard anchors and springs. Note that th cover manufacturer make declare it non-safe because of the tangle foot trip hazard potential. The cover will hold a snow load Put a layer of vinyl under the cover where it meets the spa except for the wall. It will prevent chafing, ensuring neither the cover nor the rock surface is marred, scuffed or torn. Another pillow for the other side's rocks. WRT to the PB's suggestion of draining/we do it with public pools all the time, public pools don't have the jungle you have. The potential for difficult to remove stains like tree sap, acorns, leaves, etcetera, is high.There is also a potential for cracking but that is small. I don't recommend closing the pool and not the spa. The spa will need to be drained to winterize it's bottom drains. Raised spas can freeze solid. I know I wouldn't want to jump in a full and cold spa with air blasting out the drains. I don't ask those that work for me to do things I won't do either. Once the spa is drained and the drains are winterized, you can still refill the spa from the pool. This will lower the water in the pool below the tile or close to it, judging from the pictures. Only fill the spa to 12 inches from the tile line. This allows rain and snow melt to finish it when using a mesh cover (recommended to keep weight down). Put a step pump in the main pool to keep the water off the tile. Pool covers are much larger than spa covers. It is more important to keep the water level less than 15" from the bottom of the cover because a snow load will need it's support . Snow floats. Snow when wet is heavy. In early Winter and mid to late Spring, these weights happen and put a lot of stress on the cover. Having the water there keeps it from getting out of hand. Pools have a lot more surface area than spas. The materials used in fabricating them are the same. The smaller perimeter of the spa cover won't have to hold the same amount of weight as the pool's cover. Sorry, I tend to ramble. Scott
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poolguynj
16 years ago
Where are you?
snookums
16 years ago
Would the cost of closing the pool really be that much less money than the extra electric bill cost for running the freeze protection?

I too doubted you'd be able to find anyone to do it. Fwiw, last winter our freeze protection came on only 3 or 4 times and this winter, not at all (so far).

On our system we can adjust the temperature for when it will all come on. The default was 37 degrees and we lowered it to 33. You might try that as well.

Poolguynj - I'm assuming he's in southern California, going by his username.
socalroadie
Original Author
16 years ago
I live in the high desert of Southern CA. Most of the towns and cities in the area here are at around 2900' elevation. I live closer to the mountains at about 4000' elevation. So for most of the people around here freezing isn't a problem. You just set your pump to run a few hours in the early morning and your good to go for the most part. But where I'm at the temps are usually 5 to 10 degrees colder.

I'm going to try to turn the freeze protector down to 32, right now it's at 38, and see how much of a difference that makes. I'm guessing my electric bill is $100 to $200 more per month just because of the pump running.

Cost of closing down pool for winter?

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Cost of closing down pool for winter?

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