How much water evaporates in winter, if any ?

[brianbo]

Thanks Richard that was very good and very detailed info.
I filled the pool and am trying to get the iron out now. Once, it is clear. I will look again for a leak and if I cannot find it, I will call pool place.

[CarlD]

Now to put it in super-simple terms. I live in North Central New Jersey and our weather isn't much different than Mass. A little hotter in the summer and maybe not so cold in the winter. I use a mesh safety cover.

When I close, I drop the water a full inch below the bottom of the bushing around the returns--about 15-18" below the edge of the pool. When I opened this spring, my pool was over-full. I consider the two screws in the exact middle of the skimmer to be the "full" mark and it was at least 2" higher.

Now that's a bit much--I usually have to add water in the spring but not nearly as much as I let out in the fall.

My point being, in the North East, if you lose water over the winter you most definitely have a leak--the chances of it being evaporation are pretty much nil. Snow melt and rain are going to far out-weigh any evaporation loss.

That's my humble opinion.

[TheDurk]

I concur. I am also in North Central New Jersey (actually I am in Central North New Jersey) but I use a solid cover. I have to thread a needle to get below returns and stay above the light while avoiding the tile trim on swim-out and steps. There is only one level that works. I close at that level and it is just the same when I open within an inch or so.

Edit: Wow, I didn't realize this thread was this old. Forgive the noob--I was just looking around and wanted to get my first post up.

[Watermom]

That's OK, Durk. Welcome to the forum.

[BobBanker]

I took my solid cover off of my 18x36 inground pool this past Saturday. 3 of the straps had broken because of the snow in February so there was about a 3 inch by 8 foot gap on the one side which was a way for water to evaporate for the last 3 - 4 months that had never been there in the past 7 years. I was shocked at the amount of water that had evaporated. I had to add 23 inches of water & I only drained about 9 inches out in the fall. I actually thought I may have had a leak. It is holding so I am pretty sure there is no leak.