I am going to be heading out of town for about 7.5 days before Xmas.

The weather cold is not looking too bad...my main concern is actually leaves clogging skimmers if they decide to all dump down while I am out.

I was thinking I may just turn off my programs and only have the pool run whenever it trips due to "freeze protect" which would hopefully mean just a few hours of running late night / early AM on a few days. I have turned the pool off for a week before with no major issues but usually its a bit colder than this.

Any real risk / concerns? Thoughts?

This is first time leaving my pool in winter and maybe just over thinking....

If it will kick on for freezing, just turn it off. Won't be a problem.

I was debating that a bit....do I let it run for freeze protection when necessary and assume it won't be enough to cause a clog issue or do i just shut it all off....i am watching the weather....would like to see it stay above 33 or so to give me "wiggle room" for not having an issue when I get back with pumps/pipes....

You really don't need to worry and pipes bursting unless the weather has multiple days of temps under 25

Ok this is sort of what i was wanting to hear....i assumed 31 or even 30 likely would not be an issue especially with daily highs in the mid 40s....

I assume too no real issue with algae etc in the winter especially just 1 week of not running...?

You should be fine. I regularly turn my pump off this time of year because we have live and red oaks hanging over the pool

Lake08 said:

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You should be fine. I regularly turn my pump off this time of year because we have live and red oaks hanging over the pool

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This makes me feel better and sort of makes me re-think my approach when the leaves start coming down....I typically leave it on and clear out skimmers in evening and do a quick net clearing in the AM before work...pain in the rear for a while....

My neighbor asked me to check on his pool a couple of times while he was out 10 days. He placed a skimmer net over each of the two openings to the skimmer baskets and secured them with spring clamps. I've not tried that before but I will say the skimmer nets captured all the leaves and kept them out of the baskets allowing his pool to run as it normally would.

I think a few people have done that net idea....i probably could have and should have planned better and maybe should consider that in general but not sure I have the time before this trip....

Our problem too...the 6 closest neighbors are all older w/ grown kids (60+) and beyond and the one family w/ high school kids are going to be out of town at the same time....my old house we had many options for "helpers" but not now

Do you have valves that isolate the skimmers from the bottom drain?

On my pool I can turn off the skimmers and only pull from the bottom. This also helps balance some water features, so it may not be common.

I occasionally will do this in the leaf heavy months to avoid the issue you are describing.

interesting....i have not thought about that....i would like to think i have valves for skimmer...may check

I'd turn it off

Lake08 said:

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You should be fine. I regularly turn my pump off this time of year because we have live and red oaks hanging over the pool

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Pool builder recommended turning the water over 1.5 x per day. There are obvious differences in warmer vs colder temps, so does the (suggested) rule change in the cooler months?

I saw one site reccomending 1 hour of run time per 10 degrees. Not sure if it works, but, yes you can lower your run time the colder it gets. I just had my pool down for over a week due to a bad pump. It started getting a little Cloudy, but cleared up within a day of getting the pump running again. You might shock it before turning it off to bridge the gap.

Turn off the pump. You have much much more risk of leaves clogging the skimmer(s) killing the pump versus freezing/algae.

Fairly sure this is the best answer.

Will keep an eye on the forecast but right now no risk of prolonged freezing.