Winterizing & Freeze Prep
Winterizing &
Freeze Prep
Cowboy Pools do just fine in winter โ most of the time, the right move is to keep swimming (or cold plunging ๐ง). But when a freeze rolls in, a few minutes of prep protects your equipment. Here's your complete cold-weather playbook.
Which Situation Are You In?
The golden rule: keep your pool filled and circulating year-round. Water in the tank actually minimizes the chance of corrosion โ and moving water resists freezing. Winterize fully only when a long freeze or power loss leaves no other option.
Keep It Running
Run your normal pump schedule and reduce chlorine (about one tab every 2โ4 weeks, plus 1โ2 cups liquid every other week). Heat it for winter swims โ or embrace the cold plunge. No winterizing needed.
Circulate & Cover
Keep the water moving until temps rise. Stagnant water freezes; flowing water doesn't. Steps below.
Winterize the Equipment
Circulation can't save equipment through a long freeze or an outage. Drain the pump, filter, and heater โ the pool water itself stays put. Steps below.
Light Freeze Playbook
Pool & Equipment
- Flip your timer switch to ON (or bypass the timer by plugging the pump straight into the outlet) so water circulates continuously until the temperature rises above freezing.
- Cover your pump, filter, and hoses with blankets, towels, or a tarp for insulation โ but keep the pump's moving parts uncovered.
- If you have a pool cover, put it on โ it holds heat in the water.
- When the freeze passes, flip the switch back to TIMER and resume your normal schedule.
Heaters During a Light Freeze
Follow the pool equipment steps above first โ then, by unit:
- TempTamer (110v): not necessary to run, but you can set it to a lower temperature if you'd like.
- 240v heaters (Crosswind, Raypak): not necessary to run; setting the temperature in the 70s is fine if you prefer.
- Pentair MasterTemp: no need to run.
- Camplux / Eccotemp tankless gas: open the water flow valve at the bottom of the unit (if yours has one) so water can circulate through the heater. If you lose power, unscrew the gold drain plug at the bottom to drain it.
Hard Freeze: Winterize Your Equipment
You do not have to drain your pool โ the water stays in the tank with the plugs in. You're protecting the pump, filter, and heater, where trapped water freezes, expands, and cracks things.
Step by Step
- Unplug the filter pump from the outlet.
- Inside the pool, unscrew the suction covers and return jets, and screw in the plugs that came with your pool. (The pool water stays in.)
- Cartridge filter: loosen the top lid of the filter housing.
- Sand filter: push and turn the multiport valve clockwise to "winterize" (Waterway) or park it between any two settings (Hayward), then remove the sand filter's drain plug (Waterway).
- Remove the pump pot lid and the pump pot drain plug.
- Loosen any union fittings on the pool or equipment so trapped water can drain out.
- Cover the equipment (tarp or blankets) once drained.
Draining Your Heater (power off first)
| Heater | How to Drain |
|---|---|
| TempTamer | Loosen the two white union fittings to drain |
| Crosswind 50-I | Loosen the two black union fittings to drain |
| Raypak 5.5kW / 11kW | Loosen the two white union fittings to drain |
| Pentair MasterTemp | Loosen the two black union fittings on the connecting pipes |
| Camplux / Eccotemp tankless | Unscrew the long gold drain plug at the bottom of the unit |
After the Freeze: Restarting
- Re-tighten all union fittings and drain plugs, replace the pump pot lid, and set the filter valve back to "Filter."
- Remove the winterizing plugs inside the pool and reinstall the suction covers and return jets.
- Plug the pump back in, switch to ON, and confirm strong, steady flow with no leaks at the fittings โ then return the switch to TIMER.
- Rebalance your water: test, then add chlorine per the maintenance guide.
Heat It & Swim All Winter
A heater turns freeze-prep season into hot-tub season โ and a cover makes it affordable. Warm water in January is kind of the whole point of a Cowboy Pool.
Explore Heaters โ