Well, sort of.
Mainly, I wanted the cover off because I was concerned something might have been damaged during the winter freeze. There were quite a few pops and pings on the coldest nights and then, when things finally started thawing, I had a steady trickle of water from the skimmer.
Which made no sense, since there is a plate on the inside covering the skimmer opening; the skimmer itself was covered by the winter cover and finally, I’d drained the pool well below skimmer level. So why was water coming out of it?
Given all that, I was a bit anxious to get the cover off and see what the deal was.
Thankfully, nothing seems to have happened. No leaks, no damage anywhere. Just one very large block of ice. Give it another week or two and I’ll be able to hook up the filter and we’ll be in business.