If you own a Basketball court in your backyard, then you would want it to be secured. It’s best to use a movable Hoop rather than installing a permanent one. A portable hoop makes things easier, and it becomes easier to bring them undercover.
You may use or not use these hoops in winter, but it’s very important to winterize them and especially in those places where the temperature falls below freezing.
Many of you don’t know how to winterize a hoop, so it gets shattered, or the backboard gets broken. So if you can’t winterize them properly, you may need to repair them or even buy a new one, so it’s good to take precautions rather than cure them.
In this article, we will try to make the process easy for you so that you can do it very easily and also; you will find out that you can do it with some very available materials.
How to Winterize a Basketball Hoop Following Some Dead Simple Steps
Securing the Hoop in Backyard
If you want to play during cold weather, then you need to take care of the hoop in such a way so that you can play anytime you want. Otherwise, you can disassemble it to protect it from breaking.
Securing the hoop isn’t a difficult job to do. All you need to do is find the best material for your hoop base.
You can secure the base with these materials;
- Water
- Sand
- Gel
Also, you have to secure it from heavy wind and from rusting.
How to Secure the Hoop Base With Water
First of all, drain the water from the base which you used in the summertime to fill the base. Because when the water will start freezing, it will expand and break the back, but you can add antifreeze to avoid this issue.
If you use antifreeze, then the water won’t freeze due to low temperature.
Antifreeze is a type of chemical substance used to lower the freezing point of any liquid that is water-based and increase the boiling point.
For basketball hoops, you have to use non-toxic antifreeze. The ideal water and antifreeze ratio is 50-50.
How to Secure Hoop Base With Sand
Sand is tending to be heavier than water, so it secures the hoop more. But if you use sand, then it is difficult to move because of the heavy weight. If you have used water, you have to drain the base first and fill it with sand.
Draining water is very easy to do. You can just lay it on its side and drain out the water, or you can pump it out with a pumper.
After draining the water, fill the hoop base with sand and enjoy a heavily secured base.
How to Secure Hoop Base With a Base Gel
If you fill your base with water, then there will be a chance of leaking or freezing, but if you use sand, then there won’t be any chance of these accidents.
Sometimes you may not prefer sand because it’s very hard to move then, and you may not find proper antifreeze sometimes, so there is another option for it. You can add any base gel to water.
Using base gel has many benefits. It’s very affordable and long-lasting. Also, you can use it in any weather so there won’t be any unplanned situation.
How to Secure From Heavy Wind
Your Basketball hoop can get destroyed in seconds due to heavy wind. It may fall or break, so there are few steps you can follow to avoid these.
You need to double-check every nut and bolt and tighten them if needed.
You can use straps to protect it.
Lower the height of your hoop. If the hoop is lower, it will give more strength to the pole.
How to Secure Your Hoop From Rusting
Hoops are made of metals, so due to ice or snow, they can get rusted easily if it’s not properly taken care of. There are few things you can do to avoid rusting:
Clean every day if there is the slightest water on it.
If the paint is loose, remove it and paint again because good quality paint protects a surface from rusting.
You can buy a waterproof, dust-proof cover and place it on your hoop with the help of tape. Make sure that it doesn’t leak any water or dust into the hoop.
If you see any rust, then immediately apply some rust protective additive.
You can remove your net after every session. This may take some extra time, but it won’t cost you extra money in the long run.
What to Do If You Don’t Want to Play in Winter
You may not want to take risks in winter because there are possibilities of damage. If you don’t play in wet weather, then you can keep it safely in a storeroom.
First of all, remove all the parts, including the backboard, rim, net, and hoop. Once you remove these things, then the pole is less heavy and easy to remove.
Then remove the pole and clean the base unit.
Before storing, clean everything properly; otherwise, it may cause rusting.
Final Words
If you have an in-ground hoop that is installed by concrete, then there is no way of doubt. It won’t fall due to heavy wind, so you don’t need to secure the base.
But the backboard, rim, and hoop should be taken care of like the portable ones.
If you love to play basketball, then your love for your hoop is immense, so protecting it is also a part of your sportsmanship.
You may find it very hectic to disassemble and then store it, or sometimes in the afternoon you may want to play, so to avoid these, you can follow the steps we described earlier.
To secure your hoop, you need to use a method that is handy for you. You need to find the best antifreeze or a good base gel if you don’t want to use sand.
The post How to Winterize a Basketball Hoop appeared first on Team Sports Mania.
How to Winterize a Basketball Hoop was first posted on April 18, 2021 at 7:49 am.
©2019 "Team Sports Mania". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at [email protected]
