Just for my own education, question posed to the experts....

With a 13k gallon pool, wouldn't it be easier, faster and cheaper just to drain the pool and refill?

That depends on a number of factors. Many pools can not be safely drained. Even if some particular pool can be drained, water is much more expensive in some places that others. It would cost me several hundred dollars and take four or five days to drain and refill my pool, and then cost more money to get the TA and CH levels right again. Depending on how much baquacil was actually in the pool, draining could cost more and take longer.

And, even if you do drain and refill the pool, you still need to go through the final stage of the conversion to get the last of the baquacil hiding in the plumbing and then replace the filter media.

I had considered that too. Water is very cheap where I live.(sewer and water for a family of 6 is about $40 a quarter). The main reason I did not drain is that I've been told that the liner will shrink if the pool is drained. My liner is 15 years old. I did not want to flirt with disaster. Maybe Jason can confirm or debunk the shrinkage issue.

Nope, shrinkage is a real threat, and not something people enjoy. I'm gonna ask that everyone leave that remark alone.

$40? Wow. I pay on average $100 a month for water and sewer. Must be nice.

As the liner ages it becomes stiff and can crack or tear. If you remove all the water the liner will shrink. When you add the water back in, it is unlikely that the liner will be flexible enough to stretch back in exactly the correct way, and it will most likely tear.

If water is very inexpensive, you can speed up a conversion by replacing about half the water. Assuming water table issues aren't a problem, you can drain the pool down till there is about one foot in the shallow end of the pool, and then refill. That will get rid of one third to one half of your baquacil residue and speed up the conversion. One foot of water should be enough to hold the liner in place and avoid problems.

That's $40 a QUARTER (not to make you feel bad). Of course, the Peoples Republic of Maryland is one of the highest tax states in the union. They just get it from us in prop taxes, etc.

Yeah, here in Will County they rip us off thru ridiculous property taxes too. I heard we're 32 on the list of most taxed counties in the country.