Closing an in ground pool
- Thread starter JasonLion
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<insert curse words here> Took advice early this year that Baquacil "performance" algicide works much better than their other stuff. Dished out $35 a bottle, used one a month.
http://www.leisurepoolinc.com/sitebuild ... acealg.PDF
Same exact stuff it looks to me!! Thanks for the help Chem geek. I can't wait till April so I can start enjoying working on the pool now with chlorine.
LisaM
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- May 26, 2011
- 113
My deep end is 10 ft deep and my pipes run about 60+ ft or so from the main drain to the deep end, not including the depth. No matter what I use I have never been able to get bubble to come out of the main drain. Is this a problem? Will it freeze that far down? I am in Northern ohio.
If they built your pool correctly, then your pipes are run below the frost line and if you blow (or fill with antifreeze) the parts that are above the frost line then they won't freeze.
LisaM
0
- May 26, 2011
- 113
I do blow out both skimmer lines as well as all 4 return lines and cap them off. I have the pipe gizmo thing I use for skimmer lines and I do not drain any of my water. I use empty chlorine bottles stuffed in the skimmers to help avoid freezing and that has always worked. The only line I am unable to do anything with is the main drain line. No matter how much air I blow I have never gotten bubbles. I usually throw antifreeze in that line just to be safe. Is there anything else for that main drain I should be doing?
I have a DE filter in an inground gunite pool. At any point during the closing should I backwash? Thanks.
With a DE filter, the grids are typically removed, thoroughly washed (with a hose) and stored over the winter.
For either sand or DE filters (that backwash), backwash throughly before starting the closing. For a DE filter, after closing it is best to remove the grids and clean them throughly. They can then be replaced in the filter or stored inside over the winter.
I haven't read the entire thread so I apologize if this has already been aske, but if I have a light in my pool, is it safe for it to remain underwater or do I need to drain below the light fixture. It is a good amount below my returns so it'd save water to stay above it, but I'll obvisously do what's best. It's my first time closing a pool so I appreciate the help. Thanks to all!!
Lights are normally left below the water line. You want to make sure that they are enough below the waterline that the water won't freeze down that low (or at the very least not very far down the light).
this is my first year closing a pool so I am having a pool store blow out the lines and go through the process while I keep an eye on what they're doing so I can do it in the future.
couple quick questions because I don't like to take what the pool store says at face value:
1. they want me to raise my TA to 130-140. Its currently at 90. they said this is to make sure the water doesn't turn acidic over the winter. should I do this or no? the pool closing instructions in this thread just say to check the levels to make sure they are ok, but don't go into the specifics as to what those levels should be over the winter.
2. they want me to add a winterizer kit but I'm not sure whats in it. per this site, I was going to shock, let the FC come back down, then add the Polyquat. any reason to add anything else other than this and some anti-freeze in the lines?
if it matters, I am in SE Michigan and its going to be a long, cold winter spent dreaming of getting back in the pool, staring at the winter cover longingly.
thanks
couple quick questions because I don't like to take what the pool store says at face value:
1. they want me to raise my TA to 130-140. Its currently at 90. they said this is to make sure the water doesn't turn acidic over the winter. should I do this or no? the pool closing instructions in this thread just say to check the levels to make sure they are ok, but don't go into the specifics as to what those levels should be over the winter.
2. they want me to add a winterizer kit but I'm not sure whats in it. per this site, I was going to shock, let the FC come back down, then add the Polyquat. any reason to add anything else other than this and some anti-freeze in the lines?
if it matters, I am in SE Michigan and its going to be a long, cold winter spent dreaming of getting back in the pool, staring at the winter cover longingly.
thanks
You only want to raise the TA level if you are using trichlor over the winter, sometimes added in floaters under the cover, which we don't recommend.
I have never seen a winterizing kit that was worth buying. The only thing we recommend doing is raising the FC level and adding polyquat algaecide.
I have never seen a winterizing kit that was worth buying. The only thing we recommend doing is raising the FC level and adding polyquat algaecide.
JasonLion said:
thanks. I wasn't planning on doing anything over the winter so I'm glad I asked.
Re: recirculating offseason water into pool
At closing I re-fill my vinyl inground pool (after plugging returns and putting gizmos into the returns). This makes putting the cover on fairly easy.
When the rains fall, it tends to push out the water from beneath the cover and the middle drops, collecting a lot of water (a number of years ago, I got so much on there that a corner of the cover actually fell into the pool - fortunately it was almost spring....)
Since then, I run a hose from my pool cover pump, beneath the cover and back into the pool!! In the spring the water is pretty dirty, but I am able to clear it with 48 hours of filtering (and two cleanings of the DE).
Does anyone else do this? Does this eliminate the need to bother with the various year end closing chemical treatments? Do those chemicals really do anything once the pool is closed? (I don't close the pool until mid-October when pool temps have dropped to around 60 degrees).
At closing I re-fill my vinyl inground pool (after plugging returns and putting gizmos into the returns). This makes putting the cover on fairly easy.
When the rains fall, it tends to push out the water from beneath the cover and the middle drops, collecting a lot of water (a number of years ago, I got so much on there that a corner of the cover actually fell into the pool - fortunately it was almost spring....)
Since then, I run a hose from my pool cover pump, beneath the cover and back into the pool!! In the spring the water is pretty dirty, but I am able to clear it with 48 hours of filtering (and two cleanings of the DE).
Does anyone else do this? Does this eliminate the need to bother with the various year end closing chemical treatments? Do those chemicals really do anything once the pool is closed? (I don't close the pool until mid-October when pool temps have dropped to around 60 degrees).
I have an electric safety cover and I have a pool cover pump and put the water collected on the cover into the pool. I have an auto-fill and don't winterize the pool since pool water temp doesn't get below 45ºF (and we don't have hard freezes) so the reason I do this is to dilute the pool water using winter rains. That helps keep the salt level down though it dilutes other chemicals as well. I keep the pool chlorinated so opening in spring doesn't have a problem.
Pumping cover water into the pool is not a bad thing. If the water is very cold, the water won't get very bad if you open early before the water warms up. Yes, you are probably introducing more algae in the pool, but it won't grow very quickly.
As for closing chemicals, you shouldn't need anything more than either Polyquat or chlorine shocking (or both). Once my pool hits around 50ºF, the chlorine demand drops to less than 1 ppm FC per week (perhaps 1 ppm FC every 2 weeks).
Pumping cover water into the pool is not a bad thing. If the water is very cold, the water won't get very bad if you open early before the water warms up. Yes, you are probably introducing more algae in the pool, but it won't grow very quickly.
As for closing chemicals, you shouldn't need anything more than either Polyquat or chlorine shocking (or both). Once my pool hits around 50ºF, the chlorine demand drops to less than 1 ppm FC per week (perhaps 1 ppm FC every 2 weeks).
When do you normally add the polyquat? At the same time when adding chlorine to shock, or do we wait till FC drops to half then add the polyquat?
songebob, welcome to TFP!
It isn't crucial when you add the polyquat. I like to leave it till nearly the last minute, leaving just enough time for it to get mixed in before the pool is closed. But doing it a day or even two earlier is fine.
It isn't crucial when you add the polyquat. I like to leave it till nearly the last minute, leaving just enough time for it to get mixed in before the pool is closed. But doing it a day or even two earlier is fine.
This post gives the recommendation from Buckman Labs, the historical makers of Polyquat in the U.S., about shocking first and then later adding Polyquat making sure to thoroughly circulate.
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