This is my first time trying to close my pool and am bumping into a couple issues and would appreciate some guidance.
When I attempted to close my pool I connected my compressor to the pump drain plug and pushed air into the system. I have 2 skimmers, 3 returns, and a main drain. I do not lower the water.
The skimmers blew out first, one then the other. I put a gizmo in however I was getting a small stream of bubbles which to me was indicating I wasn't getting a tight seal. I took the gizmo out and applied more teflon tape and began the process again. I still was not able to get a tight seal after applying what I thought was an excess of teflon tape. When the pool company closed the pool last year it looks like they had electrical tape on the threads to act as a sealer instead of the teflon tape. I am assuming they did not have any bubbles so is there some type of special teflon tape that needs to be used that is a little thicker than what you get at home depot to create a tighter seal or a special way to wrap the threads?
Even though I was getting some bubbles from around my gizmos my returns started blowing air (again 1 at a time). I tried to use the rubber plugs with the wing nut that I took out last spring but two still leaked when I could not turn the wing nut any tighter. I plan to go out and get 3 sp1022c plugs to use in there place and hopefully it will resolve that problem. I plan to use some teflon tape, a little gasket lube and screw them in. The rubber plugs are I guess a couple years old so I am assuming they are prone to this type of failure.
Since I did not trust that I had a tight seal on everything I took out the gizmos and plugs until I could get the new parts. I had cleaned my DE filter and and did not want to put more DE into the system when I am in closing mode so I kept the Pentair SM-20-3 Multi Port valve in recirculate mode and started the system back up. I just wanted to be able to keep the water moving in case we got some chilly temperatures while I was getting parts so the system would kick in to prevent the pipes from freezing. Everything seemed to work fine until I went back to check on things about an hour later and the waste port was dripping water. Is this common when the Multi Port valve stays in recirculate or did I do something when blowing out the lines to create a problem? I had my compressor turned up to about 80 or 90 psi but it never really achieved that pressure as the compressor was running continuously but only showing about 20 psi on the compressor output gauge. However the Multi Port has never leaked out the waste so I am not sure what is going on. I turned everything off for the night and figured I would come here for some advise.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks
When I attempted to close my pool I connected my compressor to the pump drain plug and pushed air into the system. I have 2 skimmers, 3 returns, and a main drain. I do not lower the water.
The skimmers blew out first, one then the other. I put a gizmo in however I was getting a small stream of bubbles which to me was indicating I wasn't getting a tight seal. I took the gizmo out and applied more teflon tape and began the process again. I still was not able to get a tight seal after applying what I thought was an excess of teflon tape. When the pool company closed the pool last year it looks like they had electrical tape on the threads to act as a sealer instead of the teflon tape. I am assuming they did not have any bubbles so is there some type of special teflon tape that needs to be used that is a little thicker than what you get at home depot to create a tighter seal or a special way to wrap the threads?
Even though I was getting some bubbles from around my gizmos my returns started blowing air (again 1 at a time). I tried to use the rubber plugs with the wing nut that I took out last spring but two still leaked when I could not turn the wing nut any tighter. I plan to go out and get 3 sp1022c plugs to use in there place and hopefully it will resolve that problem. I plan to use some teflon tape, a little gasket lube and screw them in. The rubber plugs are I guess a couple years old so I am assuming they are prone to this type of failure.
Since I did not trust that I had a tight seal on everything I took out the gizmos and plugs until I could get the new parts. I had cleaned my DE filter and and did not want to put more DE into the system when I am in closing mode so I kept the Pentair SM-20-3 Multi Port valve in recirculate mode and started the system back up. I just wanted to be able to keep the water moving in case we got some chilly temperatures while I was getting parts so the system would kick in to prevent the pipes from freezing. Everything seemed to work fine until I went back to check on things about an hour later and the waste port was dripping water. Is this common when the Multi Port valve stays in recirculate or did I do something when blowing out the lines to create a problem? I had my compressor turned up to about 80 or 90 psi but it never really achieved that pressure as the compressor was running continuously but only showing about 20 psi on the compressor output gauge. However the Multi Port has never leaked out the waste so I am not sure what is going on. I turned everything off for the night and figured I would come here for some advise.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks