Draining Pool Question

[mvoorn]

Hi Everyone,
Because of high CYA (vacation, neighbor taking care of pool, heat and too much rain, not followed BBB method in my absence and instead shocked it over and over with pool store chemicals) I have to drain 50% of my pool... :grrrr:
How in the world do I drain my pool? I'm sorry for the silly question... we did this once (my husband did), 3 years ago, and that is when we switched to the BBB method; but hubs is not home and I want to get this going ASAP so we have a functioning pool for the weekend. The pool has a 'connector' for a hose next to the pump. I plug a normal hose and turn it on and the water flows out, so far so good... my question is, once the water level gets below to the skimmers and there is no water to go into the skimmers and these start suctioning just air, won't that damage everything????????? I do have the drains at the bottom of the pool, will these kick in and shut down the skimmers at the walls (top?)?
THANKS AGAIN!!

 

[FamilyGuy]

You typicaly have a valve to switch between the skimmer/s and main drain if your draining below the skimmer you want to turn the valve so your drawing from the main drain only

 

[mvoorn]

mhh... I have one that switches between skimmers and vacuum. If I switch it to that, then the vacuum will go into turbo and climb all the way out of the pool!!! I have another valve, but that switches from main drain to fountains... agh...

 

[257WbyMag]

If you cannot isolate your skimmers and pull water from a main drain only, the best way to do it is to turn the pump off and use a submersible pump to drain water. They can be rented from Home Depot for about 20 to 30 dollars. They also work a lot faster than using your little hosebib thing on your pump.

 

[FamilyGuy]

mhh... I have one that switches between skimmers and vacuum. If I switch it to that, then the vacuum will go into turbo and climb all the way out of the pool!!! I have another valve, but that switches from main drain to fountains... agh...

Can you unplug the hose from the vac and just lay the hose in the deep end?

 

[mvoorn]

mhh... I have one that switches between skimmers and vacuum. If I switch it to that, then the vacuum will go into turbo and climb all the way out of the pool!!! I have another valve, but that switches from main drain to fountains... agh...

Can you unplug the hose from the vac and just lay the hose in the deep end?

If I do that, the hose from the vac floats up and wiggles all over the place! =F

 

[mvoorn]

I'm adding a couple of pictures with my pool plumbing, see if I'm missing anything.

If I connect the hose, and turn off the skimmers, it means I have to have the valve on vacuum. Which makes vacuum go nuts and climbs up the walll and sucks in air. Plus, then water doesn't get pushed through the 'thingy' where I connect the hose, hence pool doesn't drain!! =( I can't see any other way to drain pool, other than renting/buying a submersible pump... which there are NONE available in my area (for rent, anyway)!!!!!
I called one of the local pool companies, to see if they drained pools, and the lady said I could try to fill pool for 4 hours so I could overflow for a few hours, most likely making the CYA from the bottom of the pool float up and drain out (because CYA is heavier, so it sinks)...... (??).. I get what she says about CYA being heavier than water, but why would overfilling pool to the point of overflow make the fresh water I'm pushing in go down pushing the CYA up and out... (Insert smiley scratching head here)....!!!
OY VEY... this is complicated (Logistically)... Husband dared say he could bucket-dump water when he got home!!!! HAHAHAHA I said, "You can get 6000 gallons of water out of the pool with a bucket?"... Oh!
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[jblizzle]

Where does the the pipe that says "suction" go that is in front of the pump? That may be to the floor which is currently closed ...

OH, just saw that is for the vaccum. How low is that hole in the pool? Just disconnect the Vac and you could lower the water to that level.

Otherwise, disconnect the hose from the vac, tie it to a pole to hold the hose on the floor, and then use the Vac line for suction. Just pay attention if air is pulled in once the water gets below the vac line.

 

[mvoorn]

Where does the the pipe that says "suction" go that is in front of the pump? That may be to the floor which is currently closed ...

OH, just saw that is for the vaccum. How low is that hole in the pool? Just disconnect the Vac and you could lower the water to that level.

Otherwise, disconnect the hose from the vac, tie it to a pole to hold the hose on the floor, and then use the Vac line for suction. Just pay attention if air is pulled in once the water gets below the vac line.

That is kinda what I'm doing... I have the vacuum stuck to the bottom so it won't climb out of the walls... but I HAVE to keep some skimmer suction on, otherwise the water doesn't get pushed out through the hose to drain out. Which is giving me a lot of air and bubbling (since skimmers are now below water level). Pump still gets plenty of water from the vacuum, so I think it'll survive... (Oh ggeeezzz... did I say "My pump will survive?!?)... but just hearing all the gurgle and fizzle, blup blup blub, is sending me into zanax-needing-territory!!!

 

[jblizzle]

Whether or not the skimmer is on should not have an affect on the water coming out of the hose.

 

[mvoorn]

OK, pool is getting drained to 50%. Any specific/special instructions on how to fill? Do I check chemicals once pool is full full? Or, do I check chemicals as the filling process happens? Focus first on bringing FC to shock level (according to FC/CYA chart)? Am I missing anything? Thanks!!

 

[jblizzle]

Fill it. Circulate for at least an hour. Test everything to find out the next step.

 

[mvoorn]

Got everything finally up and running! Here go my numbers:
FC: 5
CC: .5
PH: 8.0
TA: 170
CG: 130
CYA: 45

Should I SLAM and add Muriatic Acid to lower Ph-TA? And, can I add the calcium chloride at the same time?
Thanks!

 

[jblizzle]

Add acid. Circulate for 30 minutes or so. Verify the pH and start to add bleach to slam. No huge hurry for the calcium.

 

[mvoorn]

Done! How often can I retest water to see if chlorine levels are holding? and How often can I re-test after I add the calcium chloride? THANKS A LOT FOR THE HELP!

 

[jblizzle]

Check the chlorine level at least twice a day, not more often than every hour. CH can be checked after an hour.