New Owner with pool in DFW freeze

[Nic3456]

So my first winter with a pool and its freezing here in Dallas! I did not close the pool but have a freeze guard. However, everything I read talks about how those are good for nights where you're going to have 8-10 hrs below freeze. Its currently 26 and supposed to get as low as 15 and not above freezing for ~3 days (already below freezing for 16-24 hours). Do I need to do anything other than making sure the pump is running? I hate to even ask, but what do I do should I lose power?

In ground chlorine gunite pool and I use a Polaris 360 (no booster)

Thanks!!

 

[woodyp]

A small generator helps me sleep better at night. Remember 2 years ago when it didn't rise above freezing for 4 days straight and got down to like 20? Keep it circulating and you're golden.

 

[jblizzle]

If you do not have a generator and lose power, then you should immediately drain the pump and filter to try to prevent freeze damage to the pipes. Putting a tarp over the equipment could help hold in some of the heat as well.

 

[vickp85]

So.I had the worst case scenario happen.to me today and now I don't know what to.do help!! I have freeze guard and lost power at 4 am and did not come on until now. I did turn off the breaker for the pool equipment. What.should I do since temperature are staying in the 20s turn on now or wait until.temperature to rise again and avoid damages to.the pipes. First time this happen to me and dont know wat to.do.

Please guide.

 

[jblizzle]

Turn the pump on and if water is flowing you are fine as the pipes are not frozen solid.
IF they did happen to freeze, turning on the pump will not cause any more damage ... just be sure there is some water movement. If there is no water movement, then you should not run the pump and report back.

 

[vickp85]

Thank you for the quick reply and it worked. Water is flowing perfectly seems like the pump and filter are fine and there is no.damage that I.can see.

This is the first.time in 3 years that we actually lost electricity, and for future knowledge what should I do.if the same incident happens?? Should I not turn off the breaker?

Thanks for the help

 

[bk406]

for future knowledge what should I do.

Not to be flip (may just a little ). Close the pool from november to march

 

[jblizzle]

Thank you for the quick reply and it worked. Water is flowing perfectly seems like the pump and filter are fine and there is no.damage that I.can see.

This is the first.time in 3 years that we actually lost electricity, and for future knowledge what should I do.if the same incident happens?? Should I not turn off the breaker?

Thanks for the help

See my post above:

If you do not have a generator and lose power, then you should immediately drain the pump and filter to try to prevent freeze damage to the pipes. Putting a tarp over the equipment could help hold in some of the heat as well.

 

[Isaac-1]

In a place like the DFW area where cold also tends to mean windy, a lot of the question of how much effort do you need to do to prevent freezing is going to depend on the location of your equipment and how exposed it is to the north wind. If it is shielded from the wind and you have electricity simply putting a tarp over it and a work light with a 60+ watt traditional incandescent turn on will likely provide enough heat to keep everything above freezing, of course it would also help to run the pump at least at night when there are colder temperatures. It is extremely rare to have the ground freeze in our part of the country to any significant depth (more than 4 or 5 inches), so your underground pipes should always be safe, except perhaps for a storm of the century situation.

Ike

 

[Safetybob]

Since I am just a tad bit north of you, I agree with Ike, keep a tarp and a light ready to go AND make sure you save up and have a generator ready to go just incase. It doesn't take that much energy for a pool pump but you will need to get a good sized one for the 220/240VAC for your pump. Hint: get a big one so you can run most of the house incase a tornado or ice storm takes out the power to your house.

One last note, if you have the capability, a tri-fuel generator is nice to have. For extended operation, using natural gas or LP is much easier than lugging around 5 gallon jugs of gas around. Hope everything is returning to normal down there, I know that was a terrible mess there this weekend.

Bob E.

 

[mas985]

I would also caution you against turning on a pump that might be frozen or have any ice within the pump chamber. That could tear up the impeller, diffuser and/or seal.

 

[Isaac-1]

To follow up on the generator topic, any generator beats no generator in an emergency, even a small 3500 watt portable generator can run a number of lights, keep things frozen in the freezer, and in this case easily handle a 100 watt work light or two under a tarp with your pool equipment. You are not after all trying keep it toasty warm, your just trying to keep it from freezing. For that matter a tiny 850 or 900 watt generator can go a long way toward providing light, entertainment, phone charging, etc. and the cheaper ones sell for only about $100. Of course this a a case of you get what you pay for, and most of these small cheap consumer generators should be considered disposable after a single major power event. It really is cheap insurance when you consider Amazon will deliver a no name made in China 1,500 watt 4 stroke (no oil mixing with gasoline) generator to your door for just udner $200, or a 3500 watt one powered by a good consumer grade honda engine for just under $400. Or if money is no object you can buy a nice little 8,500 watt Kohler home standby that runs on natural gas or propane for only about $3,300

Ike