Broke pipe, can't get the water to stop?!?!

[shell01]

I'm new here and before yesterday knew absolutely nothing about pools other than that you swim in them.

Created a little mess at my mom's house, hit a pipe with a lawn mower. Mom's ex used to be in charge of all things pool so neither of us know the inner workings of it.

Found the break (at the red square in the pic below), but can't seem to get the water to stop flowing! I've turned off the pump, turned off the auto-fill, attempted to block the main drains (covered with plastic held down with sand bags.) I've also closed a little cover thingy in the skimmer. Despite all of these steps, water continues to flow through the broken pipe.

I'm fairly confident I can do the PVC work if I can get the water to stop flowing. Any one know what I am missing here? Thank you!

 

[Texas Splash]

So the filter housing is empty as well? Also, perhaps the water is flowing backwards from the return jets? Did you try covering those perhaps?

 

[jblizzle]

Water is definitely coming backwards from the return jets and will continue to do so until the water level in the pool is lower than the damaged pipe.

- - - Updated - - -

I would drain down the pool level until the water stops so your can get the plumbing fixed ... at least then you will control where you drain the water to.

 

[shell01]

Filter housing is empty, water is definitely flowing from "right to left" in that picture.

Will need to figure out how to drain the pool without using the pump, or cover the return jets.

Thanks for the quick answers!

 

[Texas Splash]

Good luck. Not how you wanted to start your day I'm sure, but hope all goes well and quickly.

 

[Steve #1]

No need to drain the pool. The returns should have an eye ball thing (that may not be the technical term) on them. They should screw off. You can get pvc plugs that will screw in to the return lines at the hardware store for less than a buck each.

 

[shell01]

Sweet! THanks for the tip. Off to the hardware store (again...)

 

[jblizzle]

That seems like more effort to me than draining a few inches ... but either way will work.
I just know that my eyeballs are very difficult to remove.

 

[Richard320]

Just whittle down a carrot or a potato and ram it in the holes to stop the flow.

 

[Texas Splash]

Vegetables? We are the "think green" TFP. Then snack when you're finished working.

 

[kimkats]

LOL I would rather use a veggie for the pool than eating LOL But that is just me!

Kim

 

[shell01]

Almost There!

Removing the "eyeballs" was no problem, and I was able to plug them with the PVC caps. The flow was much reduced but still coming through. I realized one of the caps didn't fit well; solved that problem by using the ring that used to hold the eyeball in to hold a plastic bag...perfecto! Added a plastic bag to the skimmer drain as well (held in place by a brick) and was FINALLY able to stop the flow and empty the trench of water.

The PVC is now cut, and after one more trip to the hardware store tomorrow I should have the pipes repaired.

Once the repairs are complete, is there a particular order I need to restart things? I assume I'll need to unplug the return jets, skimmer, and main drains first. But is there a certain order to restarting the pump, filter, etc?

 

[jblizzle]

There are no steps besides removing all the plugs and turning the pump on. You will need to release the air from the top of the filter when you start the pump.