Draining and Refilling Pool to control CH

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ellsian

ellsian

0
Jun 26, 2014
231
Peoria, AZ
Hey all, so it's been 4 years since my pool was constructed and despite my best efforts to try to control the CH levels through an at home water softener and pool chemistry, the levels just kept rising and rising year after year. I'm probably close to or over 1k CH by now, and I can see little calcium flakes floating in the water. What a bummer. Curse Arizona and your hard water and super hot climate! :mad:

So anyways, I've been looking into ways to fix this by replacing the water. Osmosis companies wanted at least 800+ dollars to come work on my 20k+ gallon pool. Too much! I read up on here about using a sump pump to drain the deep end while filling the shallow end with hose water. I think I'm going to try this technique! My only problem is my sewer clean out is in the very front of the house, probably a good 100+ feet away from my pool.
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So I have no good drain out options nearby. Normally I've been backwashing my sandfilter into a 12x 50 ft side space next to my home and it's been no issue. But to drain huge percentages of water I think I'll need to get to an actual drain.

I've heard that instead of using the sewer clean out, I could use a sink or bathtub inside the house. Does this sound reasonable to you guys? My kitchen sink is only about 25-30 feet away from the pool.

I'm about to purchase:

and this hose, since it looks very light for me to carry, being the weakling that I am:

Amazon.com : 75 ft Garden Hose - Upgraded Expandable Water Hose Kit with 3/4 Solid Brass Connectors Fittings, Valve, 8 Pattern Spray Nozzle, Durable Latex Core - New Expanding Flexible Gardening Hose : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : 75 ft Garden Hose - Upgraded Expandable Water Hose Kit with 3/4 Solid Brass Connectors Fittings, Valve, 8 Pattern Spray Nozzle, Durable Latex Core - New Expanding Flexible Gardening Hose : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com

Thoughts, concerns? Anything else I should buy or try?
 
Get the 1/2 hp sump pump.

That hose will not work. Takes pressure to expand it. You will not have the pump for that.

A 100 foot run will make this process pretty difficult. I am not keen on you using an indoor drain. Any issues and you have a flood.

Need to find a better drain spot before you jump in to this.
 
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mknauss said:
Get the 1/2 hp sump pump.

That hose will not work. Takes pressure to expand it. You will not have the pump for that.

A 100 foot run will make this process pretty difficult. I am not keen on you using an indoor drain. Any issues and you have a flood.

Need to find a better drain spot before you jump in to this.
Click to expand...
Good to know, nixing the hose then. I'll get a more traditional hose.

I'm really unsure where else I can drain to. I have a view fence that backs up to a small walking trail and a large wash, but I'm pretty sure the HOA will kill me if they see me draining to out there. Other than that I have that 12x50+ft outdoor space that I normally backwash at right next to the house, but I don't think I could realistically put 10,000 gallons or more there without major issue. I suppose I could get a 100+ ft hose? Or only drain to the house while I'm awake and able to monitor it?
 
If you plan to do the no drain water exchange, once you start, you do not stop. As your CH is that high, you really want to do a full drain. Too bad you did not attack this a month ago, it would have been far easier.

You have to get the largest diameter hose you can. 3/4" minimum. They will be heavy, and expensive.

Other option is to drain and then refill. Has risk with it so hot.
 
mknauss said:
If you plan to do the no drain water exchange, once you start, you do not stop. As your CH is that high, you really want to do a full drain. Too bad you did not attack this a month ago, it would have been far easier.

You have to get the largest diameter hose you can. 3/4" minimum. They will be heavy, and expensive.

Other option is to drain and then refill. Has risk with it so hot.
Click to expand...
So a month earlier would have been easier because of the cooler weather -- is this because of concerns with damaging the pebble sheen plaster with the heat right now? In that case, I suppose I could just push it off until early fall.

I didn't realize I couldn't stop the process if I was going the water exchange route. Hmm. That does cause issues as I wouldn't feel comfortable draining to the kitchen while not monitoring it at night time.

I guess my best bet is just to wait for cooler weather and then do a full drain (into the kitchen while we're awake) over a number of days, and then just a full refill at that time?
 
Question, as long as I keep the plaster wet with a good spraying every 2-3 hrs or so, wouldn't that protect it from the sun while I drain and then refill? Kind of like how we had to do when the plaster/gunite was first constructed? That way I could get it done during the summer?
 
It is the heat and direct sun on the plaster can make it crack and spall off the wall. Cooler weather helps a lot.

When you do a drain and refill, you rent a pump from Home Depot. They have them that will pump out your pool in a few hours. They provide you hoses.

You can try keeping the plaster wet. But not every few hours, it is constantly.

Process would be to rent the pump in the afternoon and start the drain about 3pm. Get it drained and then start filling. Depends on your water flow from your hose bibs how long it will take to fill.
 
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mknauss said:
It is the heat and direct sun on the plaster can make it crack and spall off the wall. Cooler weather helps a lot.

When you do a drain and refill, you rent a pump from Home Depot. They have them that will pump out your pool in a few hours. They provide you hoses.

You can try keeping the plaster wet. But not every few hours, it is constantly.

Process would be to rent the pump in the afternoon and start the drain about 3pm. Get it drained and then start filling. Depends on your water flow from your hose bibs how long it will take to fill.
Click to expand...
Okay thank you very much. I've never rented a pump before (didnt know that was a thing, cool) , so I'll have to look into that and see if they have 100+ft hoses to make it to the sewer clean out.
 
The gas powered one may be needed with 100' of their discharge line. Ask them.

You do not want to overwhelm your sewer cleanout. I assume they do not allow you to just drain to the street.
 
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If you can wait until fall, I would really recommend doing that. I am also about 100'+ from my sewer cleanout and drain my pool every 2-3 years due to high CH. I bought an inexpensive 1/3 HP submersible electric pump from Harbor Freight (maybe 7-8 years ago not sure) that has done me well. I use it to drain both my pool and my detached above ground spa.

To the pump I hook up two 75' garden hoses - just connect them together - and drag them out to the cleanout. The benefits of the 1/3 HP pump is that is doesn't pump so much volume as to overwhelm the cleanout. The downside is it takes a while...but it will be cold out and you won't want to swim anyway :)

Even though the 1/3 HP pump doesn't move a lot of water volume, I still wouldn't risk draining inside the house. Agree with Marty on that. There's a MUCH higher plaster risk of draining this time of year. The drain-in-place option sounds like it could work, but unless you know what your flow rates are in and out, it's hard to tell when you've replaced all of your water. And with CH > 1000 you need to replace all of your water.
 
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