Water circulation for colder weather

[skibomp]

I've been experimenting with my new pool extensively, accumulating a wealth of information along the way from TFP. Recently, my Hayward freeze protection feature was activated, resulting in a significant water loss in my spa due to the constant movement of the actuators. Each cycle caused a gradual reduction in spa water.

To address this issue, I opted to deactivate the freeze protection and set the actuators myself. When the pool pump was turned on, water circulated between the spa and the pool, allowing me better control. With the pump turned off (as there was no risk of freezing that night), I left the actuators in their set positions.

The next morning, however, I discovered that the spa was completely empty. I suspect that its elevated position led to drainage through the plumbing and open valves, ultimately flowing into the pool.

Is there a method to initiate proper flow for freeze protection without causing the spa to drain in this manner?

Or should I just set a schedule to run the pool and spa for a little bit each hour?

Return side, I had the Actuator split between the pool and the Spa Return


Suction side, I had the Actuator cracked so the pump could pull water through the pool and spa.

 

[mas985]

You have a few choices.

1) Adjust the spa suction valve so that it is open only a very small amount. You don't need much flow to prevent freezing. You want the system to return more water to the spa than it removes so there is a small amount of overflow back into the pool.

2) Use the built in freeze protection of controller to cycle through the valve settings. Any other valves other than the pool/spa valves can be left in the open position.

Keep in mind that the above techniques suffer from one major flaw. They require electricity to be effective. Many in TX can attest to how that reliance caused freeze damage. So you want a backup plan.

A tarp over the equipment can help hold in the heat generated from the pump and water so if you did lose electricity, it could hold temps for several hours under moderate freeze conditions. For very hard freezes of more than 10 hours, you would probably be better off draining the pad equipment and just leaving it off.

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

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