Freezing weather

[Waiawa]

So we are having some freezing weather here in TX, and our electricity has been out for almost 2hrs.
is there something I can do to prevent the pipes from freezing?
Let me have your Hot tips!

 

[JJ_Tex]

Crud... Here is my contingency plan if we lose power for too long.

1. Shut off the breaker so the pump cannot come back on
2. Undo the bottom drain plugs on all equipment (heater, pump, filter, etc.)
3. Open up all valves and the pressure release on your filter to give ice a place to expand
4. Cover the equipment with a tarp

Its a tough call to know when to pull the trigger on the above. Hopefully it comes on soon and you dont have to worry about it, but I would watch it closely and pull the trigger if you start seeing ice forming. Do you have a propane heater that you can put by the equipment pad and buy yourself a bit of time?

 

[Leebo]

Get several blankets over the equipment ASAP. Tomorrow if power hasn’t been restored I’d highly suggest draining your pump, filter, and other equipment. Don’t worry so much about pipes underground….worry about your equipment first.

 

[Waiawa]

Thank you!
I do have a cover over the entire equipment, but it’s just one of those green covers for plants.
Electric company says it should be back on around 11:00 tonight.
I don’t have any heaters...guess I should get one.

 

[Leebo]

I wouldn’t try to use something that’s got any sort of flames involved. Too much of a fire hazard. Odds say (if you’ve got power) an old fashioned light 100 watt bulb or maybe a heat lamp will produce enough heat. That said, doesn’t do you much good for now with no power.

 

[jimbethesda]

I’m in the same boat! Forecast lows tonight right around 32. Forecasted low on Monday is 7!!

 

[Waiawa]

I went to 2 grocery stores, Lowes, Home Depot, Target and 2 WalMarts...none of them had a single can of Coleman propane tank...those small 2lb green ones. The shelves were cleared out, only empty boxes...sheesh!
Good thing is electricity just came on about 30 minutes ago.
Going to see if I can get one of those moving blue blankets around the filter and heater tomorrow, and something for the pump.

Would covering it like a tent be good, or should I wrap the equipment?
I'm thinking the equipment would need to breath some...I am using one of those green plant covers now, but it's kine of thin.
Monday is going to be the worse day for us here...better get something in place by then!
Thank you for the advice/suggestions!

 

[Leebo]

Having the power on is a major win for sure. Now let’s plan on it happening again and get you ready.

Using a tarp and building a “tent” around the equipment would be a major help. This will block any wind and rain plus help keep some heat inside. Assuming you’ve got power, place a heat lamp or incandescent bulb under that tarp. This will help block the wind plus provide small amounts of heat to your equipment. This plus keeping your equipment running on high should help while you have power.

If it goes out again be prepared to pull any plugs in the equipment to drain all the water. Know how to drain everything. Don’t worry so much about the plumbing if the power goes out, focus on the equipment. Once everything is drained then go ahead and wrap the pump with a blanket and such to give extra warmth.

 

[dkellerd]

I’m in Oklahoma and will have below freezing temps for the next 5 days. My pool is open, VS pump running at 2650rpm over night...and this morning there is a layer of ice on my pool. This same thing happened yesterday and we removed all ice from the water...but it’s back. There is 15” of snow forecasted for tomorrow. I’m leaning towards closing my pool today...so I need to drain my sand filter and my pump, right? Do I need to remove the ice and drain pool below the returns? And also blow out water from returns?
Thanks!

 

[jimbethesda]

Having the power on is a major win for sure. Now let’s plan on it happening again and get you ready.

Using a tarp and building a “tent” around the equipment would be a major help. This will block any wind and rain plus help keep some heat inside. Assuming you’ve got power, place a heat lamp or incandescent bulb under that tarp. This will help block the wind plus provide small amounts of heat to your equipment. This plus keeping your equipment running on high should help while you have power.

If it goes out again be prepared to pull any plugs in the equipment to drain all the water. Know how to drain everything. Don’t worry so much about the plumbing if the power goes out, focus on the equipment. Once everything is drained then go ahead and wrap the pump with a blanket and such to give extra warmth.

My power is back on, but I’m fully anticipating it going off again on Sunday/Monday. Forecast for 5 inches of snow a high temp of 19 and a low of 7! So...a few questions.

If the power is on, I think I’ll be fine. I’ll just keep water flowing. If it goes out, you say to drain water from the equipment. How do I do that? When I remove the top part of my pump to empty the basket, the water goes glug-glug and drains. Is that what I do? Then what about my filter? How do I drain from that? Anything else to drain and/or valves to shut.

Thanks! Our forecasted high temperature on Monday is the lowest since records were kept staring in 1890!!! We are not really set up for this kind of weather.

 

[JJ_Tex]

If it goes out, you say to drain water from the equipment. How do I do that? When I remove the top part of my pump to empty the basket, the water goes glug-glug and drains. Is that what I do? Then what about my filter? How do I drain from that? Anything else to drain and/or valves to shut.

There are actual drain plugs that you unscrew at the bottom of your equipment. The Intelliflow looks like tan colored thumb screws, similar to my heater plugs. My filter has a larger black colored plug at the bottom front that will need pliers to remove. I would figure out how to do all of that now before you need to.

Also, no valves to shut, in fact open all of them including the pressure relief valve on the filter. You want to give any remaining water in your equipment/pipes as much freedom to move around and expand as it freezes so it doesnt break anything.

 

[jimbethesda]

There are actual drain plugs that you unscrew at the bottom of your equipment. The Intelliflow looks like tan colored thumb screws, similar to my heater plugs. My filter has a larger black colored plug at the bottom front that will need pliers to remove. I would figure out how to do all of that now before you need to.

Also, no valves to shut, in fact open all of them including the pressure relief valve on the filter. You want to give any remaining water in your equipment/pipes as much freedom to move around and expand as it freezes so it doesnt break anything.

Thanks. How about the heater?

 

[JJ_Tex]

My heater plug is similar to the pump plug, but black and just under the input/output pipes.

Here is the actual drain plug on the heater:

Amazon.com: Pentair U78-920P Drain Plug for Pool Plumb System,Black: Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com: Pentair U78-920P Drain Plug for Pool Plumb System,Black: Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

And the pump:

071131 - WhisperFlo/IntelliFlo Drain Plug - Pentair

This is a Pentair Replacement Pump Drain Plug for the WhisperFlo and IntelliFlo pool pumps. This drain plug is also used in the SuperFlo pumps.

www.poolweb.com

 

[jimbethesda]

My heater plug is similar to the pump plug, but black and just under the input/output pipes.

Here is the actual drain plug on the heater:

Amazon.com: Pentair U78-920P Drain Plug for Pool Plumb System,Black: Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com: Pentair U78-920P Drain Plug for Pool Plumb System,Black: Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

And the pump:

071131 - WhisperFlo/IntelliFlo Drain Plug - Pentair

This is a Pentair Replacement Pump Drain Plug for the WhisperFlo and IntelliFlo pool pumps. This drain plug is also used in the SuperFlo pumps.

www.poolweb.com

I’ve located all my drain plugs. Thanks again.

 

[Waiawa]

Jimbethesda - I just ordered 12' of this insulating tubing with the slit for easy on/off. I still have my cover on keeping all the PVC pipes out of the view of the sky.
And according to Marks post and experience, I don't think freezing will happen. I'm placing a bottle of water under the tarp to see if it freezes...hopefully not.

Here's additional info from Marks post back in 2018...very informative for sure.

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...

www.troublefreepool.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Waiawa]

You gottah love the LOVE this forum has!
You guys jumped on this ASAP to help us, which are not use to having this type of weather...or even having a pool for the first winter.

Thank you very much!

 

[jimbethesda]

You gottah love the LOVE this forum has!
You guys jumped on this ASAP to help us, which are not use to having this type of weather...or even having a pool for the first winter.

Thank you very much!

I second that!!!

 

[HeyEng]

I am a little north of you in OKC and it's a warm and balmy 14 degrees right now. All has been good at the equipment pad with the two heat lamps and chicken coop warmer...but alas, the pool water temp is now at 34 degrees. Seeing how it's going to get far colder in the next few days (single digits and as low as -10 or -15?!?) there is no way the pool water is going to stay above freezing. The pool was put in nearly 14 years ago and has never been winterized....but guess that is going to change today.

 

[PaigeMark]

I am a little north of you in OKC and it's a warm and balmy 14 degrees right now. All has been good at the equipment pad with the two heat lamps and chicken coop warmer...but alas, the pool water temp is now at 34 degrees. Seeing how it's going to get far colder in the next few days (single digits and as low as -10 or -15?!?) there is no way the pool water is going to stay above freezing. The pool was put in nearly 14 years ago and has never been winterized....but guess that is going to change today.

I’m just NE of you and wondering the same. Right now, everything is covered and running fine. I’m ready to drain and cover everything if I need to do so. At what point should I just throw in the towel and go ahead and drain it even if I have power? Is the decision directly tied to pool water temperature? Thx for all of the help. I’ve been lurking and learning so much. Just a caution for you all...please be careful going to and from your equipment pad. My husband took a nasty fall at 2am yesterday when we had to go out to restart a pump. He’s headed to the doctor today to check for broken ribs. The pool freezing is just not worth getting hurt. (end of Mom speech)

 

[dianedebuda]

I'm another cryophobic (Fear of Cold) just south of Austin. I have a bonus card though: my pool developed a leak somewhere about a month ago & I'm having to add 1-1/2" of water every day so that the level doesn't drop below the skimmer. So if I can't add water for a couple of days, it's gonna be a problem. Guess I'll see if I can pull only from the main ok. If so, then I have to decide if I want to gamble on the electric staying on; if not, gonna have to drain equip pad. I spent the whole summer putting it together, so I'm intimately familiar with it.

We're all in the same boat. On the bright side, did you see that the Austin forecast is 70° for the following Sunday, 2/21?