Few days of below freezing temp. What to do?

[ajw22]

So I guess I'll be a guinea pig for what happens when non-winterized pool equipment is subject to 20 degree or lower temps for almost 24 hours. When we lost power at 5 am Monday morning, I didn't think it would be out for 22 hours, so this dummy didn't think to go out and drain the pumps and filter. When the power came back on at 3 am today, I thought o Crud, I need to make sure the pumps aren't frozen!!! Too late. And the system had been trying to turn them on for the 5 minutes or so while I got dressed warmly enough to go out (10 degrees in Cypress, TX). Sure enough both pump baskets are solid blocks of ice, and part of the lid lock rings had split in half as if someone had sliced through it (complete circle broken off). So I've got the breakers off, and am going to wait until we get warmer temps later today and then try to pour warm water over the baskets to see if I can get the ice melted enough to pull any big chunks out. Then I'll try to fire up the pumps and pray for circulation.

Open for any other tips you all might have for recovering from bad owner preparation.

I don’t know why you need to rush out and pour hot water on stuff. Your pool is shutdown and dormant. Any damage has been done. Let things settle down and warm up. There is no rush. Once things get back to normal and melt you can assess the damage and get things running.

 

[Slpoolowner]

Nope. I didn’t know I had to, oh no

Typically the pump will have a plug in the basket area. Otherwise, I hope you took the pump basket lid off and most water will drain.
There are only two plugs on the Intelliflo
Did you remove the drain plug from the filter?

 

[Donldson]

I don’t know why you need to rush out and pour hot water on stuff. Your pool is shutdown and dormant. Any damage has been done.

Agreed. Freeze/thaw cycles are what causes damage, the expansion and contraction of ice. Attempting to thaw things out before the weather turns will potentially lead to more damage.

 

[mknauss]

Nope. I didn’t know I had to, oh no

Whats done is done. The small pump is most likely a booster pump for your cleaner, right? Might be the time to get a robot if that is damaged. The filter, you do not say what you have, but will see when things thaw what damage was done.

 

[Slpoolowner]

Thanks man. Always appreciate your help. I will turn things on once temps go above 50 or so.

Whats done is done. The small pump is most likely a booster pump for your cleaner, right? Might be the time to get a robot if that is damaged. The filter, you do not say what you have, but will see when things thaw what damage was done.

 

[PaigeMark]

Thanks man. Always appreciate your help. I will turn things on once temps go above 50 or so.

You didn’t mention putting torn up pool noodles or an empty plastic bottle in your skimmers so I thought I’d mention it. Seems to be helping in my pool.

 

[gocubs418]

Still holding strong, 36 mins on, 36 mins off.

Pump is warmer than my house currently

 

[HeyEng]

So I guess I'll be a guinea pig for what happens when non-winterized pool equipment is subject to 20 degree or lower temps for almost 24 hours. When we lost power at 5 am Monday morning, I didn't think it would be out for 22 hours, so this dummy didn't think to go out and drain the pumps and filter. When the power came back on at 3 am today, I thought o Crud, I need to make sure the pumps aren't frozen!!! Too late. And the system had been trying to turn them on for the 5 minutes or so while I got dressed warmly enough to go out (10 degrees in Cypress, TX). Sure enough both pump baskets are solid blocks of ice, and part of the lid lock rings had split in half as if someone had sliced through it (complete circle broken off). So I've got the breakers off, and am going to wait until we get warmer temps later today and then try to pour warm water over the baskets to see if I can get the ice melted enough to pull any big chunks out. Then I'll try to fire up the pumps and pray for circulation.

Open for any other tips you all might have for recovering from bad owner preparation.

Ugh...I am so sorry to hear this news. Hopefully all will be OK when all is said and done.

 

[Bketchum5]

Draining pumps and filters. Opening plugs. Don't forget the lines though.... I wouldn't want to see the need for busting up concrete to find burst pipes. Up here that is my every year worry.

This is my concern too. Lost power and after getting my generator going went to drain equipment and water was already slushing up/freezing Guess we won’t know for a week

 

[Poolmama!]

I wish to apologize to all in the midst of this. We all saw the weather forecast. Mine in NY was just as bad originally. And then 3 days before, they changed their minds and declared it would be 25 degrees warmer at freezing levels here and not sub-sub freezing I’ve been anxiously awaiting your weather to lighten up as well. For those in the thick of things right now, the usually overhyped future weather report somehow not only lived up to the hype but got worse in some areas.

looking back I don’t know how we could have gotten hundreds of members to learn how to do closings and pipe blowouts on the fly with a few days warning. For every person posting there are many more simply reading/lurking. People would have done things incomplete or wrong and created totally new problems. I don’t know how we could have known, or what we could have done better, but my heart is with all y’all.

Very kind sentiment. Having one step by step guide in one place would have been helpful. I've seen quite a few local pool companies putting out 'guides', but none of them have 'all' the steps...you pick up good tidbits from all of them. Fortunately we're empty nesters so not trying to take care of kids during rolling blackouts or no power/water/gas combos. I helped a couple of neighbors, but all the equipment is a little different and different brands. Example...we don't have a spa...when we flipped the breaker on friend's pool it was in Spa mode, not pool. Opened the main pump and water came rolling out of it as the spa was now draining out the main pump. Put the pump back together, closed the pressure valve on the filter, turned the breaker back on and it switched back to pool mode...carry on. Later we saw a video where someone showed how to manually change it with a switch on the back. Another neighbor has a DE filter...I know nothing about those and he didn't either. Since he's doing his own maintenance with the help of Leslie's, I strongly encouraged him to check out this site...I hope he does.

And I don't think I've seen one guide/video yet that says anything about putting something in the skimmer to protect it from freeze damage. The people giving advice down here have mostly never done this before, either, I suspect. Several telling people to use their heaters, as well. Who knows when we'll be able to get any repairs for any damage (how do we even test for damage to the pool itself?). Pool builders are so far behind in building new pools, and I'm sure they won't want to divert any resources for repair work.

Unfortunately what this really showed is how many people have no idea how their pool equipment works as they have pool service companies who couldn't get to everyone to shut stuff down. I've referred so many neighbors here, and I think mostly they haven't done it. I get it...it takes a lot of time to sift through threads and files to find info, and they'll all got kids and pets and jobs and pandemic, etc, etc. Definitely bit some people in the rear this go around. The only thing we didn't do that we should have...I think...was get the water level below the skimmer before shutting it all down. The ice was already about 2 inches thick yesterday when we broke up some on the tanning ledge hoping to get a little solar energy to warm it a bit. Not optimistic that we'll even able to break it today.

Anyway...lots of lessons learned.

 

[Adamphotoman]

We keep a few jugs of RV antifreeze around for the lines. However, to do them right one needs to lower below the returns then blow them out. Most of the winterizing needs power though and it needs to be done before freeze up. Then plug the returns and pour in antifreeze. Good luck people.I really feel for you folks. You are not prepared for a once in 30 year weather system like this.

 

[Newdude]

Having one step by step guide in one place would have been helpful

Unlike the chemistry which has been proven to a one size fits all, the unique pools and weather have been a whole different challenge. Us northerners go through this all the time, but none of us, not even the locals watching it in person foresaw the blackouts. We expected some electricity disruptions but not mass shut offs and frequently for long periods.
We kept everybody’s pools from freezing with movement but when the movement stopped and the water was well below freezing, Mother Nature swooped in and caught up REAL quick.

Im still rather new here in the grand scheme of things but TFP has been around and many members weren’t even alive the last time this happened, much less knew what to expect. But like you said, we’ve learned. We grew leaps and bounds through this and a few years from now, when something similar hits Arizona, we’ll have a boatload of experts that were minted in fire.

 

[Rodex]

I also dug through the forum posts to hobble together a solution that hopefully worked. That being said, I’m eternally grateful for the info being on here. My wife found a Leslie’s step by step guide that along with the info here, seemed to be a good solution.

I’ve seen some other posts talking about breaking up the ice on the pool water surface - is that necessary? Seems like the ice would expand up, not out, up being the path of lest resistance. But I deal in invisible signals and not real world mechanicery so I’m learning in the fly here .

 

[mknauss]

when something similar hits Arizona

WHAT?!?! If that happens I am heading to Puerto Vallarta!!

 

[ajw22]

Problem with trying to create a step-by-step guide is there are so many different types of pools, equipment, plumbing, etc. There is no one size fits all. So you as the pool owner needs to know your situation and find the advice that fits.

We ask for everyone to have a detailed description of their pool and equipment in their signature to help us give the best advice. Some do and many don't. Especially the newcomers with a problem arriving in a panic.

Maybe someday @Leebo will get the TFP AI advice engine working that can give the perfect advice for every situation. Until then we answer problems with the best knowledge we have.

We have plenty of advice for pool winterization at...

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Closing an In Ground Pool

Winterizing a pool is essential for keeping your in-ground pool protected during cold-weather months. This Pool Repair guide will show you how to do it.

www.troublefreepool.com

Closing (Winterizing) Your Above Ground Pool

Closing an above ground pool at season’s end should be a fast and worry-free process. Learn the basics of above ground pool winterization in easy steps.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[tclayton10]

I don’t know why you need to rush out and pour hot water on stuff. Your pool is shutdown and dormant. Any damage has been done. Let things settle down and warm up. There is no rush. Once things get back to normal and melt you can assess the damage and get things running.

And that's the exact tip I was looking for! Should I try to get the ice out of the volutes as quickly as possible, or just let them thaw naturally? I plan to go out a little later this afternoon to pull the drain plugs on the pumps and filter unless you all think I'm better off just waiting at this point. Both lids are off, and there is damage to both them and the tabs at the top of the volute, so I'm expecting to replace at least both of those. Pumps are 15 years old and have never needed anything other than the bearings and gaskets replaced, so I'd say I've been lucky so far.

 

[Newdude]

WHAT?!?! If that happens I am heading to Puerto Vallarta!!

I just can’t wait for all our new experts to chime in. ‘Well when my pool in south Texas froze over I did XYZ’

*record scratch*. Wait. Your WHAT did WHAT, WHERE ????!?!!!!

 

[ajw22]

And that's the exact tip I was looking for! Should I try to get the ice out of the volutes as quickly as possible, or just let them thaw naturally? I plan to go out a little later this afternoon to pull the drain plugs on the pumps and filter unless you all think I'm better off just waiting at this point. Both lids are off, and there is damage to both them and the tabs at the top of the volute, so I'm expecting to replace at least both of those. Pumps are 15 years old and have never needed anything other than the bearings and gaskets replaced, so I'd say I've been lucky so far.

People feel they must do something to "fix it". To use a Texas analogy, if it makes you feel better to lock the barn after the horse is out then go do it. Clearing the ice after it has done whatever damage will not fix the equipment. Once the ice has frozen the damage is likely done. The ice sitting there will not do further damage.

You might as well sit inside, stay warm, and see what you have after the thaw. The thaw will arrive.

 

[mjpohl]

You didn’t mention putting torn up pool noodles or an empty plastic bottle in your skimmers so I thought I’d mention it. Seems to be helping in my pool.

I believe my 2 skimmers each with a half full plastic bottle of RV anti freeze has kept my skimmers from freezing over. Some of the best and most unique advice I got during all this.

 

[tclayton10]

People feel they must do something to "fix it". To use a Texas analogy, if it makes you feel better to lock the barn after the horse is out then go do it. Clearing the ice after it has done whatever damage will not fix the equipment. Once the ice has frozen the damage is likely done. The ice sitting there will not do further damage.

You might as well sit inside, stay warm, and see what you have after the thaw. The thaw will arrive.

Appreciate it. Was just trying to see if I could get a jump on identifying the issues, but yeah, given that we've got another freeze coming tomorrow night, I'll just wait til the thaw starts this weekend.