Freeze protection on plumbing with a retaining wall

[offtheclock]

Back side of my pool has a retaining wall with gravel back fill. This is the skimmer side. There is about 3 ft of pipe that goes through the back fill under the deck before it is buried in concrete in the footer. Will be below freezing for two days with a low of 12 but negative wind shields. Pool is covered and equipment is winterized. I did not blow out plumbing. Any worries?

 

[ajw22]

Equipment does not feel wind chill temperatures.

It would have been better if you had blown out your skimmer line down to the frost level.

Read The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection to decide.

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[offtheclock]

Yea it will be borderline. I have gizmos in the skimmers. Wonder if it would be better to remove them so that water can transfer to the pipes. The pool temp was in the 50s last week when I closed. Also if I feel the need can I put the plugs back in the equipment and run the pump 24/7 with the cover on?

Here are some more pics

 

[offtheclock]

So all the talk of a deep freeze hitting most of the US had me thinking about the insulation of buried pipes. Does anyone know what insulates better gravel or dirt? I have been reading about how it has to do with the moisture level but can not find any solid info. Beginning to think that gravel would insulate better as it would not retain any moisture and would have better heat retention. Anyone have solid info?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

So all the talk of a deep freeze hitting most of the US had me thinking about the insulation of buried pipes. Does anyone know what insulates better gravel or dirt? I have been reading about how it has to do with the moisture level but can not find any solid info. Beginning to think that gravel would insulate better as it would not retain any moisture and would have better heat retention. Anyone have solid info?

What is the R-value for earth, dirt, soil, backfill, or earth berms?