Winterizing Above ground pool with 2 returns (1 high-1 low)

Mdragger88 · Oct 6, 2019

All closing advice states to drain below return but that’s not practical in my case so can i just screw a plug in the bottom return? Also thinking of getting a skimmer plate. Pros & cons? Do most people remove their wedding cake steps? They r heavy & huge.. thinking of removing the handle & leaving them in. Just trying to get a plan together- I’m still swimming! I’ve got a bit before I close. Thanks!

Newdude · Oct 6, 2019

The only reason to drain below returns is to be able to blow them out. With easy access to your plumbing being ABG, you can cap/plug them and vac out any water. Skimmer plates work well for any pool.

Your stairs will be fine if you dont freeze for a long time. We get a 12-18 inch block of ice in the pool that dosnt go away most winters for a month or two. That *can* damage the top of the stairs. It wont every year, but its a gamble. If you only freeze for a few days here and there, it wont matter if you leave them in. Your stairs are also hollow and weighted down with something. If you can remove the bricks/sandbags the stairs will float and then be able to drain by rotating them so the water can dump out all the holes. After that they are suprisigly light for removal. Some peoples stairs are filled directly with sand so they cant remove the weight without making a mess in the pool.

Mdragger88 · Oct 6, 2019

Newdude said:
The only reason to drain below returns is to be able to blow them out. With easy access to your plumbing being ABG, you can cap/plug them and vac out any water. Skimmer plates work well for any pool.

Your stairs will be fine if you dont freeze for a long time. We get a 12-18 inch block of ice in the pool that dosnt go away most winters for a month or two. That *can* damage the top of the stairs. It wont every year, but its a gamble. If you only freeze for a few days here and there, it wont matter if you leave them in. Your stairs are also hollow and weighted down with something. If you can remove the bricks/sandbags the stairs will float and then be able to drain by rotating them so the water can dump out all the holes. After that they are suprisigly light for removal. Some peoples stairs are filled directly with sand so they cant remove the weight without making a mess in the pool.

We get some freezing here but usually it only stays continuously for about 1 week stretches. My steps have a removable container & I have 4 bleach jugs filled with sand tied to them but they are huge and I really don’t care to look @ them all winter lol. Here’s what my plumbing looks like? I figured I would install plugs & leave the ball valves open. Put plate in the skimmer & pull all the hoses. Last year I didn’t close until Christmas Eve.

Newdude · Oct 6, 2019

Plugs and valves open is a good idea. I would still figue out a way to drain the pipes, especially the flex pipe. A week of freezing wont make enough ice to hurt the stairs. It could easily blow the pipes. But they are easy/cheap to replace if it does.

Mdragger88 · Oct 6, 2019

Newdude said:
Plugs and valves open is a good idea. I would still figue out a way to drain the pipes, especially the flex pipe. A week of freezing wont make enough ice to hurt the stairs. It could easily blow the pipes. But they are easy/cheap to replace if it does.

I plan to remove all the flex hoses & put them & my swgs in the shed (they r intex ones ). As well as drain pump & sand filter & pull their plugs. When i had a smaller pool & filter I would put the whole thing up but this one is 250# ?

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Winterizing Above ground pool with 2 returns (1 high-1 low)

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