Ideas for a drier, less messy closing

[chrisexv6]

So after years of dealing with chilly weather and water getting tossed all over me while trying to tighten expandable plugs in the return and suction inlets, Im looking for ideas to make the job less messy.

I tried the Gigit winterizing jet insert and the Anderson winter duck plug. Has anyone else tried these? Im curious as to how well they really keep the water out of the pipes

I felt more comfortable with the duck plug because I can use it in conjunction with my liner blower and I can actually see when the lines have no water left in them (especially the skimmer line, all I see is a light mist coming out). The Gigit requires compressed air which I can provide but I know doesnt get the most amount of water out of the lines as possible.

I also had another idea......building a "periscope" type insert that can be screwed into the wall jets (a male threaded insert, short length of pipe, then a 90 degree to bring the pipe straight out of the water). Basically the top of the periscope would be above water level, you could blow out the pipes from the pump end (or even the periscope end if you wanted), then just seal the top of that pipe and you are set. You would need an o-ring where the PVC screws into the wall jet, but thats not much different than the Gigit or duck valve. Has anyone tried THAT idea?

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

 

[Catanzaro]

I also had another idea......building a "periscope" type insert that can be screwed into the wall jets (a male threaded insert, short length of pipe, then a 90 degree to bring the pipe straight out of the water). Basically the top of the periscope would be above water level, you could blow out the pipes from the pump end (or even the periscope end if you wanted), then just seal the top of that pipe and you are set. You would need an o-ring where the PVC screws into the wall jet, but thats not much different than the Gigit or duck valve. Has anyone tried THAT idea?

I thought of the same thing, expect the steps have a different (deeper type of thread). The only way to not really make a mess is to lower the water below the returns (that simple). The skimmers were drained properly without any mess as water level was 2" below skimmer. Although, the returns (jets) were more difficult and I was soaked. Actually put on goggles and looked down to make sure the plugs were going in straight.

If you think about it logically, if you have 4 returns (which I have on each side) and as you plug each return, the remainder of water keeps moving further away from the pump. Essentially, one would only need to create one extension at the end and all the water would blow out and you could plug that end. But, the fitting must be perfect so no air leaks, at that is where the black rubber plugs work best.

 

[chrisexv6]

Yeah, except in my case I have each return and suction line plumbed as a home run right back to the filter. A 3 way Jandy valve on both the suction and return side allows me to "narrow down" to one inlet/outlet at a time, but they both dont link to each other.

The blower is strong enough to blow out both ports at the same time if I wish, but I prefer one at a time just to be sure they are each clear.

I never really had luck with the black plugs, never felt that I was able to tighten them enough to get a good seal, complicated by the fact that the blower is strong enough to fight me while Im trying to tighten the plugs (it is a 2 stage blower so it should go into bypass, but even in bypass it seems pretty strong). One of my suction inlets in particular, its in one of the pool walls but its like 3.5' under the surface....really hard to reach from outside and I usually dont go in the pool to close it because its too cold.

I cant drain my pool that low, the returns are still about 2' under the surface and thats way too low for the safety cover. Surely cant drain it below that really deep suction fitting, dangerous for the pool itself to be that low.

 

[Catanzaro]

Understand! The Cyclone is powerful and I also was fighting with the same issue. The thing about the black plugs are that they do not completely fit inside the return jets, but kind of stick out a little bit. Yes, you have to place flush and slowly tighten and allow the next line to blow. Goggles really help because I can see what I am doing. Of course, I would not want to drain that low, or 3.5' under the surface. Maybe plugging the 3.5' return may be a good idea in the summer, if it is not the last return on the run. Not exactly sure why you would be down that far. What exactly is it?

 

[chrisexv6]

Its actually a suction inlet in the wall.

It needs to be that deep for code and circulation reasons (we used to have a main drain but it cracked underground somewhere....fixing/replacing it would be too much of a hassle and expense, so a wall inlet was added instead)

It too is plumbed directly back to the 3 way Jandy at the pump so its not the "last in the run" since there is no series run in the plumbing.

 

[Catanzaro]

Its actually a suction inlet in the wall.

It needs to be that deep for code and circulation reasons (we used to have a main drain but it cracked underground somewhere....fixing/replacing it would be too much of a hassle and expense, so a wall inlet was added instead)

It too is plumbed directly back to the 3 way Jandy at the pump so its not the "last in the run" since there is no series run in the plumbing.

Wow, sorry to hear about the main drain. My MD is buried in the collar with concrete and hopefully will not have this type of issue. Only thing that scares me about pools. I guess a suit that divers use may be appropriate ! LOL. I know cold water is never fun. Take care.