Closing pool...

[tffool]

Hi,
I'm closing the pool for the first time. My pool is liner inground, about 50000 L (130 000 gal), sand filter, bottom drain and skimmer. As winter is harsh here in Canada, I'm more concerned about freezing pipe.
I read the instruction on the forum but still not sure how to start, esp. which part needs to be disconnected/removed. Could someone help me on how to do things correctly with my system? Here are some pics. Many thanks.

 

[Eauclaire]

Normally, you should try to purge your lines after lowering the pool water level below the skimmer and returns. From your pictures, you could purge the inlet side by removing the pump basket cover, pump basket, and then hold a 90 degree elbow against the pump body in the basket compartment. Close the valve to the bottom drain, and force air toward the skimmer to expel that line. Have a second person hold a short piece of pipe in the skimmer to direct the water flow away from the skimmer body. Your return side looks difficult to hook into due to the SWG cell, but the principle is the same, you need to purge the return and waste lines. Then you attach a short piece of hose to the valve at the bottom of the sand filter, set the top level to Winterize and open the valve. You might consider draining over a few days, as the sand tends to trap water by capillarity, and so the draining tends to stretch out over time. I don't have an SWG system, so someone else will have to pitch in here as to how to winterize that. Also, you will need to add anti-freeze to the line that goes to the bottom drain, remove the pressure gauge on the sand filter and store it preferably in a non-freezing location.
if you don't have a knowledgeable friend nearby, I would strongly suggest hiring a pool company to close your pool, so that you can learn the ropes for the following year.
Note that there is a thread here on closing IG swimming pools; you might want to read that first.

 

[tffool]

Thanks.