How powerful of a shop vac do I need to get to blow out lines when closing? We used my dad's last year and it didn't get the bottom drain all the way out. Never saw air bubbles coming out. My husband said it's fine because we blew them a long time but I worried all winter about it. It was fine but I want to make sure we get all the water out. I have no idea what kind to buy.
What kind of shop vac to blow out lines?
- Thread starter kymom73
- Start date
I use a small pancake compressor as my shop vac did the same thing as yours. I just turn the compressor regulator down to about 20 psi and thread it into the pump basket. Works fine for me and our pools are quite similar. Sorry I can't recommend a size for you.
I also do it the same as pool Tool. Shop vac just don't work for a lot people, some they do.
kywildcats
Bronze Supporter
I use a small compressor as well, dialed down to 20 psi. I take the pressure gauge out of filter and blow from there. That is how my PB did it and it worked fine.
Compressor for me as well. I can blow out everything but the main drain with my shop vac. Main drains require pressure and some air volume to blow out. Shop vacs are good at air volume, but not when under pressure (resistance). Compressors are great at building pressure, but not so much on volume. The cyclone blowers designed for winterizing pools and installing liners are a good blend of both pressure and air volume.
The standard 3/8" air hose usually will screw right into one of the pump basket drain holes. Just remove one plug, thread the hose in then connect house to the compressor. Set the compressor regulator to 15 psi to start then increase as you need to to blow main drain.
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Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
If you wish to get a little creative and do not have a budget, you may consider purchasing a Cyclone Pool Blower and creating a modified cover with an adapter. Total cost is around $425-$450 (if you have a Hayward Super Pump). I will send you the links later as to what I have done, and it will provide you all the part #'s, etc. and where you can purchase everything. If not, the pancake compressors appear to do a really good job.
From where were you planning on blowing air through?
From where were you planning on blowing air through?
I'll second the reply from Catanzaro. Years ago I bought the biggest baddest shop vac I could find (since I needed a shop vac at the time). It produced one bubble from my bottom drain after several minutes of blowing. Then I rented smaller air compressors from a rental place for several years ... never got around to buying one. Then my neighbor bought a Cyclone Liner Vac. They produce LOTS of air volume but not a lot of pressure (kind of the opposite of an air compressor). But let me tell you, it REALLY blows out the lines ... lots more bubbles and air coming out compared to an air compressor (especially when the compressor air tank runs out of air and you're just blowing on the produced air). Only downside is it cost around $325 on the internet (bought my own a couple years ago). So while an air compressor does OK, I just love the Cyclone Liner Vac. I disconnect my equipment (have unions on everything) and I use my pool vacuum hose connected to the liner vac to blow out the lines.
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