Winter Closing Question - Drained all my water

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leashy333

0
Jun 9, 2013
63
NC
So, just to give you a good laugh. And then I have a real question.... Last night I was closing my Above Ground pool, I brought it up to shock level for over a day, drained it 6" below the jet and return line late light night, and unplugged the sump pump that I was using to drain it, thinking I'll deal with the rest in the morning. I got up out of bed, looked outside, and THE ENTIRE POOL was drained. My first thought was - did i just dream that I unplugged the sump pump? Then it hit me - "it siphoned out you idiot, you left the hose that was connected to the sump pump in the water". So I now have about 1" of water in my pool!!

So the question - What should I do? My first thought was just leave it like it is and put something in the pool to hold the cover up higher above the walls so that water will collect on the cover, and then just re-fill it next year. But I see that not working really well and the cover falling in. I think I really just need to fill it back up, at least half way or something. I also read on here that draining all the water out is bad, especially leaving it like that, as the liner will move/shrink/etc.
So I'm thinking of filling it half way up or so, enough that the cover will be able to cover it and not fall in when water collects on it during the winter. Then maybe bring that water to shock level somehow - I guess by dumping in bleach and try to mix it around with the sump pump, since the level will be too low to use the pool pump. But should I worry about all the other levels? Like PH/CYA/etc for the winter? I dont want to open it next May and it be a swamp.

Anyone have suggestions on how to fix this mess I made?
 
leashy333 said:
So, just to give you a good laugh. And then I have a real question.... Last night I was closing my Above Ground pool, I brought it up to shock level for over a day, drained it 6" below the jet and return line late light night, and unplugged the sump pump that I was using to drain it, thinking I'll deal with the rest in the morning. I got up out of bed, looked outside, and THE ENTIRE POOL was drained. My first thought was - did i just dream that I unplugged the sump pump? Then it hit me - "it siphoned out you idiot, you left the hose that was connected to the sump pump in the water". So I now have about 1" of water in my pool!!

So the question - What should I do? My first thought was just leave it like it is and put something in the pool to hold the cover up higher above the walls so that water will collect on the cover, and then just re-fill it next year. But I see that not working really well and the cover falling in. I think I really just need to fill it back up, at least half way or something. I also read on here that draining all the water out is bad, especially leaving it like that, as the liner will move/shrink/etc.
So I'm thinking of filling it half way up or so, enough that the cover will be able to cover it and not fall in when water collects on it during the winter. Then maybe bring that water to shock level somehow - I guess by dumping in bleach and try to mix it around with the sump pump, since the level will be too low to use the pool pump. But should I worry about all the other levels? Like PH/CYA/etc for the winter? I dont want to open it next May and it be a swamp.

Anyone have suggestions on how to fix this mess I made?
Click to expand...
Let me get this straight...... You manually drained the pool, and now ask how to fix it?

How about putting water back in :confused::confused:

And you should do that sooner than later, the water is what gives the pool walls strength and support. One good gust of wind and you might not have a pool to refill.
 
domct203 said:
Let me get this straight...... You manually drained the pool, and now ask how to fix it?

How about putting water back in :confused::confused:

And you should do that sooner than later, the water is what gives the pool walls strength and support. One good gust of wind and you might not have a pool to refill.
Click to expand...

I was mainly asking for advice on what to do after putting some water back in. The water will be from the tap, not balanced, very low chlorine, no CYA, etc. I'm trying to figure out how much trouble I should go through. Or if I would be safe to fill it back up to closing level, dump some bleach in to bring it to shock level, stir around manually, and cover it. The biggest worry I have is that maybe if I dont bring CYA level up some, that the Chlorine wont last long and I'll have a swamp to clean up next year when I open it. So far every year I've been successful in opening it to find crystal clear water under the cover.
 
Yeah, it sucks but you'll want to refill it back to where you originally drained it to, then re-balance. Probably get some liquid CYA other than the granules if you aren't going to completely fill and hook the pump up, otherwise the granules probably won't dissolve as well. Then just bring it back up to shock level and cover.

That is kind of funny though. :D
 
leashy333 said:
I was mainly asking for advice on what to do after putting some water back in. The water will be from the tap, not balanced, very low chlorine, no CYA, etc. I'm trying to figure out how much trouble I should go through. Or if I would be safe to fill it back up to closing level, dump some bleach in to bring it to shock level, stir around manually, and cover it. The biggest worry I have is that maybe if I dont bring CYA level up some, that the Chlorine wont last long and I'll have a swamp to clean up next year when I open it. So far every year I've been successful in opening it to find crystal clear water under the cover.
Click to expand...

Funny story!

Looks like you need to get that pool filled up. Once you close it will sit there for the next 6-7 months untouched. I would definitely add ALL the chems just like you are starting with a new pool because that is essentially what you have. Depending on where you get the water from, you will probably have quite a few thousand gallons of water much warmer than 60 degF. So you will need to put off the closing until the water temp drops again. Depending on how long that takes, you may find the need to hook up and run the pump & filter again. Good luck...

- Dave -
 
Teald024 said:
Funny story!

Looks like you need to get that pool filled up. Once you close it will sit there for the next 6-7 months untouched. I would definitely add ALL the chems just like you are starting with a new pool because that is essentially what you have. Depending on where you get the water from, you will probably have quite a few thousand gallons of water much warmer than 60 degF. So you will need to put off the closing until the water temp drops again. Depending on how long that takes, you may find the need to hook up and run the pump & filter again. Good luck...

- Dave -
Click to expand...

I ended up filling back up with 7.5ph city water, dumping in a jug of liquid stablizer (that stuff was $31, and even with vigorous shaking of the jug, there still ended up being granules in it that werent dissolved), putting as much baking soda as i had available to get the TA up some (dissolved and mixed a little at a time in a 5-gallon bucket, then dumped in), and bringing to shock level with bleach. Hooked a long hose to the sump pump from one side of the pool to the other to help circulate the water overnight. I'm gonna close it today. I've read about waiting till the water is in the 60s, but i've always closed in the 70's and had no issues as long as I had it at shock level when closing.
 
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