Wet Dry Vac for opening/closing

[PureLuck]

So, there are so many choices..
I have heard the Rigid brands are good.
There are two that I'm debating on. If you know which would work better, or if it even makes a difference your input is valued!
Rigid 14 gal 6.0hp vac
RIDGID 14 gal. 6.0-Peak HP Wet Dry Vac with Auto Detail Kit WD1451 at The Home Depot - Mobile

Or the Rigid vac 16 gal 6.5 HP with detachable blower
RIDGID 16 gal. 6.5-Peak HP Wet Dry Vac with Detachable Blower WD1680 at The Home Depot - Mobile

Thanks!!

 

[JVTrain]

Both will have a pretty equal chance at being able to blow out your pool. However, neither or perhaps any wet/dry vac will not be guaranteed to be able to blow out your main drain, depending on depth, pipe size, etc. Vacuums are good at moving large volumes of air but not against back pressure. Blowing out a main drain requires a combination of air volume and pressure. The only way to know is to try with a shop vac. If it doesn't work on your MD, the other option is to use a tankless or small air compressor set at ~15 psi to blow out the main drain. The only blower that I would guarantee could blow out your main drain is the cyclone blower, which combines air volume with ability to build more pressure because of the its design: Cyclone Vacuum and Blower - 3 HP - Vacuum And Dust Collector Accessories - Amazon.com It is an expensive uni-tasker though.

I already had a wet/dry vac and a small compressor when I bought my house with a pool, so that's what I use. I may even try to close the whole pool this year with just my little compressor to see if it can be done... even though my vac works great on returns and skimmers, just not the MD.

My advice is to buy the wet/dry vac that you will best be able to use for other tasks and see if it will blow out your MD, knowing you may also need a small compressor if it fails. If all you're going to use it for is closing your pool, consider the cyclone if it's in the budget.

 

[PureLuck]

Would a pancake compressor work as well if it had a165 psi rating?

 

[JVTrain]

Most any compressor will work to blow out the main drain. Just don't set the line/output/hose pressure any higher than 15 psi. Isolate the MD line when trying to blow it out so that you minimize the volume of plumbing you're trying to pressurize.