bottom drain

[nancylightcap]

Do you need a bottom drain in your pool?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

No, you do not need a bottom drain, though having one is very nice. I recommend a bottom drain for plaster and fiberglass pools, but not for vinyl liner pools. With a vinyl liner, the risk of leaks around the drain becomes more significant than the advantages of having a drain.

 

[Tbell]

We have a bottom drain in our 30' Vinyl AG pool and I wouldn't have it any other way. It makes cleaning the pool much easier. Have had our pool for 10 years and have had no problem with leaks...keeping fingers crossed. If we had gotten a smaller pool we wouldn't have gotten the drain. But 30' is a lot harder to clean.

 

[kenmar]

"No, you do not need a bottom drain, though having one is very nice. I recommend a bottom drain for plaster and fiberglass pools, but not for vinyl liner pools. With a vinyl liner, the risk of leaks around the drain becomes more significant than the advantages of having a drain."

Hmm, this is the first time I recall seeing any mention of not recommending bottom drains for vinyl lined pools here.

How much greater is the risk of leakage with a vinyl liner pool?

-Ken-

 

[bk406]

My vinyl pool doesnt have a bottom drain. The builder said he doesnt like them in a vinyl pool. Instead, he puts in a side wall suction. Acts the same, but doesnt pull water off the bottom. It still turns the water over just fine.

 

[JasonLion]

A bottom drain in a vinyl liner pool is likely to be just fine. However if the liner does tear around the drain you can lose all your water very quickly. It is a very rare problem, with a high cost when it does happen. I don't like that kind of risk, even if 99 out of 100 pools are going to be fine.

 

[X-PertPool]

main drains are nice for the pool circulation but I don't think they keep the pool much cleaner, except in the case of round above ground pools. You direct the eyeball from the return to make a vortex in the pool and all the dirt ends up in the center where the main drain is, keeping the pool cleaner.

 

[teapot]

A bottom drain in a vinyl liner pool is likely to be just fine. However if the liner does tear around the drain you can lose all your water very quickly. It is a very rare problem, with a high cost when it does happen. I don't like that kind of risk, even if 99 out of 100 pools are going to be fine.

I agree with Jason, there is a considerable variation in liners and although a bottom drain is fine for re-inforced liners some of the thinner ones I would not want to fit one too.

 

[Tbell]

That is one of the things I like about it. My 30' pool is round and it draws everything to the center so it makes cleaning much easier.