Need advice on closing pool

[peacockaja]

Hello,
First post, although I've been lurking for several months. I switched to BBB in June with great success and the pool has never looked better in the 8 years its been installed. I've opened the pool the past 3-4 years with no problem and was using the pool store for water testing and closing. Since I'm testing my own water now, I'd like to break away completely from the pool store and close the pool myself this year. I've watched the pool people close my pool and they use some type of blower to blow the water out of my return lines, skimmer, and bottom drain. How can I achieve this on my own? I have a small air compressor, but will this do the trick? Any advice on closing would be greatly appreciated as I would like to say "bye" to the pool store for good.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[JasonLion]

Blowing out the lines often requires more air volume than a small compressor can mangae. A large shop vac usually works quite well, though it may take a little longer than the larger blowers that professionals usually use.

 

[bluenoise]

It depends on how much volume of water you're trying to blow out of the lines and how much pressure it will require to get the water moving. If your small compressor doesn't have the capacity, it will run out of air before the water is all pushed out. If the pipes aren't relatively level, it may require more pressure to get the water out than might be available with a blower. If that is the case, though, you may be able to drain the water using gravity.

 

[mikergibson]

What exactly is polyquat and what other names does this go under? Is there a non pool store version?
Thanks

 

[ktdave]

"Polyquat" is the shortened name for - poly [oxyethylene (dimethyliminio) ethylene (dimethyliminio) ethylene dichloride]. It is used to prevent algae and also has flocculant properties.

 

[MikeInTN]

..and yes, there are non- pool store versions. I found some @ WalMart the other night. It was the AquaChem Algaecide concentrate. It pays to read the ingredient label sometimes.

 

[Butterfly]

What exactly is polyquat and what other names does this go under? Is there a non pool store version?
Thanks

This is what Ben said to look for on his PoolForum site: http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/polyquat.html

Hope this helps. Joyce