Hurricane Prep

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M

maajick

0
May 16, 2011
19
Mobile, AL
I used the search function and didn't find too much on the subject so I thought I would ask. I live on the Gulf Coast of Alabama and the impending hurricane on the East coast got me to wondering what we should do when one heads our way.

I know the obvious of trimming limbs and picking up everything outside, but I am unsure of what to do with the water level. Should we leave it alone and let it overflow or should I drain some before hand so that it doesn't overflow?? I have a 24'x52" agp with an overlap liner.

Thanks in advance.
 
We have been though six hurricanes and several tropical storms since moving to Mobile in 1997. Hurricane Hanna in 2002 dumped over 20" of rain and my pool overflowed big time. Since then I draw it down about 15 - 20", but that was not enough when Ivan hit in 2004 - it still overflowed. My main concern is getting water between the liner and the walls and having the walls collapse or slough off. So far that has not happened and I think it is pure luck. So I will continue to pump the pool down anytime a hurricane is headed this way.

Edit: Just re-read your post and see you have an above ground pool. It that case I don't think I would be worried about an overflow. In fact you might want to keep it full to prevent it taking off like a flying saucer :-D
 
Wow, that is a lot of rain! stev32k's advice makes sense to me. One question though: "Getting water between the liner and the pool" is this from ground water or water that is overflowing over the top of the pool? Seems like it would not get in at the top with most liners (overlap, bead), but from the bottom?
 
Any thoughts or words of wisdom for water chemistry? Ours will probably (sadly) be coming down all too soon, but I'd like to keep it going for as long as possible. My thought is that if we're without power for any length of time I'll just treat it as usual, and manually circulate/agitate/disperse as best we're able to.
 
Big_kid said:
Any thoughts or words of wisdom for water chemistry? Ours will probably (sadly) be coming down all too soon, but I'd like to keep it going for as long as possible. My thought is that if we're without power for any length of time I'll just treat it as usual, and manually circulate/agitate/disperse as best we're able to.
Click to expand...

My experience is that after a hurricane the power will be out for a period of 3 days to 3 weeks. The winds will blown tons leaves, limbs, dirt and debris in the pool and by the time power is restored it will be a nasty looking green with a large crop of mosquitoes, dragon flies, and frogs and I have not come across anything that would help that situation. I'm not sure a cover would help because I think it would get blown away or torn up. We have had wind gusts of over 100 mph and I don't believe there is a cover made that could stand that much force.

My solution has been to just tough it out and leave the pool until everything is cleaned up and working again. I can almost guarantee that a green pool will be the least of your worries after a hurricane.
 
we have had multiple hurricanes and I use a dedicated honda inverter to provide power to all the equipment, once the winds die down (rain does not pose a problem). have run this way through one major service disruption that lasted 2 weeks.
 
I would keep an above ground pool full. The weight of the water is what will keep your pool in place. Intex type pools should be taken down and put away. The biggest danger to an above ground is debris tearing the liner or getting the sides crushed by a fallen tree. If your pump and filter are plumbed with unions I would cap off the lines and store the pump and filter in a garage. I would not store anything in a shed!
 
Hello.

I have two questions regarding this topic. I have an oval agp and its my first season...lots of questions...

Should I remove my solar cover and reel and store it for the duration - I'm afraid it will blow away, although we may only get tropical force winds up here in NH. Still, 40 mph winds...

Would it help to shock the pool before the storm? Here though, I'm thinking to secure power to the pool during the storm so there wouldn't be any ciculation except storm driven churn.

Mike
 
Yes, remove the solar cover and store it carefully. It will blow away if left on.

Shocking is a great idea. You will get lots of extra organic debris in the pool during the storm and may also lose power for a while. Shocking will keep things under control for a couple of days and hopefully you will have power back by then.
 

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