Hi guys... with it being 70 Deg. over this weekend I decided to try my first close... Please take a look and help me out... I am stuck and unsure if I should proceed.
My closing went like this...
1. Wait till the pool is at 60 Deg. and then clean and bring to shock level (39 for me with CYA at a high 100 mark)
2. After 3 days of 39 for FC I let the it drop some (3 more days)
3. I checked PH and TA (both spot on) then added a bottle of polyquat (well it was what the pool guy said was same thing)...
4. I super cleaned everything... to be honest I keep the pool pretty clean so this task was not a big one.
5. Removed the equipment and railing and the volleyball poles... also plugged the holes in the concrete for these items with a sacrificed pool noodle (need the real caps I think).
6. started the water drain... this took a long time (will not forget this for next time - start early). Dropped it 4 1/2 inches below my returns. Once below the skimmer I closed the valve and used the main drain only.
Note: while draining I found it wise to alternate the valve for the skimmer (off/on) to pull the water out of the skimmer line.
7. Removed all the eyeball fittings and robot fitting... (these end up in the pump basket at the end)
8. I have a 5 HP shop Vac... I also have a 5 foot long PVC pipe and a threaded end on it... I screwed the pipe into the bottom of my skimmer, then ran my exhaust to it... I put my filter in recirculate and then turned on the Shop Vac... and watched for the water to run out of the returns... a lot came out then not much... so I plugged the middle return and the robot port... more water came out of the farthest return I waited till hardly nothing came out then plugged that one and moved to the next return for the same concept and then the robot port to complete the returns... I also turned on the sliding board valve to get water out of that line (not sure if I should take it inside??)...
Note: this is where I was stuck and I may know why... after I blew out the returns, I thought if I left all 3 plugged up I should get bubbles out of my main drain... well I never did... my valve was open... I am wondering if I just didn't have the power to push air back out the main drain? Thoughts.... I am concerned about this part. Should I try my gas powered leaf blower? I can remove the pump and blow air back with the skimmer valve shut so all air will go to the main drain??
9. While still blowing air, and the returns still plugged I removed the 2 drain plugs at the pump, then the one drain plug at my Polaris helper pump, then one at my heater, and one on my chlorine feeder... once I had only air coming out I then removed my filter sight glass and pressure gauge.
10. I added 1 gallon of pool anti-freeze to each return with a bent funnel and then a gallon to the skimmer, and then I screwed in the skimmer thing for expansion and added another half-gallon to the skimmer bucket.
11. I put all 3 of my rubber plugs back in the returns... and put all my fittings in the pump basket as well as the drain plugs for the pump and such.
And I stopped to ask about the main drain???
What do you guys think? not sure what to do, I thought I could get some bubbles out of the main drain and I would close the valve to trap air (if it would hold). Please let me know... I will try to complete the job in the morning...
My closing went like this...
1. Wait till the pool is at 60 Deg. and then clean and bring to shock level (39 for me with CYA at a high 100 mark)
2. After 3 days of 39 for FC I let the it drop some (3 more days)
3. I checked PH and TA (both spot on) then added a bottle of polyquat (well it was what the pool guy said was same thing)...
4. I super cleaned everything... to be honest I keep the pool pretty clean so this task was not a big one.
5. Removed the equipment and railing and the volleyball poles... also plugged the holes in the concrete for these items with a sacrificed pool noodle (need the real caps I think).
6. started the water drain... this took a long time (will not forget this for next time - start early). Dropped it 4 1/2 inches below my returns. Once below the skimmer I closed the valve and used the main drain only.
Note: while draining I found it wise to alternate the valve for the skimmer (off/on) to pull the water out of the skimmer line.
7. Removed all the eyeball fittings and robot fitting... (these end up in the pump basket at the end)
8. I have a 5 HP shop Vac... I also have a 5 foot long PVC pipe and a threaded end on it... I screwed the pipe into the bottom of my skimmer, then ran my exhaust to it... I put my filter in recirculate and then turned on the Shop Vac... and watched for the water to run out of the returns... a lot came out then not much... so I plugged the middle return and the robot port... more water came out of the farthest return I waited till hardly nothing came out then plugged that one and moved to the next return for the same concept and then the robot port to complete the returns... I also turned on the sliding board valve to get water out of that line (not sure if I should take it inside??)...
Note: this is where I was stuck and I may know why... after I blew out the returns, I thought if I left all 3 plugged up I should get bubbles out of my main drain... well I never did... my valve was open... I am wondering if I just didn't have the power to push air back out the main drain? Thoughts.... I am concerned about this part. Should I try my gas powered leaf blower? I can remove the pump and blow air back with the skimmer valve shut so all air will go to the main drain??
9. While still blowing air, and the returns still plugged I removed the 2 drain plugs at the pump, then the one drain plug at my Polaris helper pump, then one at my heater, and one on my chlorine feeder... once I had only air coming out I then removed my filter sight glass and pressure gauge.
10. I added 1 gallon of pool anti-freeze to each return with a bent funnel and then a gallon to the skimmer, and then I screwed in the skimmer thing for expansion and added another half-gallon to the skimmer bucket.
11. I put all 3 of my rubber plugs back in the returns... and put all my fittings in the pump basket as well as the drain plugs for the pump and such.
And I stopped to ask about the main drain???
What do you guys think? not sure what to do, I thought I could get some bubbles out of the main drain and I would close the valve to trap air (if it would hold). Please let me know... I will try to complete the job in the morning...