Trouble getting air moving

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trishalinn

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Apr 12, 2010
104
Perry, Michigan
I'm winterizing my pool. I have a pretty good idea how to do it (at least I thought I did). I'm following the same instructions I did last year, and last year went off without a hitch.

After doing all the necessary cleaning and chemical balancing, I drain the pump basket. I set the mutiport to recirculate, close the valve to the main drain, and leave skimmer valve open to direct air flow to return line and skimmer. I attach the compressor to the front of the pump basket with a 1/4" nipple and turn the air on.

I'm expecting to see air start coming through the skimmer line but I don't see any. So I think, "Maybe the psi wasn't right." So I let it raise up a little more and reattach the hose to the nipple. This time I get a nice flow of air bubbles for about 10 seconds but then nothing. The air just stops flowing through. I let the air run (at about 20psi) for a few minutes, but nothing comes out. So then I think, "Okay, maybe the air is too divided between the skimmer line and the return line." So I plug the return line temporarily to see I can get the air to go through the skimmer. Still nothing.

The only thing I did differently this year is I didn't lower the water level (having read some stuff on this forum about not needing to do that). Would the high water level be a cause of air not being able to move through the lines? Is there something else I'm missing here?
 
While leaving the water level higher will increase the pressure required to blow air through the lines, it's such a small amount of increase that you'd never notice. Your air compressor puts out such a small volume of air that if you have any air leaking anywhere it'll never make it to the skimmer.

I assume your reading the pressure gauge on the compressor and not on the filter since you have it on recirc.
 
If the waste port isn't permanently connected you can feel the opening while the compressor is running to see if you feel air coming out.

Also feel around the pump basket lid to see if it's leaking air. Running water over it might work.
 
The plot thickens...

I tried again at winterizing today. I checked the multiport valve while running the air through and didn't notice any leaks.

I lowered the water line below the return and tried running the air through again. This time I got a few small bursts of water from the skimmer and the return, but mostly gurgling sounds. I could tell by the sounds that there was still some water in the pipes, but wasn't seeing any more come through. It seemed clear, but I wasn't sure. I plugged the skimmer and blew out the return. I plugged the return and moved the air flow to the main drain.

What was really weird was I got a nice, steady flow of air to the main drain. It bubbled a lot. This was unexpected because the other day I couldn't get bubbles to come out of the skimmer or the return line for more than a few seconds. I don't understand why the main drain was so easy when the skimmer and return were not getting enough air flow before.

At any rate, I ran the air through the main a few minutes, closed valve between the pump and the lines, turned off the air, and plugged everything up. Then I finished blowing out the filter (with the multiport on waste) and took out the filter plug.

My question: Given that I've now lowered the water down below the skimmer and return jet and emptied the skimmer entirely, and given that neither the skimmer pipe nor the return showed water coming through as I moved air in, and given that the main drain showed there was more than sufficient air moving through the system, do I have any reason to believe there is still water in my pipes? The only reason I'm concern is because of what happened the other day: I could barely get air to move through the skimmer or return when the water level was high and doubt much was different this time (minus the water level being lower). The gurgling sound was encouraging to hear, but if there's a chance there's still too much water down there, I'd hate to do nothing about it.
 
trishalinn said:
Right, except I live in a town with one pool store and it is closed for the season. I know I'm not supposed to used car antifreeze, so I'm not sure what to do.
Click to expand...
You can use RV anti-freeze. Should be available at your local hardware store.
 

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