Drain water 6" below skimmer intake for winter

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moze229

moze229

0
Jul 3, 2011
113
Central NC
From my reading (and the Pool School here), above ground pools should have the water drained to ~6" below the skimmer (or return). If I do either of these, it seems like I won't be leaving enough water in the pool. LOL Am I just worried about nothing? I have the typical above ground pool setup, where the skimmer and return are close to the surface of the water. I haven't measured it, but it's no different than the 400 million other above ground pools.

The reason that I'm trying to verify this is because I've not drained this far before. When I plumbed my filter, I used union fittings so that I could just disconnect the line from the skimmer and return - any water that may have overflowed from the weight of the cover over the winter would have just went out onto the ground. However, I don't want to crawl under my deck anymore to undo the fittings. And, I had a hard time getting everything back together leak-free last year. So, I'm just going to drain farther this year and waste more water.

So, am I worried about nothing draining down that far?
 
moze229 said:
From my reading (and the Pool School here), above ground pools should have the water drained to ~6" below the skimmer (or return). If I do either of these, it seems like I won't be leaving enough water in the pool. LOL Am I just worried about nothing? I have the typical above ground pool setup, where the skimmer and return are close to the surface of the water. I haven't measured it, but it's no different than the 400 million other above ground pools.

The reason that I'm trying to verify this is because I've not drained this far before. When I plumbed my filter, I used union fittings so that I could just disconnect the line from the skimmer and return - any water that may have overflowed from the weight of the cover over the winter would have just went out onto the ground. However, I don't want to crawl under my deck anymore to undo the fittings. And, I had a hard time getting everything back together leak-free last year. So, I'm just going to drain farther this year and waste more water.

So, am I worried about nothing draining down that far?
Click to expand...

The only reason people say to drain below 6" is if it rains and fills up.

You don't won't water in the plastic skimmer during a freeze. I only lower mine about 3" below the skimmer because I have a loop lock cover and don't want a heavy snow on it.

But I do keep an eye on it, if it gets close to the skimmer mouth, I siphon some out with the garden hose to maintain 2 or 3 inches below. You can do the same.
 
Thanks for the reply. I actually only went a couple of inches below the skimmer mouth. Any more and my cover won't fit anymore. I'll have to keep a close eye on it.

I keep my cover drained pretty well. I also have a rubber expansion plug in the skimmer. We are in NC, so our winters are usually quite mild anyway.
 
When closing AG pools, I use an Aquador and plug the return. I don't take any water out of the pool for the winter. Some water is lost out of the pool through displacement from winter snow load though.
 
X-PertPool said:
When closing AG pools, I use an Aquador and plug the return. I don't take any water out of the pool for the winter. Some water is lost out of the pool through displacement from winter snow load though.
Click to expand...

I was going to do that when I first got my pool, but I learned that I had to go messing with the seal around the skimmer mouth. It may be completely ok to do that with pools, but my experience with any kind of seal is that if it's not leaking - don't mess with it. :) If you touch it the wrong way, it'll start leaking.

Again, that may not be the case with pools, but on anything that I touch, it is. :)
 
moze229 said:
X-PertPool said:
When closing AG pools, I use an Aquador and plug the return. I don't take any water out of the pool for the winter. Some water is lost out of the pool through displacement from winter snow load though.
Click to expand...

I was going to do that when I first got my pool, but I learned that I had to go messing with the seal around the skimmer mouth. It may be completely ok to do that with pools, but my experience with any kind of seal is that if it's not leaking - don't mess with it. :) If you touch it the wrong way, it'll start leaking.

Again, that may not be the case with pools, but on anything that I touch, it is. :)
Click to expand...

my long lost twin? lol i am the same way when it comes to water based connections. if I touch it, I guarantee a leak or two. thanks for reminding me - after seeing X-pert's post i was tempted to go that route. looking to close mine tomorrow. hopefully this is a 1 shot deal.
 
X-PertPool said:
this is an alternative to an aquador, but I've had it not work so well in the past. Didn't fit that great.

http://simpooltec.com/skimmer-plug.html
Click to expand...

Great idea. The problem is, it doesn't help us folks who want to leave plumbing connected. According to what I've read on the site, it's not a complete seal. It's like they expect it to leak.

Maybe that's why you had problems getting it to fit :)
 

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If you want to leave your plumbing connected just use a gizzmo. Using a skimmer plug in conjunction with a gizzmo will allow you do blow the water out of the skimmer with the water level still high. Kinda like how a blow-through gizzmo does.
 
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