Yes another closing question

[mrramsey]

Read the sticky on closing the above ground pool and have a question about the water level.

the sticky states to lower the water to 6" below the lowest opening. I was considering using a skimmer plug, the one that seals from the pool side. Do they work? and what about a plug for the return, do they make one?

Any additional advice is appreciated. Oh and I am sure the pool store will try to sell me some sort of winterizing magic potions.... I guess I should just stick to the TFP methods and just Bring the pool to shock level and close it up?

Going to pick up my winter cover today and start the clean up and prep.

Temp 57F
pH 7.2
FC .5 Shocking to 17
TA 180
CYA 40

 

[Task]

I just closed my pool for the first time a few days ago. My returns are threaded, so I just used a 1.5" pvc cleanout plug with a little bit of teflon tape on the threads. I didn't go a full 6 inches below the returns because I was fearful of my liner shifting. I only went about an inch below the return. As for my skimmer, again, the pipe at the bottom of my skimmer is threaded. I have a gizmo that I was going to put into the skimmer, but when my pool was built, the pool builder installed the bonding plate for the skimmer in a manner in which it a portion of the plate is above the pipe opening, so my gizmo can't be screwed into the pipe. I've been told I can just bend the copper to get it out of the way, but I just opted for a 2" pvc cleanout plug and screwed that into the pipe. I cut up an old pool noodle and put the pieces into the skimmer in case any water gets in there.
As far as chemicals, I brought the water up to shock level two nights before I planned on putting the cover on. I did this at night and left the pump running all night. When I woke up, I checked my FC and the water passed the OCLT, so I let FC come back down on its own. Added another gallon or so of bleach to bring my FC back up to just under shock level the morning I winterized. Let the water circulate and then dropped the water level down below the returns, blew out the lines and put the cover on.

Again, this is the first time I've winterized, but after watching my pool builder do it last year, and reading the information on this site, I'm pretty confident that my pool should be in good shape when I open it back up next spring.