Almost got it... Almost closed... but not quite

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Lucky13F

Lucky13F

Well-known member
Jun 9, 2020
59
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Pool Size
21000
Surface
Vinyl
I've been paying people for years to close my pool... I thought I had all the steps down pat -- BUT I guess I am missing something.

I removed all the plugs. Wasted the water. Although it seems I could have wasted it more...

My setup:

I drew a picture of my pool. I did not plug any of the Interior Pool Inlets / Outlets -- but I have plugs ready. I attached a photo of where Skimmer 2 is in terms of water level -- which seems high to me. I have not turned the Jandy Valve at all -- don't know if I should.

Attempt 1:
I tried to put my Shop Vac into the Skimmer 1 and blow through. I expected to see a geyser out of Skimmer 2 -- but nothing. I can barely get my Shop Vac hose in there -- so it is definitely not pushing a lot of air through -- which brings me to Theory 1:
Theory 1: I need some kind of Shop Vac attachment to make the connection into Skimmer 1 -- then I will see geyser and know water is mostly cleared out.

Attempt 2:
I tried to put my Shop Vac into the Skimmer 2 and blow through. I expected to see anything out of Skimmer 1 -- but nothing. Which brings me to Theory 2:
Theory 2: Something is stuck in that passage way.

I really want my pool closed today -- so I am a little frustrated and don't want to pay $250 for someone to come over and finish in 15 minutes.

Thanks everyone in advance!20210905_092712.jpg
 

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The water is way too warm to close. Normally you'd drop the water level below the skimmers. I pay someone it's cheap insurance in the grand scheme of things. They add antifreeze and air lock all the underground pipes and guarantee against damage.
 
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Lucky13F said:
I can't figure out how to blow the lines... and know that I actually blew them successfully. I thought I knew...
Click to expand...
A shop vac may not have enough air volume. I was able to use a shop vac on one of my skimmers, but the second one (farther away) didn’t seem to like it and my main drain also didn’t. You’ll need to create a fitting for each line with some adapters to do it.
I ended up using an air compressor on low pressure for the main drain.
 
I find it best to drain to at least the bottom of the skimmer faceplate. This allows for water level rise in the off season and, while blowing the lines, gives a little room for water to move about the surface of the pool without getting water back into the skimmer.

Invest in the cyclone as shown in the video. It pays for itself and makes this process so much easier and faster than using a shop vac or compressor. I use a cyclone, two hose adapters, and an above ground pool hose when I close. Assuming you have threaded skimmer plumbing port, I thread a hose adapter into one of them and assemble the cyclone with another hose adapter on the output and connect adapter via the pool hose. At this point, I can blow the entire system by turning valves and crafty use of plugs.

But the video above pretty much nails it.
 
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