Can I close off the skimmers?

[RickNewGuy]

Live in TX and going on vacation for a week. Concerned that the water level will drop / evaporate below the skimmers.

Can I close the skimmers... and open the main drain and suction line? Any issues?

I put a timer on the manual fill line... but just looking for other options.

Thanks. Rick

 

[ajw22]

You sure your main drain works? Many don’t.

You need to see if your main drain alone can give your pump enough flow.

 

[Newdude]

From one new dude to another..... yeah that will work fine. The skimmers wont work to catch the floaty stuff, but it will piece of mind to come home and only need vaccuuming.

 

[JimMarshall]

As ajw is implying, I’d give it a test run to ensure that your drain works and provides enough flow before you do so for vacation, but as long as that works I’d say your plan is a good one

 

[KDpoolguy]

Depending on your skimmer and if it’s plumbed with the main drain, you can purchase a float valve for the bottom of the skimmer (below the basket) and it will cut off intake from the skimmer if water evaporates below level, and only receives-recirc from drain. Every skimmer should really have this.

Also, when I’ve had an old pump that wasn’t trustworthy, I’ve left my pool many times with a good shock, bag of powdered chlorine and a couple tri-chlor tablets in a floater and the water was just fine after 7-10 days. Just come home and vacuum it. I still do this on occasion if no one’s home, but lately we’ve had dog sitters, so I want them to be comfortable and use the pool if they want. Glad I have an auto-fill, Screenlogic and 2 Arlo Cams pointed at the pool and pad so I can see what’s happening when I’m 3k miles away!

 

[Newdude]

Glad I have an auto-fill, Screenlogic and 2 Arlo Cams pointed at the pool and pad so I can see what’s happening when I’m 3k miles away!

What a time to be alive, I tell ya. If it isn’t already in the works, it will be soon. ‘Hey Siri, what’s my PH and FC ?’ ‘**Ding** 8.1 and 3ppm**Ding**’. ‘Alexa, fix my pool’.