I'm a first year pool owner and starting to think about closing up for the season. We are having a very early fall in upstate NY this year. I've read the closing article in pool school and done some other research and feel very comfortable with almost everything.
Im stuck on the blowing out of the lines. I only have one each of a suction (skimmer) and return (jet). Should I drain below the return so they can be easily blown out and capped/plugged? Or, buy some sort of one way blow out plugs so I don't have to drain?
My hesitation to draining is that I like the idea of the water being higher for support of the pool walls. That apprehension comes from having seen one of the walls cave in a few years ago during a very cold winter we had. I did not own the house at the time but my parents live next door and I saw the aftermath. the thought of that happening again scares the heck out of me! Especially since it now has a new liner, concrete deck, and vinyl fence around it. The collapse was fixed right by a reputable pool company but the pool is 50 years old so it's a worry in the back of my mind. Should I not worry about it and just drain it or go with the one way blow out valves of some sort? Any recommendations for those or is there no real substitute for a good solid plug?
lastly, how much antifreeze should I aim for? Fill the pipes? 50%? Don't worry about it if I blow the lines out good? We get a good hard deep freeze (~4') where I am usually and my pipes are only about 2' deep, maybe less. I figure the more the better as far as antifreeze but I'm not sure what all of that is going to do to my startup in the spring. My equipment is at the opposite end of the pool from the skimmer and jet so I calculated that I would need about 5 gallons per line (10 gallons total) for 100% filling if the pipes. Is that significant for a 20k gallon pool when I go to open on the spring? Will it affect chemistry , filter, or anything else?
Im stuck on the blowing out of the lines. I only have one each of a suction (skimmer) and return (jet). Should I drain below the return so they can be easily blown out and capped/plugged? Or, buy some sort of one way blow out plugs so I don't have to drain?
My hesitation to draining is that I like the idea of the water being higher for support of the pool walls. That apprehension comes from having seen one of the walls cave in a few years ago during a very cold winter we had. I did not own the house at the time but my parents live next door and I saw the aftermath. the thought of that happening again scares the heck out of me! Especially since it now has a new liner, concrete deck, and vinyl fence around it. The collapse was fixed right by a reputable pool company but the pool is 50 years old so it's a worry in the back of my mind. Should I not worry about it and just drain it or go with the one way blow out valves of some sort? Any recommendations for those or is there no real substitute for a good solid plug?
lastly, how much antifreeze should I aim for? Fill the pipes? 50%? Don't worry about it if I blow the lines out good? We get a good hard deep freeze (~4') where I am usually and my pipes are only about 2' deep, maybe less. I figure the more the better as far as antifreeze but I'm not sure what all of that is going to do to my startup in the spring. My equipment is at the opposite end of the pool from the skimmer and jet so I calculated that I would need about 5 gallons per line (10 gallons total) for 100% filling if the pipes. Is that significant for a 20k gallon pool when I go to open on the spring? Will it affect chemistry , filter, or anything else?
