Freeze Preparations (TX, LA, GA, AL, FL, etc)

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Chances are power will remain on and everything fine, but being away you would be preoccupied with the pool. You have the option to ensure you have a good-strong FC level before leaving, then you could just shut the system down. Drain the filter and pump pot and just leave the pool off for those 3 days. Perhaps wrap any exposed plumbing and valves and cover the entire pad with a heavy blanket and/or tarp. I don't see a need to do like northerners who blow out the plumbing lines. Lines exposed and equipment on the pad is you biggest concern. You might also place a cut up pool noodle or plastic jug in the skimmer just to be safe.
 
Texas Splash, are you planning to run your pump during the below freezing days or shutting down? It looks like you wrapped your filter, which i didn't think about doing. Should I wrap the filter? What is the material you used, an insulation blanket?
 
TF,

If I were staying in town, I'd just ride it out. If I were going out of town, I would drain everything.

Make sure you shut of any circuit breakers, as you don't want something trying to fire back up.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Thanks y’all. I have a very basic standard chlorine setup with basic zodiac panel. I did my normal pipe wrap insulation with a heat tape between the pvc and pipe wrap. I have a plastic “trash can” hider type fence all the way around equipment with a tarp over the top.
 
What is everyone doing in preparation for the upcoming freeze? Anything difference from Feb 2021? When the 2021 freeze happened, I ended up turning off the pump and draining the equipment as a precaution after loosing power (but it came back on and the pool fired up). I had to replace the pump and this past summer some tiles fell off which I think were residual from the freeze.
 
LLH,

I live in the DFW area, and I am doing the same thing I did in 2021.. Running the pumps 24/7, something I do all year to begin with.

I have three pools and I had zero damage, but that is because none of them lost power.

I suspect it will be the same this year. But if not, I will have to drain them on the fly.

Note that the first step in draining a pool system would be to turn off all the circuit breakers. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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I am thinking I am going to drain the pad this time around since we will be out of town Sat/Sun and that will be the tail end of the freeze for us. I am slightly concerned about ice damaging the tile but I think I would be more concerned about a power outage and subsequent equipment damage which would probably be the worst of two evils.
 
HeyEng said:
I am thinking I am going to drain the pad this time around since we will be out of town Sat/Sun and that will be the tail end of the freeze for us. I am slightly concerned about ice damaging the tile but I think I would be more concerned about a power outage and subsequent equipment damage which would probably be the worst of two evils.
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Yes, my biggest concern is power outage. When I lost power in 2021, it came back on pretty quick and I was lucky - - but that was early on in the freeze. As the rolling blackouts continued that lasted hours, I was worried about going to sleep and loosing power so hence proactively opened the drains and shut everything down - - - ironically I never lost power after doing that - - but my neighbor several doors down did loose power for an extended time and had significant damage to their pool.

I was pretty intimidated with resetting the 8 tiles on my pool even though I've retiled my kitchen backsplash, but I did tackle it this summer for under $100. I'm sure a pool company would have charged me significantly more!
 
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Think for simplicity of my mind is go ahead and get all chemicals where they need to be and just pull the plugs on all equipment while still warm and place some antifreeze water bottles in skimmers and shut the breaker off.

Last major storm in 2020 we never lost power but ice built up so thick on pool the last night that water was blocked off at skimmers and pump started struggling for water. At 2am I went outside and pulled plugs and shut breaker off and we survived. Only damage was the booster pump housing got a small crack but was a $30 part and self replaced. This storm does not seem to be anywhere close to that one outside one night.
 
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ajw22 said:
That will save your pump and filter but if you don't blow water out of your valves you can end up with cracks like this....

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What is the best way to blow the water out of everything in case power does go out?
 
I'm still running my pool this Winter. Thursday the windchill is supposed to be 0 with 45 mph winds. That will last until Saturday or Sunday.
Should I cover my pump and filter with a tarp to prevent freezing? I'm a little afraid the motor will get ot too hot and catch it on fire.
What do you think. Will simply keep the pump running prevent it from freezing?
 
Silva1181 said:
Texas Splash, are you planning to run your pump during the below freezing days or shutting down? It looks like you wrapped your filter, which i didn't think about doing. Should I wrap the filter? What is the material you used, an insulation blanket?
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Our system stays on 24/7 UNLESS there is a power outage. If there is, I may be asleep or away from home in which case the material used to cover the pad should buy me some time until either the power returns or I drain the filter and pump. The foil insulation I got at HD. It's 25" H x 10ft (or 25ft) in length. It may be overkill, and I had no issues during the Feb '21 freeze, but everything I did was relatively cheap and easy.
 
Here is an example of what I did. Notice I did not cover the pump motor so that air could still move through it, but overall this set-up works well for me when we get these TX storms. The protection helps if there is an extended power outage or I'm away from home until I can drain the filter and pump pot if needed.

full


full
 
Jimrahbe said:
75,

The people that had problems, when we had big freeze, did not have problems because of the cold, they had problems because they lost AC power. As long as you have power, you should not have to drain your pool.

When the power went out, they did not drain their filters and pumps before they froze. That is where most of the damage occurred.

The key here is to know how to drain your pumps and filter, now and not have to figure it out in the middle of the night. "Where did I put that wrench" is not what you need say when it is dark out. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
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Even running our system 24/7 and never losing power didn’t save our pool that year (in Tulsa). We tented and heated the equipment pad and tried everything we could think of to keep the ice away but it finally reached the point of no return and we ended up shutting everything down and draining the pumps and heater. Draining saved the expensive equipment but we lost a valve and some pipes that were above ground at the pad. We also had some issues with the jet seats in the spa leaking afterwards. Thankfully, the freeze isn’t expected to last as many days as Feb 2021. I agree with knowing how to drain everything and having the tools ready just in case.
 
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I just finished my pool prep for the 6 degree fun coming our way. Will be out of town and did exactly what worked
for me during last years freeze-a-thon.

1-Turned off the circuit breaker (power to the pool equip)
2-Removed the 2 plugs at the base of the pump. Opened the pressure valve on the filter
and removed it's plug at the base.
3-Let water drain out.
4-Put all plugs into pump basket (ya have to replace them to start it all back up, so a good place for them)
5-Floated a plastic liter bottle 2/3 full of Marine/RV antifreeze in each skimmer.

It might be overkill for this weather event but I don't need to be worrying about it, so this is what works
for me. YMMV. 🙂
 
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