Help! First time closing!!! Return jet plugs?

[Tina Y]

Hi everyone. We are newer pool owners and will be closing our pool for the first time. We have tried to remove the return jet fittings, but they are not budging what do ever and we do not want to break the pipes inside of the pool wall. So...I have purchased a set of smaller expandable rubber plugs that should fit i inside of the return jets themselves. Has anyone ever tried doing it this way? The pool company that was supposed to have winterized the pool last fall prior to us purchasing the pool did not do it correctly, the jets were not capped off the skimmer was not plugged up and so I doubt the lines were blown out either. We were lucky that nothing got damaged over the winter. They did drain the pump, filter and heater and removed those plugs, and they put on the winter cover. We do live in a more temperate climate so thankfully that was enough, but it does snow here and gets down to freezing a couple of times each wi yet so we want to be sure to protect our pool correctly.
Has anyone tried plugging the return lines with the jests in place and has it worked well for you?

 

[wireform]

Not quite the way to do it. One needs to remove the complete jet as sometimes it separates and plug the threaded hole in the wall. The jet way will not work period.

 

[1Sammy]

If you just used your pool all summer and no issues than i would say that the people that closed did an ok job. I have never used or seen the plugs you are referring to. As a first timer i would be careful going against what works for your area by a company that does this for a living. Go slow and be safe. All you need to know is that you should remove water from everything that could freeze. That can be done by just draining or may need sucking and blowing.

 

[Enumjon]

One of the return jets in my pool cannot be removed. The plaster fully encases the eyeball, so no removal without taking a chisel to the pool surface. Last year I simply did not plug that return, and had no problems. I live up in the mountains just above you - since we are 2000 feet higher in Tijeras we get colder temps than ABQ, and even with the pool freezing on top the return was just fine. This year I took the smallest return plug I had and used a grinder to make it smaller. I had to grind off some of the metal as well as the rubber, but was able to make it fit.

 

[Enumjon]

Tina - I have only been in NM for one winter. But from what I saw last year, I would be more concerned about the skimmer than the return. It takes a sustained deep freeze to freeze the pool down to the returns. We may get cold temps at night, but with the constant sun we don't freeze the pool down that far. But quick cold snap could freeze the skimmer and cause trouble.