How long does it take to drain your pool?

[DianeF1]

We have a 15,000 Intex Ultra frame. We're taking it down this year as we have had some poles sink.

How long does it take you to drain your pool? Do you only use the drain plug or what other method do you use?

Diane

 

[1380ken]

Not sure exactly how long it takes but if you pull the plug in the evening it will be drained in the morning.

 

[msgtdan]

You could also start a siphon with 1 or more garden hoses. Easiest way is to fill the hose from the house and then unhook it, that way it's full of water and just needs to be a bit lower than the pool.

 

[msgtdan]

Duplicate post somehow. When filling the hose I put the output in the pool and run water till the bubbles stop coming to the surface

 

[Pauls234]

Dan, good call. I am smacking myself in the head right now as I have been dreading trying to start a syphon manually over 100 feet of hose to get my pool closed. But of course, just fill it from the spigot and disconnect!

 

[DianeF1]

Dan - What a GREAT idea! We've got lots of hose we can make that ole pool look like a spider

 

[1380ken]

If you put hoses in your pool, tape the ends. The hose threads can cut the liner.

 

[hyperionguy]

I haven't done a drain on an Intex that I planned to store till next season. Every year I have planned for another pool. Therefore, a butcher knife to the side of the pools have drained them VERY quickly.

 

[DianeF1]

Since I orginially asked the question I thought I'd tell you what we did this year.....since this pool cost a couple of thousand we didn't do the ole' knife trick like we did with our blue ring kind.

A 15,000 gallon pool with four hoses and two vacume hoses from my Hayward Aqua Bug will drain 99.99% of the water during a Saturday morning and afternoon little league soccer and football games

The last .01% has to be done with a shop vac and brooms and folks who hold extension cords pulged into GFC outlets and have the cords held over their head so that no one is electrocuted.

We also found that though a 6-gallon shop vac has to be emptied frequently but it is WAAAAAYYYY lighter than trying to lift a 12 gallon shop vac over the side wall of the pool (unless you are a strong 15 year old man-boy instead of a 40 something mom ) Oh and putting a board or something to dump the shop vac water on outside the pool helps save the yard from another water dug hole. Finally - timing your dump so that the dogs are close is rather hilarious - ok we're weird

Once emptied and dry it took two hours to put away the pool with all four of us doing one thing or another. We unhomed quite a number of spiders (not fun to discover that when they are running up your arm! FYI same "man-boy" can scream like a girl too!) Nicely folded, organized and ready for the dogs to start laying on the nice cool dirt rectangle.