Is a main pool drain necessary ?

[Ellen wilbur]

Thank you all for your time and information ! I do appreciate TFP and your help.

 

[ckh1980]

That is an important consideration to understand, Ellen. Without a main drain, if for some reason your water level drops below your skimmer opening, or the skimmer gets clogged, your pump can get starved and can possibly get damaged. But a main drain would solve for a low level only if you have the type of skimmer that shuts itself off when the water level drops. Otherwise, it won't matter. An open main drain would solve for the clogged-with-leaves scenario.

An auto-filler can help combat the potential low-level problem, as it would always keep your pool full. Well, theoretically. If the auto-filler fails (they can, and do) then that protection would go away. And, of course, Murphy's Law dictates the auto-filler will only fail while you're on vacation!! I have no drain and auto-fill and have never had a problem. The auto-filler failed once, but got stuck on, not off. I was home, noticed it, fixed it, and it hasn't happened since. I think it got stuck because I sent a bunch of crud down the filler supply line when I was working on that plumbing, so it was a fluke occurrence. Anywho, it's something to think about before you decide what to do.

As a secondary "safety," I have a webcam on my pool and can watch it while away. I can monitor water level and water color, watch for any algae event, and watch the squirrels drink the water! It's the next best thing to being there, and better than trusting a neighbor or service to keep an eye on things pool.

When I had a leak in my liner I was running the skimmer/MD 50/50. It gave me some peace of mind that should the water level get too low, at least some water from the MD was geting to the pump. I've since switched to skimmers only and made a bone headed move yesterday. We had a massive amount of rain from a t-storm and i had to drain the level. I forgot to switch the spider valve back to circulate and all day long while at work, the pump was draining the pool, through the skimmers until they were so low there was no water flow. I came home to an over heated pump, like the pump basket was too hot to touch, kind of hot. I flipped back to the MD to cool the pump and it still works, though I'm pretty sure I smoked the ceramic seal on the motor. Had I been in 50/50 or at least some amount of MD, it might have helped.

 

[Dirk]

When I had a leak in my liner I was running the skimmer/MD 50/50. It gave me some peace of mind that should the water level get too low, at least some water from the MD was geting to the pump. I've since switched to skimmers only and made a bone headed move yesterday. We had a massive amount of rain from a t-storm and i had to drain the level. I forgot to switch the spider valve back to circulate and all day long while at work, the pump was draining the pool, through the skimmers until they were so low there was no water flow. I came home to an over heated pump, like the pump basket was too hot to touch, kind of hot. I flipped back to the MD to cool the pump and it still works, though I'm pretty sure I smoked the ceramic seal on the motor. Had I been in 50/50 or at least some amount of MD, it might have helped.

That incident might be considered both an argument for and against a main drain! A main drain might have lessened or eliminated the pump incident, but you had one and it happened anyway! Having a main drain doesn't necessarily provide all the benefits of one being present, nor does eliminating one automatically cause a problem. No matter what safeguards a pool and its equipment might have, those pesky humans can always find a way around 'em!