Just at freezing (30 +/- F) but also water level rising from rain...?

[VinylDelight]

My skimmers are my levels and we had some rain and the water is basically at the top of the inlet. Normally I would backwash to mid-level of the skimmer rectangle, but I am getting really poor results from Google on whether or not that is a problem. It seems far too risky considering the freezing temperatures. Fortunately, it should be mid 30s in a day or two. However, we are also expecting more rain! I'm a first time pool owner and really need some expert advice here.

If need be, I can do the ol' hose siphon trick and lower the water passively that way.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ajw22]

Lower your water level!

You do not want water to overflow on a vinyl liner pool and get behind the liner.

Get draining going even if you need to go out in the rain.

 

[VinylDelight]

Lower your water level!

You do not want water to overflow on a vinyl liner pool and get behind the liner.

Get draining going even if you need to go out in the rain.

So do I presume it is safe to backwash so in 30F? Would it be better to use something else like rinse?

 

[ajw22]

So do I presume it is safe to backwash so in 30F?

What filter do you have?

Depends what your backwash setup is.

Post pics of your equipment pad.

Would it be better to use something else like rinse?

No.

You should get a submersible pump to use for draining your pool when necessary.

Submersible Pumps - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ajw22]

If water is flowing then use the backwash on your sand filter to lower the water level.

Depending on where the backwash water goes you may create a skating rink. So be careful of slipping on ice.

If water is not flowing and slushing up then time to drain your equipment.

 

[VinylDelight]

Quickly went out there (didnt have a camera sorry) and the pool filter actually wont turn off pushing the button since it is in FRZ mode. The air temp read 33F and the pool was 45.

I did buy a submersible sump pump late last night (worrying about pool ) from greenworks via Amazon. It won't be here for days at least of course.

 

[ajw22]

You can turnoff the pump using the pump CB.

Or put a hair dryer blowing on the air temperature sensor to get it out of freeze mode.

That will let you cycle the MPV and pump to drain through the backwash.

 

[VinylDelight]

Brief update to make sure I'm not a fool, or at this point determine if so... but I wasn't realistically on pace to beat the rain and get to sleep with the passive hose deal... and after looking at the pentair manual I really didn't want to screw something up so what I did was simply obstruct the pool jets so that the water was getting splashed away from the pool. Was this acceptable? I considered it was no different than a kid messing around with it lol.

 

[Mdragger88]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean.
Are you saying you diverted the jets so they sprayed water out of the pool?

 

[Texas Splash]

Some people have had luck siphoning water out of their pool as well. It's slow, but free and works once you get the water moving. Just a thought.

 

[VinylDelight]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean.
Are you saying you diverted the jets so they sprayed water out of the pool?

I simply put a regular red brick just in front of the jet so that it doesn't shoot into the pool and basically gets thrown back in it's "face"

 

[Mdragger88]

You risk draining too quickly & running your pump dry so keep that in mind.
Regardless of how you drain water/or add water ALWAYS SET A TIMER ! Ask me how I know ….

 

[Newdude]

+1. I have had both a 1/3 empty pool, and tried unsuccessfully to add 1 inch of water to the great state of NY.

If water is going in, or out of something, a timer is your best friend.