Leaving pool open in the winter, bubbler flow rate

[Ricktbaker]

Greetings. New pool this year and we are going to leave open this winter in Oklahoma. 2 pumps, 1 to a sheer descent that I have winterized. The second goes to our pool returns and the sun deck bubblers that are about 6 inches below water depth.

We can adjust the flow rate between the returns and the bubblers. But it's a manual gate valve adjustment. I'm curious on the flow rate we need to send to the bubblers during freezing weather.

I would prefer to keep it on the lower side if possible, so we're not battling ph all winter, but maybe that is inevitable to be safe.

Maybe not a question of the bubblers freezing, rather at the gate valve if they are closed too muchm

Would be interested to hear others experience with a similar setup.

 

[ajw22]

A small flow through your bubbler should be all you need to prevent freezing.

The frost line in OK is around 7 inches so chances are there will be no freezing around your bubbler.

 

[Ricktbaker]

Thanks. So maybe it is more of a concern of the gate valves that are above ground. We have 3 for each bubbler. So probably need to make sure there is enough flow through there to prevent freezing at that spot.

Maybe some heat tape for those lines. We have a generator, so power loss isn't a concern.