just trying to understand this, the outlets and suction points need to be capped? How does water return from here if pump isn’t running?
Not quite sure what you're asking. I can describe my experience, the answer will be in here somewhere.
When I bought my house/pool, there was what I thought was a nasty crack running from my suction port down to the deep end. No one seemed to know what caused the crack or if it was leaking or patched or what. Fast forward to when I first had my pool drained, and it was only then that the pool guy determined what it actually was. Not a crack at all. During the initial fill, that port was leaking water somehow. That stream of water followed exactly the path of least resistance from the port down to the lowest end of the pool. The resulting stain on the new plaster became permanent, then later attracted a mass of calcium scale. Which looked a lot like a crack from above the water.
In my "new" resurfaced pool, all the ports (suction, return, autofill) all end in 1.5" female-threaded PVC fittings. My plasterers plugged all those ports with 1.5" male fittings, presumably to keep plaster from blowing into the pipes, and to keep errant water from running down the face of brand new plaster as it was curing in the air. They used pipe dope and/or teflon tape to really seal the plugs to the fittings, which indicated to me that they understood this was not just about plaster blowing into the pipes, but also to make each opening water tight. At my insistence (not sure if they would have otherwise), the plugs were left in place during my fill, and I took them off myself after the fill was complete, before I started the pump running.
So the ports stay plugged while they're exposed to air. The plugs can come off as soon as they are underwater. They MUST come off before you run the pump.
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OK, sorry, I just reread your question for the tenth time and finally got it. You'd think there'd be no water in brand new never before used pool plumbing. And that none would come out if the pump wasn't running. What I'm sayin' is, some how water got into my pipes before that first plaster job, and somehow it drained out across the new plaster. (There is, after all, a lot of water flying around during gunite time. I don't know.) You're guys are going to plug those ports somehow, I'm recommending you manage that, to be sure they seal the ports water tight, and leave the plugs in until your fill is done. They might do that anyway, just make sure they do. You might never have this issue (of leaking ports), but it's one of those "Oh, man, why didn't you say something!?!" dealios...
VERY IMPORTANT, what if my test kit isn’t here by friday?
You mean the test kit you were supposed to order a month ago, and been practicing with the whole time? (OK, that was mean.) Not sure what to tell you on that. Ideally you should have a kit on day one or before, and be very familiar with how to use it. Short of that, you'll do the best you can when you can.
I didn't get my kit until day four or five, I forget. I only found TFP on day two. I limped along with an old OTO kit the previous owners left me, and the test results from Leslie's (I'm loathe to admit). I'm not suggesting you do the same, merely describing how I did it. I had a time of it, even after my "real" kit arrived, because I was learning TFPC and how to test at the same time, which is why I always suggest in build threads that new owners get their kit early and learn how to use it well in advance of Day One. Here's an example of my evangelizing:
new pool in tucson az - Page 5
(OK, that was mean, too!)
(good job Dirk!)