Newbie AGP owner: need help dealing with too much rainwater

[Soximus]

Hi-- this is my first major storm as an AGP owner! I may or may not be appropriately worried... Thank you in advance for any and all advice!

I read through @SuzfromTexas 's guidance in Preparation for hurricane/tropical storm, and I can't quite understand some of the instructions. There's a lot of talk in her post about a "spigot" to which you could attach a garden hose to pump excess water through, but I don't think my setup has one anywhere in the pump/skimmer system?? No idea how a standard garden hose would interface with my pump/skimmer system... I've attached pics of my current setup and situation. As you can see, the water is currently at what appears to be the historical "high water" mark inside the skimmer. Given that there are still ~ 24 hours of rainfall to come in my area, I'm worried the pool will definitely over-fill... it's already gone up by about 1.5" in the last 24 hours. By way of landmarking, the water level yesterday morning (before the rains started) was half way up the skimmer plate. Now it's covering the bottom 3 vertical screws, and creeping towards the top-most screw.

@SuzfromTexas said pretty clearly that the pump should be on for lowering the level. Does that guidance apply to my AGP...? My initial idea was to set up a simple siphon with my 50' garden hose and let the overflow go down the driveway into the street (we live on top of a hill, luckily). Is there some reason why I shouldn't do that...?

 

[bover907]

I have a sand filter, and I just use heavy rain as an "extra" occasion to backwash the filter. If it still needs more water drained out, I just set the multiport to "waste" and pump it directly out. I try not to pump out too much water in case it stops raining earlier than expected. I'd rather go out in the rain and do it again, as opposed to having to pay to add water that God otherwise provides for free, lol.

Nothing ticks me off more than when I rains a lot right after I added water with the hose.

I've never messed with cartridge filters, but if you don't have a pump to waste option, a siphon hose would be a perfect option. Just watch it so you don't pump too much out.

 

[Soximus]

I've never messed with cartridge filters, but if you don't have a pump to waste option, a siphon hose would be a perfect option. Just watch it so you don't pump too much out.

That's what I suspected-- thanks!

Is there any reason to opt for using the pump to drain the pool (over a siphon) in my situation? I guess I'd accomplish this by decoupling the return hose from the pool and, by using a hose clamp and some extra pump hose I have in the garage, extending the return hose from the pump to a sufficient distance from the pool...? Just thinking of alternative solutions if I can't get the siphon going for some reason.

 

[bover907]

Since your filter doesn't have a built in pump to waste, I would DEFINATELY go the route of siphoning over disconnecting hoses. Disconnecting and reconnecting hoses to your setup runs the risk of breaking something.

I have a $50 pool cover pump which connects to a garden hose that I'd use if I were in your shoes. Perhaps if you don't have one yet, you could order one, and have it for next winter as well as the next big rain. then just use the siphon for today.

 

[mknauss]

A siphon will work great. But remember, they can drain that pool pretty quickly. So be prepared.

For the future, you could install a quality ball valve on the drain of the filter housing. That way you could drain, with control, even with the pump off.

 

[AK-]

I put a 3-way valve between the hose that goes to the skimmer and the pipe that goes to my pump and left a hose adapter on it so I can connect a hose to drain the excess water out of the pool.

BTW, a vacuum hose works great as siphon.

 

[CrystalRiver]

Are you expecting several inches in very short time? I do nothing for my pool. It overflows itself out the skimmer. Mine is to the tippy top right now, has been for probably a week. We're getting more rain today. It doesn't worry me.

 

[crokett]

Are you expecting several inches in very short time? I do nothing for my pool. It overflows itself out the skimmer. Mine is to the tippy top right now, has been for probably a week. We're getting more rain today. It doesn't worry me.

This. Last summer when we were expecting a lot of rain during a week I was going to be gone, I rigged a plastic storage bin with a drain and attached some water pipe I had. I put that under the skimmer. The water overflowed the skimmer into the storage bin and was carried out into the yard rather than just dumping near the pool.

If I were going to try a siphon or a pump, I'd put it on a timer. That way at least when I started it I know it's only running for X time in case I forget to turn it off.