Opening Vinyl Pool: First Time
- Thread starter Snoobug
- Start date
Thank you thank you thank you! The filter plug I had put on was not tight enough!Morning miss.
Today's project is to crank the pump up to high RPMs, let it run for a few minutes and make sure none of the unions drip.
If any do, tighten them just a hair.
If any still drip, take apart and lube the o-ring like you do now.
Putting back together is hand tight (good and snug) and turn it back on. Tighten with a wrench slooooooowly if still needed.
Buy these if you don't have a pair already : 16 inch adjustable pliers. HD/Lowes has at least one brand for $20 also. Always go gentle with them on pool equipment at they have some serious leverage to them. But if you need a bit more than hand tight, you need the 16 inch pliers to get around the union nut.
Ok dumb question... the dirt that accumulates along the edges... is it better to use the manual vac for that?
You will sure to get it with the manual filter but if you think your robot will end up getting it you can ise it.
If the robot misses it, sweep it 6 inches off the edge. Gently..... or the cloud will travel and fall at the other edge and
And let's strike while the iron is hot with a Snoo 2 @B.lu pep talk.
Having opened your pool as a total newb.....
Can she do this ?
Was anything too heavy ?
Was anything too difficult?
Can *annnnnnnybody* really do this ?
Will it be easy peasy next year ?
Was learning worth the savings ?
(And we already learned not to try and flood the town.......fill the pump basket to the suction pipe)
Having opened your pool as a total newb.....
Can she do this ?
Was anything too heavy ?
Was anything too difficult?
Can *annnnnnnybody* really do this ?
Will it be easy peasy next year ?
Was learning worth the savings ?
(And we already learned not to try and flood the town.......fill the pump basket to the suction pipe
)
- Oct 16, 2020
- 263
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Newdude, you know me so well. I have been reading every post on this thread, thinking... eh.... this seems a bit beyond my skill set. I am highly motivated to not pay a company to do it though. Especially after getting a bill for some landscaping around my equipment pad yesterday. My goal is to open the first weekend of May, which I know is a bit later than what you'd recommend.And let's strike while the iron is hot with a Snoo 2 @B.lu pep talk.
Having opened your pool as a total newb.....
Can she do this ?
Was anything too heavy ?
Was anything too difficult?
Can *annnnnnnybody* really do this ?
Will it be easy peasy next year ?
Was learning worth the savings ?
(And we already learned not to try and flood the town.......fill the pump basket to the suction pipe
This is why I want Snoo to tell you. She started with a similar skill set.
Being in New England works in your favor most years, so there is that.
We will be here for you like Dude was here for her! You CAN do it! 
Kim
Kim
- Oct 16, 2020
- 263
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
you guys are the best!We will be here for you like Dude was here for her! You CAN do it!
Kim
Hi! Okay. Here's my review. OMG thank goodness for TFP. Talk about handholding! haha. Ok first of all, getting the winter cover off is the suckiest part. It would have been brutal to do it by myself. Ours fell in the water which made it heavier. Maybe not so bad if it had stayed dry? The straps are on tight, for good reason, but good grief. I got the first 2 off by myself (28 total) but once you get one side, the complete opposite side is easy, you can just lift off with your hand. I was really scared after the first 2 because I had 26 more to do. Hubs came out and helped with the rest. We had a drill with the allen wrench attachment so getting the anchors flush was super easy. Our cover fell into the pool so we just laid it out on the concrete to dry and it dried out super fast. We have a 50 gallon trash can with wheels that the PB told us to get and holy moly that cover barely fit in there. Totally make your life easier and size up that thing...
The water in our pool was only like 2-3 inches below mid-skimmer level so we knew we'd only have to fill a bit. Ok so then the plug thingies that were in the pump basket, those were easy peasy. I did those. Then it was removing the skimmer gizzmo (easy) but the return plugs. oh. my. The task itself is not hard but the water was COLD like 45 degrees. So hubby did that part (lol). And he put the eyes in. Then we opened the valves and started filling the pump basket. It took us a while to figure out that the breakers were shut off and then it took us a while to figure out how to get them on. The ones in our basement were easy and labeled but we have SO many boxes outside attached to our house we were kind of flying blind. But hubs figured it out. So back to the pump, we filled that thing for hours like the ridiculous newbs that we are. We did try once during the day to turn on the pump but we were scared and turned it off after like 15 seconds. Once the water was just above mid-skimmer height I knew we had to stop. By then it was night time which was actually kind of a blessing. We turned the pump on but we were scared because we didn't want to damage the pump by having it dry. Then I got a flashlight and watched as the pump was on... I realized I hadn't given it enough time. I could actually see more and more water coming through the pipe and it was filling up then the returns spit out and we new we had success.
So today I realized that while I was a good pool owner and put a skimmer sock on the skimmer, I hadn't checked it until tonight. Whew so many leaves I think it was clogged. I dug it all out, scrubbed the skimmer (the water was freezing still) and put on a new skimmer sock.
Was it worth doing all this work? Absolutely yes. It's not only about the cost, I feel kind of proud that I know how to do it. Am I going to close my pool myself? Nope. I want to become efficient at this before I take on that task. We do plan on opening our pool from here on out as long as hubby is able to help.
You can do it!
The water in our pool was only like 2-3 inches below mid-skimmer level so we knew we'd only have to fill a bit. Ok so then the plug thingies that were in the pump basket, those were easy peasy. I did those. Then it was removing the skimmer gizzmo (easy) but the return plugs. oh. my. The task itself is not hard but the water was COLD like 45 degrees. So hubby did that part (lol). And he put the eyes in. Then we opened the valves and started filling the pump basket. It took us a while to figure out that the breakers were shut off and then it took us a while to figure out how to get them on. The ones in our basement were easy and labeled but we have SO many boxes outside attached to our house we were kind of flying blind. But hubs figured it out. So back to the pump, we filled that thing for hours like the ridiculous newbs that we are. We did try once during the day to turn on the pump but we were scared and turned it off after like 15 seconds. Once the water was just above mid-skimmer height I knew we had to stop. By then it was night time which was actually kind of a blessing. We turned the pump on but we were scared because we didn't want to damage the pump by having it dry. Then I got a flashlight and watched as the pump was on... I realized I hadn't given it enough time. I could actually see more and more water coming through the pipe and it was filling up then the returns spit out and we new we had success.
So today I realized that while I was a good pool owner and put a skimmer sock on the skimmer, I hadn't checked it until tonight. Whew so many leaves I think it was clogged. I dug it all out, scrubbed the skimmer (the water was freezing still) and put on a new skimmer sock.
Was it worth doing all this work? Absolutely yes. It's not only about the cost, I feel kind of proud that I know how to do it. Am I going to close my pool myself? Nope. I want to become efficient at this before I take on that task. We do plan on opening our pool from here on out as long as hubby is able to help.
You can do it!
*closing is the exact opposite.
Blowing out the pipes is only tricky because no two pools are the same so it's pretty much a custom configuration of how yours needs to be done. Which, we will walk you through, when you're ready.
Really all you need is pics for the future of how yours needs to be blown out, because they are all different. The entire rest of closing you are a pro at. 'Cover spring on' instead of 'cover spring off'.
Blowing out the pipes is only tricky because no two pools are the same so it's pretty much a custom configuration of how yours needs to be done. Which, we will walk you through, when you're ready.
Really all you need is pics for the future of how yours needs to be blown out, because they are all different. The entire rest of closing you are a pro at. 'Cover spring on' instead of 'cover spring off'.
Turbo1Ton
Gold Supporter
- Dec 26, 2019
- 1,995
- Pool Size
- 14500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You should be very proud that you now know how to do it! That is a big accomplishment that can be very intimidating to people.
--Jeff
Neighbors, uncles or that kid from down the street that wants a $50 Amazon card work just as well if hubs unavailable.
The wet cover is heavy. You just need more hands, not skilled ones. The rest of it was easy peasy. The return fittings screwed in the same way the drain plugs did........... righty tighty.
+1000000000
*sniffle* it's always bittersweet when they leave the nest, isn't Jeff ? They grow up SO fast.
PoolBrews
Well-known member
- Oct 16, 2019
- 591
- Pool Size
- 6750
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
I find a large strap wrench to work best... Doesn't tear up the outer plastic pipe surface. Also way cheaper than huge pliers or channel locks.
And I found that I hated my strap wrench once I broke down and spent $20 on the pliers. Just had to go gently with them because while the jaw opening was the right size, the grip and leverage were off the charts.
But. With a dozen ways to skin this cat, one of them will be awesome for Snoo/Blu So THANKS for sharing.
Orion7319
Bronze Supporter
- Jul 1, 2020
- 1,442
- Pool Size
- 19775
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Question: when testing for chlorine, I put the drops in until it goes clear but about a sec or two later it turns pink again. This didn't happen last year. Is it temp of water causing this?
We don't have an answer other than it does that sometimes. Sometimes mine was quick, sometimes mine would turn if I did something else for 2 mins and left the vial full.
Clear = done. Whatever happens after that doesn't count. And it's fooled every last one of us at some point.
Clear = done. Whatever happens after that doesn't count. And it's fooled every last one of us at some point.