Power Outage

Sunnymosmile · Feb 20, 2020

Hi TFP Peeps

I live in NC and we had a unseasonal snowfall today. Well of course, people think they can drive and someone crashed into a transformer about 30 minutes ago. The problem is, my pool is not winterized. The power company says the power will be restored in 4 hours. When do I need to start stressing and what, if anything, can I do to mitigate any damage? It’s currently 33° and it will be dropping to the high 20s.

proavia · Feb 20, 2020

Chances are it won't be an issue if the power is restore in 4 hours. Maybe cover any exposed pipe and components with a tarp - and put a work light (with incandescent bulb)under the cover to generate a bit of heat.

Jimrahbe · Feb 20, 2020

Gene,

How is the OP going to run the light if he has no power.. :poke:

Jim R.

wireform · Feb 20, 2020

Four hours is a non issue. Turn off the power to the pool and cover the equipment pad with a good tarp to keep any wind off the system. Wait it out and then turn it back on at the earliest possible chance. Maybe a good time to think about the future of having a small portable generator hook up.

JamesW · Feb 20, 2020

You should know how to remove and reinstall all drain plugs if it becomes necessary.

Removing all drain plugs and cracking the unions on the cell can help prevent freeze damage in the worst case.

ajw22 · Feb 21, 2020

Get familiar with the ...

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

So if you would like to be able to go without automated freeze protection OR you would just like to have an extra layer of protection, then you can follow some of the suggestions listed below. The temperature ranges and time are using the thermal loss spreadsheet above which are fairly conservative freeze estimates (i.e. assumes 15 mph winds, full sky exposure with maximum radiation losses and ignores latent heat in filters and surrounding structures).

1. Air Temp 32F->25F->32F for <10 hours. Plumbing 1" and above is safe. Tarp or drain for smaller pipes.

2. Air Temp 32F->20F->32F for <10 hours. Plumbing 1.5" and above is safe. Tarp or drain for smaller pipes.

3. Air Temp 32F->15F->32F for <10 hours. Plumbing 2" and above is safe. Tarp or drain for smaller pipes.

4. Air Temp 32F->10F->32F for <10 hours. Plumbing 2.5" and above is safe. Tarp or drain for smaller pipes.

5. Air Temp 32F->0F->32F for <10 hours. Tarp equipment and use an incandescent light bulb underneath OR use heat tape available at your local hardware store.

6. Air Temp <0F. Drain all equipment and plumbing.

proavia · Feb 21, 2020

Jimrahbe said:
Gene,

How is the OP going to run the light if he has no power..

Jim R.

That was a test to see if anyone was paying attention.
(Yeah, that's it... a test... :crazy:

)
You passed!