Hi All!
Long time lurker and first time pool owner here (inherited a pool built in 2006 by the prior). Location is northeast. My first pool season has been pretty smooth, mainly thanks to the advice here and following the TFP method.
The weather in the north east is still a bit too warm to close but figured i'd do a dry run today and practice blowing out the pipes using a 6 gallon shop vac (did not lower water level - practice run only).
The issue i'm having is i cant seem to get the main drain to air lock... and maybe the shop vac is not powerful enough or am i doing it wrong? Attached in the picture of the equipment, i have inserted the shop vac blower into the pipe circled in green, then proceeded to closed the valve that goes to the filter side so that all air is being forced through the pump, skimmers, and main drain. I closed the skimmers one by one as bubbles started to come out of them but for some reason with only the main drain open and the vac running (for about 2 mins), air bubbles wont come out. The main drain 100% works as leaves always make their way to it.
Questions:
1. Am i not supposed to be blowing into the pipes via the green circle, and instead should i blow through a skimmer and plug the motor so that air doesn't run through it?
2. To blow out the return lines on my setup, where would you personally advise to insert the blower? Should i undo the union right after the chlorinator and stick the blower through there?
Equipment Setup: Pool Layout:
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Long time lurker and first time pool owner here (inherited a pool built in 2006 by the prior). Location is northeast. My first pool season has been pretty smooth, mainly thanks to the advice here and following the TFP method.
The weather in the north east is still a bit too warm to close but figured i'd do a dry run today and practice blowing out the pipes using a 6 gallon shop vac (did not lower water level - practice run only).
The issue i'm having is i cant seem to get the main drain to air lock... and maybe the shop vac is not powerful enough or am i doing it wrong? Attached in the picture of the equipment, i have inserted the shop vac blower into the pipe circled in green, then proceeded to closed the valve that goes to the filter side so that all air is being forced through the pump, skimmers, and main drain. I closed the skimmers one by one as bubbles started to come out of them but for some reason with only the main drain open and the vac running (for about 2 mins), air bubbles wont come out. The main drain 100% works as leaves always make their way to it.
Questions:
1. Am i not supposed to be blowing into the pipes via the green circle, and instead should i blow through a skimmer and plug the motor so that air doesn't run through it?
2. To blow out the return lines on my setup, where would you personally advise to insert the blower? Should i undo the union right after the chlorinator and stick the blower through there?
Equipment Setup: Pool Layout:
Many thanks in advance for your help!
