Replacing liner in AGP. Should we add a main center drain?

[KayCee]

We just had someone come out and give us an estimate to replace our liner. He recommended adding a main center drain. We had not previously considered this. Do others on the forum have main center drains in you AGPs? What are your thoughts?
He also recommended replacing our old skimmer with a wide mouthskimmer. Thoughts?
Thank you.

 

[Catanzaro]

If this was my pool, I would not add a main drain, given you are 52" off the floor. More importantly, do add the wide mouth skimmer and instead of one return in the pool, add another 2 returns and make sure they are spaced out. Your sand filter and your pump should be plenty to handle everything. More than often, AGP have circulation problems due to limited returns, which cause more frequent brushing, algae problems, etc.

Again, you will have to be comfortable with what you do. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[KayCee]

The main drain would not be on the pool wall. The main drain would be in the center bottom of the pool.

 

[Catanzaro]

The main drain would not be on the pool wall. The main drain would be in the center bottom of the pool.

Yes, I understand. All main drains are on the floor. This will help pull the water from the bottom, but you still will have dead spots around the pool, so adding extra returns is a good idea. Your system can probably handle one wide mouth skimmer, one main drain, and 3 returns. The cost should not be that much and quite honestly you will not regret the decision. You will probably be able to cut down on run time (at least 2 hours a day), which in turn will pay for itself with electricity, chemicals and wear and tear on the pump.

 

[zea3]

I don't see a big advantage to a main drain. You have to weigh the pluses and minuses to determine what will work for you.

On the plus side, you can brush fine debris toward the main drain and cut down on vacuuming, if you ever need to completely drain the pool you won't have to get a submersible pump, and you can shut off the skimmer and run from the main drain if you go out of town and not worry about the skimmer clogging while you are away.

On the minus side, its one more point a leak may develop, if you winterize you will need to plug it every winter and unplug it every spring, and the additional cost to add it to the pool.

Add any other things you can think of to determine if it is a good idea for you and how you use the pool.