Replacing main drain cutoff

[Djjones]

Hello all! main drain valve handle broken, can this be replaced or is it just too much of hassle? Someone told me the pool might need to be drained to replace it? We were using a pipe wrench to turn it on and off. Currently we’ve just left it on. Our pool is not winterized.

 

[Newdude]

Hey D !! Plenty of room on both to splice in a Jandy Neverlube or Pentair valve with repairable guts if the need ever arises again. Which, if you stay away from cheap ball valves, probably will never again arise. Do them both or it’s just a matter of time until you’re doing the other one.

So long as they are above the water level, you can replace them without losing pool water once the filter or other equipment drains out the cut pipe. If you drain them first, you won’t get a shower when you cut the pipe.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dj,

You don't even need a main drain... You use a sump pump to drain a pool, not the main drain.

Thousands of pools do not have an operating main drain, and they all work just fine.

When you have a main drain, we recommend that the valve only be opened about 5 or 10%..

I would not waste 10 minutes working on the broken valve. If the valve turns with a wrench, and you only need to move it when you close, or open the pool, I'd just leave it alone.

Thanks,

Jim R,

 

[Djjones]

Hey D !! Plenty of room on both to splice in a Jandy Neverlube or Pentair valve with repairable guts if the need ever arises again. Which, if you stay away from cheap ball valves, probably will never again arise. Do them both or it’s just a matter of time until you’re doing the other one.

So long as they are above the water level, you can replace them without losing pool water once the filter or other equipment drains out the cut pipe. If you drain them first, you won’t get a shower when you cut the pipe.

Thank you New Dude! We’re definitely BELOW the water level with our gear, it would be more like a geyser than a shower, lol.

 

[Djjones]

Dj,

You don't even need a main drain... You use a sump pump to drain a pool, not the main drain.

Thousands of pools do not have an operating main drain, and they all work just fine.

When you have a main drain, we recommend that the valve only be opened about 5 or 10%..

I would not waste 10 minutes working on the broken valve. If the valve turns with a wrench, and you only need to move it when you close, or open the pool, I'd just leave it alone.

Thanks,

Jim R,

Thanks for your input Jim!

 

[Newdude]

We’re definitely BELOW the water level with our gear, it would be more like a geyser than a shower, lol.

Ok then gizzmo the skimmers and plug the returns to minimize the bath.