I was just wondering when my pool is done is it ok to fill from a hydrant or should I use tap water from my house? Obviously the hydrant would be great but I wasn't sure if filling it too fast could be an issue or if sometimes the water in hydrants causes an issue.
Should I fill new pool from hydrant or hose from house
- Thread starter briansturgeon
- Start date
They would need to flush the hydrant first, but it will fill much quicker than with a hose.
I asked my PB to fill my pool with the hydrant and was told that the pressure from the hydrant would mess up the new plaster. They even wrapped a rag around the end of the hoses to reduce the output.
I gave my neighbor some cash and some baked goods, and borrowed his hose.
I gave my neighbor some cash and some baked goods, and borrowed his hose.
I talked to a buddy who is a fireman when we filled up my pool and he said they would need to flush the hydrant, then I would need to get a meter to see how much water I used. The logistics seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I put a "y" on one of my bibs so I could use 2 hoses and used another hose bib from the front of the house for a total of 3 hoses. My pool filled up really fast, about 10 hours for about 12k gallons.
Some people have been known to fill wih a hydrant. The main thing is to make sure that you have permission from the city/FD/water department to do so lest you get hit with a fine.
18x36 with 8' deep end. I think around 24K gal
Would the higher pressure of the hydrant hurt the liner? Or would the quick fill and weight hurt the liner vs a gradual fill
Would the higher pressure of the hydrant hurt the liner? Or would the quick fill and weight hurt the liner vs a gradual fill
If you are not in a rush and your home water supply is not very expensive and the water quality is decent (no metals and no high CH), I would recommend filling it from your home supply. It will likely take 2 days to fill it up, but will be very gentle in terms of setting/stretching the liner.
That's just me...but then again, many folks fill their pools via trucked in water and they dump 3-4k gallons at a time in a matter of 10 mins or so
That's just me...but then again, many folks fill their pools via trucked in water and they dump 3-4k gallons at a time in a matter of 10 mins or so
Filling a 24k pool with the hose (while probably the best) might get a little tedious. On city water pressure, you would likely get around 8gpm out of the hose, 5 if your on a well. So 24k @ 8gpm = 50 hours.
That said, the big advantage is you can test your tap water prior to putting it in the pool and be ready to balance it as it fills.
You can easily work around any disadvantages of high pressure by simply using boards to deflect the flow.
Have you calculated both costs?
That said, the big advantage is you can test your tap water prior to putting it in the pool and be ready to balance it as it fills.
You can easily work around any disadvantages of high pressure by simply using boards to deflect the flow.
Have you calculated both costs?
probably same cost either way. city has a guage that will go on my hose so i don't pay sewage. if costs doesnt matter should i just use tap water
I would say yes. It allows you to test the tap water and be assured of the quality as it goes in.
Some cities will let you fill the pool and not charge sewer fees. However, they let you borrow a temporary meter that connects to the hose. This way they know how much to adjust the water bill.
My city sells you a $50 meter for your garden hose that you can use for filling topping off the pool and then at the end of summer you turn in the readings and they will credit me for the overage I paid on the sewer based on those readings. It is amazing to me that on my bill sewage actually costs more than my water.
I've done mine with a regular old fire house (a couple of times now) and it filled up in about 20 hours. Definitely do-able and probably cheaper over all than the hydrant or truck method.
If, for whatever reason, someone wants to fill a liner pool with a truck or via the fire hydrant, there is a risk of wrinkling (not, per se. damaging) the liner if the flow is not deflected!
I think I've given the caveats elsewhere, but a quick search didn't locate them for me
- if you want the info, just ask and I'll either dig deeper into the archives or repeat my advice
I think I've given the caveats elsewhere, but a quick search didn't locate them for me
- if you want the info, just ask and I'll either dig deeper into the archives or repeat my advice I still can't find the post 
Oh well here's what to do and look out for:
Run the hose to the deep end corner (a lot of water truck drivers will try to fill at the closest point, make the lazy SOB put on another length of hose
).
Start the flow slowly and have someone holding and aiming the flow (to make sure the hose doesn't 'snake' around and that all the connect5ions/ hoses aren't leaking. The person holding the hose should aim the flow at a wall to deflect the force and it helps if they cup their fingers over the flow to further deflect the force.
Once you've got ~ 6" in the hopper, kill the flow and install the MD faceplates, cut out the liner and install the covers.
Start it back up, as before.
Once you've got a couple feet of water in the hopper, direct the flow into the center of the hopper.
The reason for deflecting the flow off a deep end wall is to prevent floor wrinkles. If you just let it go into the shallow end the force of the water can wrinkle the shallow end floor and/ or the slope (try to imagine the force of 300 gal./ min. )
I'm not saying that you are guaranteed to get wrinkles if you fill from the shallow end, but why risk it?
Oh well here's what to do and look out for:
Run the hose to the deep end corner (a lot of water truck drivers will try to fill at the closest point, make the lazy SOB put on another length of hose
).Start the flow slowly and have someone holding and aiming the flow (to make sure the hose doesn't 'snake' around and that all the connect5ions/ hoses aren't leaking. The person holding the hose should aim the flow at a wall to deflect the force and it helps if they cup their fingers over the flow to further deflect the force.
Once you've got ~ 6" in the hopper, kill the flow and install the MD faceplates, cut out the liner and install the covers.
Start it back up, as before.
Once you've got a couple feet of water in the hopper, direct the flow into the center of the hopper.
The reason for deflecting the flow off a deep end wall is to prevent floor wrinkles. If you just let it go into the shallow end the force of the water can wrinkle the shallow end floor and/ or the slope (try to imagine the force of 300 gal./ min.
)I'm not saying that you are guaranteed to get wrinkles if you fill from the shallow end, but why risk it?
carlos31820 said:
At my house I have 2 meters on two separate mains. One for the house that gets sewer charges, one for the pool and irrigation with no sewer charges. Really saves a lot of money.