We sure needed the rain the other week, but once it started it never stopped. Fall weather came early. I was hoping for just the opposite being that we had no early fall trips planned this year. Time to close up...
Swimming season is coming to an abrupt end this year
- Thread starter anthonypool89
- Start date
As usual, it seems that the newer plugs I've been getting of late just aren't as good. I use #6 for my two return lines, and then the skimmer uses a #8 and #9 on a double (Anthony) plug configuration.
I usually have to blow the lines several times to get both return line plugs to hold (without leaking) and it seems the only way to do that is to go into my bag of really old plugs that I've saved over the years.
Anyone else notice this same problem? Is the rubber material not as pliable as it used to be and so presents greater difficulty fitting and staying in the return holes?
So the real bummer, though, was when I had the cover half way on and then noticed that a plug was on the bottom of the pool! Never had that happen in the 35 years that I'm doing this! Did a cover strap catch the wing nut and yank it out (being that a good part of the cover was under water as I pulled it along), or, did it simply fall out (weird since I really tighten them good). Also strange that it happened about 40 minutes after I was done blowing the lines!
I had already put the compressor away, etc. so had to hook everything back up. Same thing happened again, that a return plug blew out and immediately dislodged the skimmer/drain (double) plug. So....FINALLY got it done (I think?) but then as I was finishing up with the cover straps I heard a slight popping noise coming from the skimmer (oh NO!). Some water started to come up but I quickly pushed it back down and tightened it up harder. I'm thinking one of the two plugs maybe shifted a bit since there is alot of pressure down there when I'm done blowing. Still, yet another thing that has NEVER happened. So....is the line partially full of water? No way to know. The skimmer pot is completely empty, as it usually is after getting done with the lines (I suck all the water out), so I take that as a good sign. I even loosened many of the straps on the return line side and poked my head under there to make sure both plugs are still in. I opened up the threaded cap at the top of the return lines and, with a flashlight, I can see some water down in there. Can't recall if I've ever bothered to even check that. So when I heard that slight popping noise did it fill the return lines back up behind the plugs? I've not yet added the 2 gallons of antifreeze. Almost afraid to! I guess I'll leave well enough alone and by adding a gallon of antifreeze in the skimmer line and another gallon in the return lines, I suspect I'm ok. I think the popping sound in the skimmer was just a slight shift. Had the whole plug loosened up, surely the sudden burst of pressure would probably have again loosened the return plugs. ARGGGHH!!!! Every year I worry about all this!
Worst closing ever. I think it a good idea to recheck those return lines in awhile. I surely wouldn't relish taking off the cover and having to do all this over yet again. I suspect everything's finally ok. IF there's some water in that drain line, I'm not going to worry about it. I figure if the water freezes that far down in the pool, we're in for one heck of a winter! Even when the pool is frozen during the harshest of winter weather, at most it's only a few inches thick. If water was still coming up in the skimmer pot then I'd have another issue. I suspect there's always some water that winds up in between that double plug setup. The way that thing works is that I push it down partway to block the skimmer line and so direct the air down to the drain. Then, when lots of bubbles appear, I push the plug down the rest of the way and tighten the wing nut. If all goes well (sure didn't this time), it's a 10-minute procedure to blow out the lines and done.
Any thoughts on where to buy plugs that work? Been getting mine from https://intheswim.com/ but am thinking I have to try elsewhere, if it'd even matter. Everything seems to point to the plugs, since I have notes from previous years from closing and everything I've written says the same thing. I usually buy new plugs each summer and then wind up having trouble with them in fall.
I usually have to blow the lines several times to get both return line plugs to hold (without leaking) and it seems the only way to do that is to go into my bag of really old plugs that I've saved over the years.
Anyone else notice this same problem? Is the rubber material not as pliable as it used to be and so presents greater difficulty fitting and staying in the return holes?
So the real bummer, though, was when I had the cover half way on and then noticed that a plug was on the bottom of the pool! Never had that happen in the 35 years that I'm doing this! Did a cover strap catch the wing nut and yank it out (being that a good part of the cover was under water as I pulled it along), or, did it simply fall out (weird since I really tighten them good). Also strange that it happened about 40 minutes after I was done blowing the lines!
I had already put the compressor away, etc. so had to hook everything back up. Same thing happened again, that a return plug blew out and immediately dislodged the skimmer/drain (double) plug. So....FINALLY got it done (I think?) but then as I was finishing up with the cover straps I heard a slight popping noise coming from the skimmer (oh NO!). Some water started to come up but I quickly pushed it back down and tightened it up harder. I'm thinking one of the two plugs maybe shifted a bit since there is alot of pressure down there when I'm done blowing. Still, yet another thing that has NEVER happened. So....is the line partially full of water? No way to know. The skimmer pot is completely empty, as it usually is after getting done with the lines (I suck all the water out), so I take that as a good sign. I even loosened many of the straps on the return line side and poked my head under there to make sure both plugs are still in. I opened up the threaded cap at the top of the return lines and, with a flashlight, I can see some water down in there. Can't recall if I've ever bothered to even check that. So when I heard that slight popping noise did it fill the return lines back up behind the plugs? I've not yet added the 2 gallons of antifreeze. Almost afraid to! I guess I'll leave well enough alone and by adding a gallon of antifreeze in the skimmer line and another gallon in the return lines, I suspect I'm ok. I think the popping sound in the skimmer was just a slight shift. Had the whole plug loosened up, surely the sudden burst of pressure would probably have again loosened the return plugs. ARGGGHH!!!! Every year I worry about all this!
Worst closing ever. I think it a good idea to recheck those return lines in awhile. I surely wouldn't relish taking off the cover and having to do all this over yet again. I suspect everything's finally ok. IF there's some water in that drain line, I'm not going to worry about it. I figure if the water freezes that far down in the pool, we're in for one heck of a winter! Even when the pool is frozen during the harshest of winter weather, at most it's only a few inches thick. If water was still coming up in the skimmer pot then I'd have another issue. I suspect there's always some water that winds up in between that double plug setup. The way that thing works is that I push it down partway to block the skimmer line and so direct the air down to the drain. Then, when lots of bubbles appear, I push the plug down the rest of the way and tighten the wing nut. If all goes well (sure didn't this time), it's a 10-minute procedure to blow out the lines and done.
Any thoughts on where to buy plugs that work? Been getting mine from https://intheswim.com/ but am thinking I have to try elsewhere, if it'd even matter. Everything seems to point to the plugs, since I have notes from previous years from closing and everything I've written says the same thing. I usually buy new plugs each summer and then wind up having trouble with them in fall.
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I'm still using my original plugs from 2012 but this may be the year they need replacing. I don't trust anything from anybody anymore. Quality control became a distant memory once everybody put out crud with the shortages and everyone bought it anyway.
Yeah I believe you nailed the whole problem. In thinking about all this, I also don't recall ever buying new plugs until I started getting some smaller supplies at various internet pool stores in the past several years. I'm going to put the return plugs aside that are in there now once taken out in spring (already planning for reopening!!) so as to probably reuse them. "If it ain't broke don't fix it". Thanks for the reply!
Lately by us we're only seeing a few inches of ice/frost. Not to say this year won't be the year, but wherever the frost line ends up, you only need to be below it. For me the pipes drop 4 feet at the pool and the equipment pad and everything in between would take an insane winter to matter. Most of it is further insulated under the patio which warms in the sun everyday.
Exactly. If the climate continues a warming trend - probably little to worry about with freezing pool (underground) plumbing. Open earlier and close later!
I ordered for my A&S pool several dozens of various sizes plugs on Amazon a couple of years ago. Didn't notice any quality problems. One of the two skimmers has a connection to the drain, so that one needs a combo of two plugs separated by a spacer; another spacer is between the upper plug and the wing nut. The other skimmer only needs a single plug with a spacer.
If a plug cannot be sealed with the nut, or it doesn't stay in place, I replace the rubber part and all is well. You mentioned that you use a compressor for blowing the pipes. Perhaps the pressure is too high? I use a Cyclone blower.
Do you detach springs from the straps before opening the pool? The cover is more managable without the springs, and it's not likely that during closing you would pull out return plugs with the straps alone.
If a plug cannot be sealed with the nut, or it doesn't stay in place, I replace the rubber part and all is well. You mentioned that you use a compressor for blowing the pipes. Perhaps the pressure is too high? I use a Cyclone blower.
Do you detach springs from the straps before opening the pool? The cover is more managable without the springs, and it's not likely that during closing you would pull out return plugs with the straps alone.
I was just thinking the exact same thing. My Sears 1 HP compressor had less power than the Porter Cable pancake that replaced it. There is way more pressure coming out of those return lines than would have to be even though I have the gauge turned all the way off.
I think my mistake when closing this time was trying to do both the compressor and the skimmer valve by myself. Unless having the compressor practically right next to me so as to turn it off immediately after the skimmer / drain plug goes in, by the time a few more seconds passes after that plug is in and I get to the compressor (used a shorter extension cord this time so the compressor was several feet away), there's no place left for all the extra air to go except to start blowing out one of the plugs - which always winds up being one of the returns. Once my wife helped with the compressor, it went better. Even so, I'm still dumbfounded at what caused a return plug to simply fall out about 30 minutes after having blown everything. I always go for a last swim before the cover goes on, and all during that time both return plugs were fine. I'm betting that a cover strap dragging in the water latched on to the wingnut somehow and yanked it free.
No...I've never removed the springs from the straps. All that hardware simply gets folded in as I pull the cover off a few feet at a time.
I would think so as well, but what other explanation could there be? A plug has never fallen out before (once I'm done blowing out the lines). Makes no sense, but has me paranoid. Will a plug fall out at some point during the winter? Not about to keep taking off straps every few days just so I can stick my head under the cover and check! I did that after adding the antifreeze and they were still in there, then checked again a few hours later. Maybe at this point better not to know and just let it go till spring. It just seems odd that every time I use a plug I've bought in the last few years, I have some sort of problem, and as soon as I wind up using older plugs, it works. I noticed that the older plug even goes in the pipe farther. And so wondering if - with the newer (stiffer?) plugs, the more I tighten, perhaps the more it starts to push out rather than simply get tighter against the pipe.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,049
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
