Understanding my pool and how to drain

[prasadkm0204]

Hello everyone,

I am starting a new thread (for the continuation of http://www.troublefreepool.com/thre...the-pool-to-normal-levels?p=760961#post760961) since the topic queries has changed.

So

1. I need to figure out what the different parts of the pool are. See pics attached.
pic1 - what valve is this
pic2 - What is valve1 and valve2. When I switched off value2, the water to skimmer stopped. Does that also stop water from the main drain ?

2. I am trying to drain water from my pool to get CYA levels to normal (Its above 100 now). I looked at the option of renting/buying a sump pump but do not want to spend on it. I guess I can use the backwash option (by connecting the water exit to a hose)

I saw a youtube video where it is instructed to switch off water to skimmer and drain using the backwash option. I seem to have figured the valve for skimmer but want to be sure.

FWIW, there was a pump for the spa that does not exist now, so there may be some valves that are not required.



Thanks again for your help.
-Prasad

 

[jblizzle]

The first valve is a return valve that determines where the water is returned to the pool. Maybe one side is the walls and the other is for a pressure cleaner or waterfall?

Valve 2 must be to the skimmer, and then maybe Valve 1 is to the floor or could be a vacuum line somewhere.

I would not recommend draining a lot of water in backwash mode as you could damage the grids or clog them up with debris.

 

[elwood58]

Having just drained about 85% of my water 10 days ago, I can tell you the way to go, in terms of both time and expense, is to rent a submersible pump from Lowes or Home Depot.

 

[JasonLion]

Assuming you can adjust the valves to draw water only from the main drain, another way to drain the pool is to remove the top of the filter and run the pump in normal filter mode. This is fairly easy to do, however it does result in the water overflowing out of the filter with no real control over where it goes from there, which can be a problem in some situations.

 

[CUTiger78]

I can't help with the valves, but I've got an idea about draining.

A simple siphon with a garden hose can drain thousands of gallons per day and it'll be free. You've got to make gravity do the work for you, though, so you'll have to have a point lower than the intake point in the pool for the water to drain out. If you've got the elevations to make this work, just put the garden hose in the pool, fill it with water, put your thumb over the end of the hose, & drag it to the drain point. Take your thumb off the end of the hose & water should start to flow--no sucking on the hose required to start the siphon.

Good luck!

 

[prasadkm0204]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
@CUTiger78 - Thanks for the tip but it will not work for me due to logistics.

I rented a submersible for 4 hours (35 dollars) from Home Depot yesterday and drained about 40% of my pool.
Ran the pump overnight and tested today morning.

CYA - 90 to 100
Chlorine - 2ppm
Alkaline - 160
PH - 7.8

I will drain the rest in phases(scared as to what my water bill might be this month . Will assess my water bill this month and start draining again.
I guess I will need to add chlorine currently for the high CYA levels.

-Prasad