Great lessons learned for all of us.
I wish Pentair would make an extender with a valve shut off for the drain hole. It is very difficult to reach as you pointed out. I do not have a drain nearby as it just flows into the rock covered area.
What did you do to your pool today?
- Thread starter Patrick_B
- Start date
I wish Pentair would make an extender with a valve shut off for the drain hole. It is very difficult to reach as you pointed out. I do not have a drain nearby as it just flows into the rock covered area.
I'm grateful my pool builder put this on for us. No plug to deal with. I know it's a ball valve but it went leak-free for 21 years before it started to barely drip.
It should be a 1.5 inch NPT plug widely available at the box stores. Who cares what it looks like ? You could always swap it out when the matching one comes, and keep the emergency plug. For those of us that winterize the return plug should fit.
I would have called the local pool stores because they'd probably have them and in this instance I wouldn't care it cost $8 more if the pool was back up and running yesterday with the actual part.
I would have called the local pool stores because they'd probably have them and in this instance I wouldn't care it cost $8 more if the pool was back up and running yesterday with the actual part.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,084
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I envisioned fabricating something like this years ago, then kinda gave up on the idea. I was going to put a hose bib on it. If @Newdude is right about the standard thread, I may revisit this today. Part of the problem is the amount of clearance to work with, between the threads and the pad. I took this pic in Feb 2018, so that's how long ago I "started" working on this idea:
I probably gave up because monkeying with such a mission-critical component can backfire. If this fails, that could cost me a pump. (There was a one-star Amazon review describing that very thing, when someone tried out a cheap 3rd-party plug and it came apart. That's why I'm going OEM.) Plus, I only clean my filter once a year. I swear at the plug each year until it comes off, then promptly forget about doing anything about it until next year! Blather, rinse, repeat.
Something like that would be so great! But I don't know that I'd have room for a big elbow.
I didn't think of that. My plug has an o-ring, so I just assumed it wouldn't be NPT. I'll give that a try today and report back.
I did think of that. They didn't have one, and I would have gladly paid plenty extra.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
This is how my pool guy did it, but eventually the river rock in front of my pad filled up with silt. Gross. I was going to do that hose bib thing, so I could connect a hose to it and drain the filter off to some area that could handle the crud. Then I "discovered" the drain hole with the towel-dam trick and that's probably the other reason I abandoned the valve idea. Yah, some trick alright, "Presto change-o, ta da! Where'd it go?!"
Yeah but did that reviewer have a filter drain plug cam like some people do ? I bet not.
Excuse me, I misspoke above. Its NPS(T) / MIP / straight thread. Still easy enough to find something that works, or put a male to male fitting in there then cap the male fitting.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
OK, that makes more sense. I don't know those designations (NPS(T) / MIP) but that's a great clue to start my search. Thx.
PoorPoolOwner
Gold Supporter
I put my 64th gallon of LC in today since opening. Granted, I started SLAM but I had a couple of projects unexpectedly come up, so I had to start over. 
That’s what I did today
That’s what I did today
I hosted our Mother's Day get together at our pool! Was a great day! My 86yr old Mother even sat on the steps of the pool with her legs/feet in. Grilled out pool side, the usual burgers, hot dogs and brats. This is the type of day I got our pool for - to bring family together. A great day indeed!
Here is a pic of the sign I had made....and a pic for our robots doing the work.
Here is a pic of the sign I had made....and a pic for our robots doing the work.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
OK, well today went significantly better than yesterday. My third-party filter plug shipped, but unfortunately it is now in the hands of USPS, which treats Amazon arrival dates as a mere suggestion. Fingers crossed.
I'm in the middle of my water exchange. That's going well. As I mentioned, this required that the pump be off all day, so the missing filter plug has so far not really cost me any real pump downtime that I wasn't going to have anyway.
Several years ago I meticulously tracked and recorded everything about a similar water exchange, so I now know that my pool is ~250 gallons per inch, at least in the top few feet or so, because the walls are all perfectly perpendicular to the surface. Which makes calculating how much to drain a cinch. I tested at CH 530 today, and targeted CH450, which is only a 15% exchange, because I fill the pool from my softener, which is virtually CH-zero. So 15% of 12300 gallons ÷ 250 gallon/inch = 7.38". I taped a ruler to the coping, aligned with the water level at 7.5":
Then I set up the sump pump and let'er rip. Didn't take long. I just kept an eye on the ruler, which I could do from my pool cam, and stopped the pump at 0".
Then I connected a hose to my dedicated pool-filling hose bib, located inside my pad's water meter box, took a pic of the time and of the water meter, and turned it on. The water meter is dedicated to my auto-filler, so I can track how much evaporation occurs throughout the year, but I also added a hose bib just after the water meter for this very water-exchange routine. I'm tracking how much water it'll take to replace the 7.5" I drained, which will fine-tune/confirm my 250 gallons/inch spec. Neat-o!
In addition to facilitating how much to drain, the meter and the ruler and the tracking all help me predict when the refill will be done (somewhere around midnight tonight). My pool can't overfill, but it will drain off excess fill, so I'll watch it tonight and run out there and turn it off when it's done (I can see both the ruler and the water meter from cams). Then record any new data points for next time.
I set up the sump pump to circulate the pool. I had a heck of a time controlling the output hose. Like that toy we used to have that you'd connect to your hose and it would fly around the lawn until the first kid got brained with it, the output hose was floppin' all around the pool. I tried to tie a rope around it, but that didn't really work. So then I grabbed a 3" SS bolt and some washers and nuts and did it right. I punched a hole through the walls of the hose, about 1" from the end, and threaded the hose onto the bolt, using extra nuts to keep the end of the hose open, like this: head of bolt -> washer -> hose wall -> washer -> nut -> 1.5" gap -> nut -> washer -> other hose wall -> washer -> nut. I tied the rope to the bolt instead of the hose, then tied the other end of the rope to a post. Works great! Hose stays put, near the bottom, and no kinks.
I had already tied the pump to the chair, for the draining, so that I could adjust it's position in the water. I set it at about 8 or 9 inches deep, so worse-case scenario the pump wouldn't drain more than that. You never know what might befall you during this process. Hanging the pump at a safe depth prevents accidentally draining your pool too much.
I'll circulate some chlorine tomorrow, and test the CH, too. Then cross my fingers that my filter plug shows up. But I've got it covered if it doesn't. I have so much going on right now in my garden that I doubt I'll be able to experiment with getting a valve on my filter drain hole. Maybe next year.
So... more than anyone needed to know, but maybe there's a tip or two here that others can use. The most valuable is the bit about tracking your drains and fills so that you can get a gallons per inch figure. That's really useful.
More tomorrow, no doubt!
I'm in the middle of my water exchange. That's going well. As I mentioned, this required that the pump be off all day, so the missing filter plug has so far not really cost me any real pump downtime that I wasn't going to have anyway.
Several years ago I meticulously tracked and recorded everything about a similar water exchange, so I now know that my pool is ~250 gallons per inch, at least in the top few feet or so, because the walls are all perfectly perpendicular to the surface. Which makes calculating how much to drain a cinch. I tested at CH 530 today, and targeted CH450, which is only a 15% exchange, because I fill the pool from my softener, which is virtually CH-zero. So 15% of 12300 gallons ÷ 250 gallon/inch = 7.38". I taped a ruler to the coping, aligned with the water level at 7.5":
Then I set up the sump pump and let'er rip. Didn't take long. I just kept an eye on the ruler, which I could do from my pool cam, and stopped the pump at 0".
Then I connected a hose to my dedicated pool-filling hose bib, located inside my pad's water meter box, took a pic of the time and of the water meter, and turned it on. The water meter is dedicated to my auto-filler, so I can track how much evaporation occurs throughout the year, but I also added a hose bib just after the water meter for this very water-exchange routine. I'm tracking how much water it'll take to replace the 7.5" I drained, which will fine-tune/confirm my 250 gallons/inch spec. Neat-o!
In addition to facilitating how much to drain, the meter and the ruler and the tracking all help me predict when the refill will be done (somewhere around midnight tonight). My pool can't overfill, but it will drain off excess fill, so I'll watch it tonight and run out there and turn it off when it's done (I can see both the ruler and the water meter from cams). Then record any new data points for next time.
I set up the sump pump to circulate the pool. I had a heck of a time controlling the output hose. Like that toy we used to have that you'd connect to your hose and it would fly around the lawn until the first kid got brained with it, the output hose was floppin' all around the pool. I tried to tie a rope around it, but that didn't really work. So then I grabbed a 3" SS bolt and some washers and nuts and did it right. I punched a hole through the walls of the hose, about 1" from the end, and threaded the hose onto the bolt, using extra nuts to keep the end of the hose open, like this: head of bolt -> washer -> hose wall -> washer -> nut -> 1.5" gap -> nut -> washer -> other hose wall -> washer -> nut. I tied the rope to the bolt instead of the hose, then tied the other end of the rope to a post. Works great! Hose stays put, near the bottom, and no kinks.
I had already tied the pump to the chair, for the draining, so that I could adjust it's position in the water. I set it at about 8 or 9 inches deep, so worse-case scenario the pump wouldn't drain more than that. You never know what might befall you during this process. Hanging the pump at a safe depth prevents accidentally draining your pool too much.
I'll circulate some chlorine tomorrow, and test the CH, too. Then cross my fingers that my filter plug shows up. But I've got it covered if it doesn't. I have so much going on right now in my garden that I doubt I'll be able to experiment with getting a valve on my filter drain hole. Maybe next year.
So... more than anyone needed to know, but maybe there's a tip or two here that others can use. The most valuable is the bit about tracking your drains and fills so that you can get a gallons per inch figure. That's really useful.
More tomorrow, no doubt!
Last edited:
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I'm at 5" replaced, and it's been five hours. Well isn't that conveeeeenent! I'll be done in 2.5", which is 2 and a half hours, or about 11:08pm. I'm watching on my pool cam. And I can see all the floaties zooming by the ruler. That sump pump is really working well to circulate the water. So yah, I'm pretty pleased with myself!
Last edited:
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Shoot, I meant to do this at about 3.75 inches (or 3.75 hours). I just pulled a sample from the soft water fill hose and tested it for CH. It's still CH zero. I'm at 6" of replacement water, or about 1500 gallons. Nice to know my water softener can handle that. Had I seen any CH at all, I would have stopped the fill and forced the softener to regenerate, then commenced the fill after that. I've had to do that before, when I had to do a bigger exchange. Which is another reason I like to do these smaller exchanges more often.
Anywho, all is well. This will be another data point to record.
Got about another hour and a half to go.
Anywho, all is well. This will be another data point to record.
Got about another hour and a half to go.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Pool cam reports... I'm done!
Data points:
Total inches exchanged: 7.5
Total gallons exchanged: 1929
Gallons per inch: 257
Time to fill 7.5 inches: 6 hr 55 min
Average time to fill one inch: 55 minutes
The fill rate seemed to fluctuate across the 7 hours. Either I was using water, or the neighbors were, but something was affecting the pressure (which I think means I need a new house pressure regulator). But I got some "close enough" data points that will be very useful for next time:
I confirmed my ~250 gallons per inch,
and it takes about an hour to raise the pool an inch from my soft water spigot.
Nice that those number are easy to remember.
Apologies for the novella, but as I said, there might be something in it that others will find useful.
Stay tuned! Tomorrow I finish the new drip circuit. Fix my filter. Add some CYA (which I've been stalling for the filter cleaning and the water exchange). And, of course, test my CH to see how this all worked out!
Data points:
Total inches exchanged: 7.5
Total gallons exchanged: 1929
Gallons per inch: 257
Time to fill 7.5 inches: 6 hr 55 min
Average time to fill one inch: 55 minutes
The fill rate seemed to fluctuate across the 7 hours. Either I was using water, or the neighbors were, but something was affecting the pressure (which I think means I need a new house pressure regulator). But I got some "close enough" data points that will be very useful for next time:
I confirmed my ~250 gallons per inch,
and it takes about an hour to raise the pool an inch from my soft water spigot.
Nice that those number are easy to remember.
Apologies for the novella, but as I said, there might be something in it that others will find useful.
Stay tuned! Tomorrow I finish the new drip circuit. Fix my filter. Add some CYA (which I've been stalling for the filter cleaning and the water exchange). And, of course, test my CH to see how this all worked out!
This weekend I drained, cleaned, and re-filled my hot tub, while warily eyeing the still closed pool across the yard.
I also put this thing together and put it on my deck. It has been in a box in my garage since late winter (maybe Feb?) waiting for warmer weather. I was in Lowe's and it was some insane clearance price - like $800 off list. So "why not" I said.
Haven't cooked on it yet, but seasoned the flattop and it seems to work nicely.
I also put this thing together and put it on my deck. It has been in a box in my garage since late winter (maybe Feb?) waiting for warmer weather. I was in Lowe's and it was some insane clearance price - like $800 off list. So "why not" I said.
Haven't cooked on it yet, but seasoned the flattop and it seems to work nicely.