Winter plugs and freezing water

[HomeStead4310]

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if someone could help me out. This Winter was my first time winterizing my pool. I installed this plug on the return, and as the picture shows, the ice completely removed this plug? Is this normal or preventable? When winterizing i lowered the water below the skimmer, but not my return. I can’t do much of anything right now due to the ice, so as of now I’m just left to wait till the water drains below the return. Any suggestions or ideas about this would be great to hear . Thank you everyone

 

[ajw22]

Did you blow water out of the return line before putting the plug in?

 

[HomeStead4310]

I did not. Coming out of the pool, the return goes down, into the ground ( not sure how deep ) then right back out of the ground which then would connect to an in-line chlorinator. I would say there was most likely water sitting in the lowest part of the line.

 

[ajw22]

The purpose of plugging the return line in the winter is to blow water out and trap air in. Better to leave the line open if not blown out and water in it so if ice forms it has a place to expand out.

 

[HomeStead4310]

The side that would normally be connected to the chorlinator is left open. If my plug never sealed completely and the line slowly filled with water, is it more likely that the ice in the line caused my plug to come out rather than ice in the pool?

 

[ajw22]

The side that would normally be connected to the chorlinator is left open. If my plug never sealed completely and the line slowly filled with water, is it more likely that the ice in the line caused my plug to come out rather than ice in the pool?

Yes, ice in the line pushed the plug out.

 

[HomeStead4310]

Ok. I will have to make sure that plug seals better in the first place next year. Hopefully there is no damage to anything this spring! Thankyou for your help