How To Winterize Your Inground Swimming Pool
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- čas přidán 17. 07. 2024
- Buy Your Deluxe Gizzmo Here: bit.ly/pool-skimmer-gizzmo
50% of new pools don't have main drains. Builders are moving away from them because of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, www.poolsafely.gov/wp-content... If you have main drains the best thing to do is put a quick disconnect air fitting in front of the pump (there is drain hole in the front of all pumps) use an air compressor to blow air through the main drain line until air is bubbling out of the main drains. Then shut the valve off and immediately shut the air compressor off, this will create an air lock.
Watch & Learn How To Winterize Your Inground Swimming Pool! - Jak na to + styl
Last year, I watched many videos on how to close a pool but I never felt comfortable enough. I just watched this video... it's great. It's in layman terms, you went step by step and I feel confident I can close my pool myself. I already open my own pool so between opening and closing, I'll save $500 a year. That'll go towards this heater that just set me back several grand. Thank you!!!! And thanks to all the extra comments and tips!
thank you glad we could help!
Where are you?
@@psdeas7530 Virginia!
This video was very helpful because I have a foreclosed property that has a pool that needs to be winterized here in California…. Thanks so much!!!!
I love your video. Last year I had someone to help me to close my pool. After looking at your video, I see that I did some things wrong last year. I like your idea on periscopes.
Thanks a lot for this super informative video. Made everything super clear and easy, much appreciation guys.
Thank you very much for the information!
Great, I love the elbows idea in the return
Hi thanks for the video very helpful, I have a Hayward canister filter and wonder where I can buy the little attachment that screws in the bleeder to pump air on the lines..Can you help me?
Great idea with return lines angle pipe. Saw it first from you guys.
What is your opinion on using a flex PVC pipe after an elbow to address concerns about ice movement / putting force on the return port? Anything else you have changed to the design since you released this video?
I have used this "periscope" method as shown to me by the previous homeowner for several years and it works great. A couple modifications. 1.) I reverse the vac hose to the blow side (versus typical draw side) and blow-out the return lines from a quick connect I have inline after the heater. Do 1 at time with others capped. There will be an initial geyser that comes out, continue to blow until barely a mist. Cap the first and move to the next., so on. MUCH faster and less emptying the vac. 2.) I use 1 gallon of RV A/F per skimmer and return line and also add 1 gallon to the pump body. For $3 a gallon it is cheap insurance. 3.) I put an empty A/F container in the skimmer portal for freeze protection in place of your "gizmo". 4.) Lastly -- I tie the remaining empty A/F containers together and secure to the step rail and float in the step area for the same ice / freeze protection. Hope this helps.
do you suck all the rv fluid out when opening?
Great Educational video but I’m worrying about those angle pvc for jets? During the freezing winter those pipe not going to be bend or broke by expanding ice in pool?
Hi
Thank you
But I have different pool equipment
I live in upstate NY
Don't have sand filter
Thank you for the information. I wish I could have seen where you were pouring the antifreeze into the skimmer.
He poured it into the opening in the top of the gizmo (in the hole where he removed the plug prior to screwing the gizmo in). As stated, pour some outside of the gizmo to keep skimmer housing protected if water gets in & freezes.
@Pool Warehouse man this is good video. i gotta a question though. any tips before i open the pool for the season and starts the equipments since i didn't properly winterize the pool last season? i mean i did add all the chemicals but i didn't blowout all the pipes and etc,. the only reason i am in need help, that what if my plumbing lines are freeze from previous snow since there was heavy snow where i live continuing 2-3 weeks snow. any help, would be appreciated.
OR is it better for me to get warm weather and then try to start all the equipments?
This helped a lot!
Thanks, is your shopping list posted somewhere?
Thank you for this video.
What end do you have on your 1.5" PVC that you screwed into the return line?
I live in southeast tn can I just leave the pool at normal water level and blow out the return and skimmer lines and Main drain and just cover
Not all skimmers are alike. Some of use might have Aqua Genie skimmers. In that case what do you use for a gizmo? Aqua Genie skimmers do not have threads. Plastic jugs and pool noodles work but they also float.
Do you vacuum out the antifreeze in the spring when you open the pool?
Best video ever for this!
Is that a standard 3/4 NPT on the filter drain?
Is a small compressor hooked up into the pool pump fitting better for removing water? Just wondering thank you for your video
As long as the lines are open and you don’t build pressure then yes it’s ok.
With a automatic cover you will NOT want to drop your water level. Just saying because it needs support for weight of the snow
How do you winterize unground pool with the pipes that go on the bottom of the pool on the floor
What about the main drain, are you comfortable with that water (most anyway) being below the Spring-line , this looks like a liner pool,same method with liner,fiberglass or gunite (shotcrete) ?
I always blow out the drain
How do you get a suction stop when you’re blowing your main drain out from the pump?
@@JammyToe12 do you have a shut off valve on your main drain line ?
My skimmer has no threads, just use the rubber plug and pour in anti freeze? I also noticed that you did nothing with the line to the main drain, hoping that was on purpose because when my pool was built they didnt put a line or a lever for me to switch between the skimmer and the main drain.
I'm no expert, but I've done mine for 2 years now and achieved great success. I think it's critical to have a valve for the main drain. You need a strong shop vac to blow the water out into the pool until you see bubbles vigorously and then immediately close the main drain valve. That establishes an airlock and no water can return into the main drain until spring time for opening.
What about blowing out the deep end pipe? How do you get the water out of that line and prevent water from leaking back in?
You blow it out from the pump end . Once you see a good amount of air bubbles coming from the bottom of the pool you close the valve at the pump. Hopefully your valve is not leaking internally , which would allow pool water to climb back up into the pipe.
Question. You don’t mention the main pool drain line. If all the valves are open and I start vacuuming water from the skimmer, wouldn’t that eventually just pull some water from the main drain line? Do I handle that main drain any differently?
The main drain line needs to be closed while vacuuming all other lines; You should push air down the main drain line and shut the valve to air lock it and keep water down under ground level.
There is 2 holes in the skimmer,one sucks all the dirt in, what does the other one do? does that one need to be capped also,filled with antifreeze?
One pushes water to the jump (pump is sucking up that water) and the other one pulling water in from main drain
I'm new at this., We just finish our pool. So i should remove the ladder, and diving board?
Not sure about a diving board as I don't have one but definitely remove the ladder. Store that in the shed. And you can't properly use a safety cover or any vinyl cover with the ladder in the way. Hope that helps
Do you use any sort of sealant or rubber o-ring to seal the PVC elbow to the return line?
Also, is the water level raised back to normal height or left below the skimmer for the winter?
If you have a mesh safety cover it will fill all the way back up and overflow.
@@joshmusser9934 it will fill up and over for regardless
BUT, and this was my dilemma, if you have an automatic pool cover you MUST have proper water level! I believe water level at the lower lip of the skimmer is inadequate. I think it should be higher. You exchange extra strain on the pool cover and the track for a clean dry skimmer. I was deathly afraid of ice freezing the skimmer and cracking it. I used a skimmer plug to momentarily allow me to Shop-Vac the water out of the skimmer and put an entire gallon of antifreeze into the skimmer space along with pool noodles, Gizmo, collapsed water bottles to address any ice to grow upwards and out instead of outward to crack skimmer. It worked like a charm and I had a good water level to protect my automatic pool cover. I'm in SLC, UT and it doesn't get THAT cold. Ps: skimmer plug does NOT work well, but buys time.
Came across your video while trying to find instructions about blowing out the main drain for winter. I am confused how my pool plumbing is setup. I connected air compressor to blow out all my lines. I was able to blow out my 2 skimmers and all the returns. But I am not able to do this for the main drain. I have tried so many things but just can't figure this out. No matter what lever I change....I just do not see bubbles coming out from main drain. Any idea what is going on?
i think it's easy to find out what type of main drain line you have if you look into skimmer. hope this help.
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Quick question - you set the sand filter to backwash position and not the winter position. can you explain why? the guy that closed my pool just turned the dial to Winter and then emptied it. thanks
Not all multiport valves have a winter setting. You can either set it on backwash or place it between 2 settings (some have this as a notch called "Neutral") so its open. There's multiple ways people go about winterizing pools. There is a few wrong ways - as well as a few right ways.
Great video! You said you used pvc piping in the return lines, what did you use to screw the pvc piping into the return line? I’m talking about the threading to screw it in if that make since to you.
Keith Lindsey Home Depot sells a male or female 1-1/2 inch or 2” piece that will threads in . Check all your returns for the correct male or female . Teflon tape the threads and clean and glue the rest not the cap.
Also make sure everything is schedule 40, you will need male adapters and you will need to remove the eyeball fittings first.
@@SwimmingPoolKit Ok, got it. Thank you!
@@SwimmingPoolKit How to takeout RV antifreeze when the pool is opening? Thanks.
Did you actually blow out your lines?
What about the sand filter doesn’t it go on closed or winterized?
RIGHT?! I am going to put mine on "Winter" must be a feature for a reason
Hi, yes the filter has to be drained, most will remove the cap located on the bottom; then leave the cap off for the winter. We suggest you follow the manufactures instructions for winterizing your filter.
What about the main drain? Does that need to be blown out?
That’s why I believe the best way to clear out the water lines is with a compressor instead of a shop vac
I would be concerned that those PVC snorkels on the returns would create leverage for ice to move them around and possibly crack the fitting in the pool wall. Ice moves so I would think so would the snorkels but the wall fitting wouldn’t.
That's a good point, Casey. I will now build one with a flex PVC pipe after an elbow, so there is room for movement from both ice and accidental bumps.
Also I would avoid putting a pvc fitting or plug in a return. Use nylon or abs. Pvc can stretch the return over time and crack it. Bungee plug and blow.
For the vertical pipe, using a gizmo might work better in some cases. Use elbow with thread for up up section, then teflon tap the threads.
I was thinking the exact same thing. But not only if the ice moves but as the ice layer forms originally it shifts and expands/moves up creating leverage. You could sheer off the return fitting from the wall. Around here we just put NPT plugs in the returns.
With the pvc in the returns is a great idea but I would be worried about ice moving around and two feet of snow on top of my cover. That would suck to have that shoved around and the return fitting cracked!
You may want to just drop the water and use O-ring plugs then.
@@SwimmingPoolKitwe plug the returns while we are blowing them out.
No mention about creating an air lock for the main drains?
Doesn't apply to vinyl liner inground pool that uses a skimmer and return jet through the wall
@@aetlas5000 of course it applies.....why wouldn't it? Water and winter equal ice. And who the heck wants their main drain to freeze and crack? Hell yeah to blow it out and air lock it.
You ignore the rv fluid when opening and let it go into the main pool water? What next then? No harm in that or need to suck it all out?
Also when you go to open it next season, after you've filled the water back to the proper Level you can start the pump with the filter on waste and pump out any of the antifreeze instead of letting it mix back into the pool.
I sucked it up with Shopvac at return. Minimal mixing. So far so good.
Best pool video on winterizing your pool
What about the heater? Isn't water sitting in there too?
Each heater can be a bit different, please follow the manufactures instructions on draining and winterizing your heater.
I get what your saying but my pool filter is indoor in the basement how do i actually blow the lines out can i use a dry vac
No. Shop vac only as you will be pulling out water.
What is the horse power for this vacuum?
What about the main drain
You will need to Blow Air through line until air is coming out of main drain, then close the valve to air lock your line.
@@SwimmingPoolKit You don't think that should have been included here? Pretty important step to omit completely.
@@drewsexton5360 50% of new pools don't have main drains. Builders are moving away from them because of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, www.poolsafely.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/pssa.pdf If you have main drains the best thing to do is put a quick disconnect air fitting in front of the pump (there is drain hole in the front of all pumps) use an air compressor to blow air through the main drain line until air is bubbling out of the main drains. Then shut the valve off and immediately shut the air compressor off, this will create an air lock.
@@SwimmingPoolKit Good video, I've been looking for a good way of blowing out the lines without having to purchase an expensive Cyclone Blower. I like the periscope idea.
Please excuse my ignorance, however how does water not go back into the main drain after it's blown out say using the method you described? Is there valve cover or something just below the main drain that prevents water from going back into the pipe? Also, regarding the air compressor to blow out the main drain from the front of the pump... I read once where someone said the air in the air compressor comes out way faster than say a shop vac or a cyclone blower. There reason was with a shop vac or blower, air moves slower allowing air to fill the entire pipe as it travels down the pipe pushing out the water whereas the faster air coming from the compressor could potentially not fill the pipe with air and potentially leave excess water in the pipe. Is there any truth to this assumption? thanks
@@IkeGeorge Screw a standard male air hose fitting into the filter pot. Close your valves. Fill to 30psi, then open your main drain valve 2 or 3 times until air is coming out of your drain. When air only is coming out of your drain, close your valve. This should get all your water out. About a 5 minute job from start to finish, generally. I hope this helps!
Sellings products? Why the water will be green either way
There is no mention on winterizing your drains, you should create an air lock on them, a shop vac cannot be used for this.
This pool did not have main drains.
Yes a Shopvac does work.....just gotta get one with enough horsepower. I bought one specifically for that purpose and have successfully winterized for two years.
You forgot to take out the water