New twist on the hose siphon method!

[Mdragger88]

Just saw a FB video (that I can’t seem to locate now) where the guy poked a little hole near the end of the hose (where you want the water to drain out of) & put the air compressor nozzle in there pointing towards the end & let it rip. It took only a few seconds for the siphon to begin!
The other side needs to be submerged in what you’re trying to drain obviously & the draining end of the hose needs to be lower than the end in the cover/pool.
It was pretty neat & much easier than running back & forth to the spigot if you have a compressor handy.

 

[Texas Splash]

A nice way to help encourage air/water flow into the direction needed. In this case from the pool to the end of the hose. Better than the old "lips on the hose" method. Ha. Results can vary based on waterline/submerged hose elevation compared to the open end of those hose as well. Lots of tips & tricks out there.

 

[Toxophilite]

Yeah, that does it. Here's another method. Put all the hose in the water and make sure it near full of water. Hold your finger over the draining end and keep held tight to seal. Quickly walk to where you want to drain, keeping low, lower to drain level and take finger off. Water sill start siphoning.

 

[Mdragger88]

Yeah, that does it. Here's another method. Put all the hose in the water and make sure it near full of water. Hold your finger over the draining end and keep held tight to seal. Quickly walk to where you want to drain, keeping low, lower to drain level and take finger off. Water sill start siphoning.

This definitely works well with a shorter hose like a vac hose for siphon vacuuming. In fact it is the only way I vac to waste!
But for draining all my water hoses are super long & need to reach a long way to prevent flooding my yard when draining the pool cover so it takes forever & many attempts! Filling the hose with The spigot is what I normally do (if I don’t have a pump) but it often takes multiple attempts as well.

 

[wireform]

Another method I do when I vac the pool with a 42' hose is to connect the hose end to the vac head and the pole, drop it in the water. Take the other end of the hose and put it in front of a working return jet and it'll blow out all the air towards the vac head. When the bubbles stop you know you're good to go. Works every time on the first shot.

 

[Toxophilite]

This definitely works well with a shorter hose like a vac hose for siphon vacuuming. In fact it is the only way I vac to waste!
But for draining all my water hoses are super long & need to reach a long way to prevent flooding my yard when draining the pool cover so it takes forever & many attempts! Filling the hose with The spigot is what I normally do (if I don’t have a pump) but it often takes multiple attempts as well.

Yep, definitely different scenarios require different attacks. Since swallowing a bunch of gasoline as a teenager, the mouth method was abandoned long ago. If I had to do it often for a pool, my mind might also go to rigging a hose end pump bulb.

 

[Mdragger88]

I rode on a $20 siphon cover pump for years before getting an electric cover pump but I have had to do various hose methods as well. It’s always good to have options!

 

[VinnyinNJ]

I use a sump pump for everything I need to drain in regards to pool and spa. I turn it on, let the pump blow the water out and unplug the sump pump unless I want a quick drain. It works very well for cover draining as I can leave the water draining by gravity and don'thave to babysit the pump. I only have 1 standard sump pump hose (25 ft?) but I'm sure it would work with another one attached.

 

[wireform]

I have pumps of different flavors. My last recently purchased pump is a 3" effluent water gasoline pump to rid a pool of its contents in short order.

 

[Mdragger88]

I use a sump pump for everything I need to drain in regards to pool and spa. I turn it on, let the pump blow the water out and unplug the sump pump unless I want a quick drain. It works very well for cover draining as I can leave the water draining by gravity and don'thave to babysit the pump. I only have 1 standard sump pump hose (25 ft?) but I'm sure it would work with another one attached.

An electric pump is the most ideal but We often get folks who need to drain their pool/cover or vac to waste without involving their pump but don’t have / can’t currently afford a pump or perhaps don’t have power due to a natural disaster/weather event.