First time closing pool by myself

Bperry · Nov 3, 2023

Unbakedpegga said:
@Bperry
What is a skimmer guard? I’m just a little more confused now. I would rather leave the pool all the way to the top because then I don’t have to remove the hoses. Is that right? And then I just put antifreeze in the motor? And just circulate it. Well, I don’t want it to go into the pool though, oh my

Here’s what a gizmo is.

Amazon.com

They also make a skimmer faceplate thing that blocks off the whole skimmer so it can be drained. Anything that can be drained completely doesn’t even need antifreeze.

You can’t just plug stuff and not drain the water. The water has to be drained out of the pump and the hoses.

Honestly, you have an above ground pool. Easiest thing is to drain it below the skimmer, remove those hoses, and plug the returns.

Unbakedpegga · Nov 3, 2023

Bperry said:
Here’s what a gizmo is.

Amazon.com

They also make a skimmer faceplate thing that blocks off the whole skimmer so it can be drained. Anything that can be drained completely doesn’t even need antifreeze.

You can’t just plug stuff and not drain the water. The water has to be drained out of the pump and the hoses.

Honestly, you have an above ground pool. Easiest thing is to drain it below the skimmer, remove those hoses, and plug the returns.

The plugs are what I’m concerned about. The Jets are right at the bottom of the skimmer and then below the jets is a small round opening in the pool. I don’t know what that is. If I have to plug that I have to go down almost to the bottom of the pool and the water is so cold. Can I plug it from the outside, I’m going to enclose the picture that I put on the forum an hour or so ago. I’ve went to just about every pool site on YouTube. I have a basic concept, I know if I put the skimmer cover on I can leave the water where it is. But I am not sure about the 3 hoses coming from the pool and I have to disconnect all of the hoses and filter basket and pump. Do I plug those 3 holes? Do I have to plug it from inside the pool or can I plug them from the outside? I would have had it closed earlier but had to wait for my SSI check. The water is so cold. I will have to do this myself because it is only me myself and I

Bperry · Nov 3, 2023

Unbakedpegga said:
The plugs are what I’m concerned about. The Jets are right at the bottom of the skimmer and then below the jets is a small round opening in the pool. I don’t know what that is. If I have to plug that I have to go down almost to the bottom of the pool and the water is so cold. Can I plug it from the outside, I’m going to enclose the picture that I put on the forum an hour or so ago. I’ve went to just about every pool site on YouTube. I have a basic concept, I know if I put the skimmer cover on I can leave the water where it is. But I am not sure about the 3 hoses coming from the pool and I have to disconnect all of the hoses and filter basket and pump. Do I plug those 3 holes? Do I have to plug it from inside the pool or can I plug them from the outside? I would have had it closed earlier but had to wait for my SSI check. The water is so cold. I will have to do this myself because it is only me myself and IView attachment 538932

I can’t see what’s on the back side, but I imagine there’s a hose or pipe on the outside of the wall that the return fitting is attached to? If you remove the hose/pipe, all the always above that point will drain out and then you could plug it.

But if you leave the hose attached, water will still be in the hose and will freeze. An alternative is you can have someone blow air into the hose from your filter and then screw a plug on from the inside. That’s generally the way it’s done.

All that said: it doesn’t get as cold in mid TN as it does in Minnesota so there’s less risk of freezing weather, but it does get cold enough to do so. I would set your filter to “closed” and drain it completely. Those are expensive to replace if it breaks. I’d also drain the pump and shut off any valves to make sure water doesn’t get into it.

You have a cover you’re going to install?

Mdragger88 · Nov 3, 2023

Unbakedpegga said:
@Bperry
What is a skimmer guard? I’m just a little more confused now. I would rather leave the pool all the way to the top because then I don’t have to remove the hoses. Is that right? And then I just put antifreeze in the motor? And just circulate it. Well, I don’t want it to go into the pool though, oh my

You cannot do that- your stuff will freeze & burst.
If you want to leave the water level high you must block off the skimmer mouth with one of these

Show me your return jets

Mdragger88 · Nov 3, 2023

Your pool is just like mine.
I use these for the jets

I put the top one in on the inside after removing the eyeball
& for the lower one I put it in from the outside after removing all the plumbing.

Mdragger88 · Nov 3, 2023

Here’s mine - I still need to remove my pressure gauge & my backwash hose & put all my junk in the shed lol

I used one of these this year instead of draining- so far it’s holding without leaks

remove the weir door before inserting, removed basket & left valve below skimmer open with hose running away from the pool so if it does leak it drains & goes away from the pool

Here’s my returns - I suppose I could do them both from the outside if I wanted but ideally the plug should be on the inside so I do the top one that way.
The bottom one I really don’t have a choice. I can’t get that return eyeball off anymore anyway.
I always put a few wraps of teflon tape on the plugs. I put it kinda thick on the bottom one because I don’t want to have to keep pulling it off & getting more wet. I usually have a valve there so I close it & remove all the other plumbing then I just have the plug at the ready as I unscrew the valve. I don’t get terribly wet doing it anymore.

I also cover my pump & filter with a small tarp using bungees & I put those faucet cover things over the returns using a string - will be getting to those loose ends this weekend.

Mdragger88 · Nov 4, 2023

Can you post pics of the pool wall on the outside where everything connects?

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Bperry said:
I can’t see what’s on the back side, but I imagine there’s a hose or pipe on the outside of the wall that the return fitting is attached to? If you remove the hose/pipe, all the always above that point will drain out and then you could plug it.

But if you leave the hose attached, water will still be in the hose and will freeze. An alternative is you can have someone blow air into the hose from your filter and then screw a plug on from the inside. That’s generally the way it’s done.

All that said: it doesn’t get as cold in mid TN as it does in Minnesota so there’s less risk of freezing weather, but it does get cold enough to do so. I would set your filter to “closed” and drain it completely. Those are expensive to replace if it breaks. I’d also drain the pump and shut off any valves to make sure water doesn’t get into it.

You have a cover you’re going to install?

Yes I have everything. You mean I’d have to drain the pool empty? OMG. I’m 80 years old but I’m going to have to plug that pool from the outside if I can’t plug it from the outside. Maybe after that I won’t have to worry about the pool

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Unbakedpegga said:
Yes I have everything. You mean I’d have to drain the pool empty? OMG. I’m 80 years old but I’m going to have to plug that pool from the outside if I can’t plug it from the outside. Maybe after that I won’t have to worry about the pool

Here’s a picture of the backside. Are you looking for pics of the backside of the pool wall as well?

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Bperry said:
I can’t see what’s on the back side, but I imagine there’s a hose or pipe on the outside of the wall that the return fitting is attached to? If you remove the hose/pipe, all the always above that point will drain out and then you could plug it.

But if you leave the hose attached, water will still be in the hose and will freeze. An alternative is you can have someone blow air into the hose from your filter and then screw a plug on from the inside. That’s generally the way it’s done.

All that said: it doesn’t get as cold in mid TN as it does in Minnesota so there’s less risk of freezing weather, but it does get cold enough to do so. I would set your filter to “closed” and drain it completely. Those are expensive to replace if it breaks. I’d also drain the pump and shut off any valves to make sure water doesn’t get into it.

You have a cover you’re going to install?

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Mdragger88 said:
Can you post pics of the pool wall on the outside where everything connects?

Yes, absolutely

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Mdragger88 said:
Follow the guide posted above.
Be sure to balance the parameters & raise to slam level before proceeding with the equipment/draining
FC/CYA Levels.
For the water level:
You can either Plug the skimmer mouth
or drain below it. If the skimmer mouth plug/plate doesn’t hold you will need to drain below it.
The point is that you don’t want water in the skimmer body.
Remove jet eyeballs & Plug all the returns.
Now the pool water is isolated from the plumbing.
Take all the hoses off. The bottom of the skimmer should be open so if water does get in there it drains out & doesn’t freeze.
Then drain all the equipment.
There should be a drain cap at the bottom of the sand filter - you can hook a hose to it or just let it drain there.
There should be 2 drain plugs on the pump. One for the pump basket & one for the lower end of the pump.
Remove all drain caps & place them inside the pump basket.
Post a picture of your equipment area & connections for detailed instructions.

My problem and it seems to be getting bigger and more worrisome every hour. I posted a picture of the back pool wall. I am so unsure what I should do. There is the skimmer and on the other side is the jet and at one time there was a light in the pool because there is a lens and the jet discharges out one side of it. And the light hardware and bulb are under the pool. It was a salt water pool and I just had the previous owner remove it before I moved in. In the picture of the inside pool wall you can see the skimmer on the right and the light/jet on the other. It is that small hole below the jet and it is close, maybe 2 feet from the bottom. I don’t see any way I could get down there. It might kill me out right Or later from pneumonia. It gets down in the 20’s at night here in the winter. We had a really bad cold snap last Xmas and it killed every shrub I had and one of my chickens but that was the exception not the rule. I can tell you I hate that pool more than anything I’ve ever owned. I can’t even swim and the money I have had to spend on it. It is like paying child support on a child that isn’t even yours

Bperry · Nov 4, 2023

Unbakedpegga said:
My problem and it seems to be getting bigger and more worrisome every hour. I posted a picture of the back pool wall. I am so unsure what I should do. There is the skimmer and on the other side is the jet and at one time there was a light in the pool because there is a lens and the jet discharges out one side of it. And the light hardware and bulb are under the pool. It was a salt water pool and I just had the previous owner remove it before I moved in. In the picture of the inside pool wall you can see the skimmer on the right and the light/jet on the other. It is that small hole below the jet and it is close, maybe 2 feet from the bottom. I don’t see any way I could get down there. It might kill me out right Or later from pneumonia. It gets down in the 20’s at night here in the winter. We had a really bad cold snap last Xmas and it killed every shrub I had and one of my chickens but that was the exception not the rule. I can tell you I hate that pool more than anything I’ve ever owned. I can’t even swim and the money I have had to spend on it. It is like paying child support on a child that isn’t even yours

Is there a reason you don’t want to drain the pool completely and/or have it disassembled or sold? It doesn’t sound like the pool is something that’s a blessing. Am I right?

Mdragger88 · Nov 4, 2023

Here’s how you’re supposed to winterize the light. This will likely require 2 people since you have the deck. Most people shove a rag in the outside hole to slow the water down while attempting to plug the inside hole

If you’re not able to physically get under the deck to remove the hoses & insert the plugs you may need to hire someone.
Any handy person can do this for you. Just show them these instructions.
If it weren’t for the bottom return you could just drain below the top one & skimmer, leave the top return open (or plug it from the inside) & just unhook the hoses from the filter & pump side so if the water fills the pool again it would just drain out & away through the hoses. But you will at the very least need to plug the bottom return. This can be done from the outside.
Then drain all the equipment.

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Bperry said:
Is there a reason you don’t want to drain the pool completely and/or have it disassembled or sold? It doesn’t sound like the pool is something that’s a blessing. Am I right?

This pool was here when I moved in 4 years ago. I can’t even swim but I needed to move and I had already been looking for a year. I am widowed and at 78 it’s getting to be more than I can do to take care of everything. A weeping willow tree fell in the pool last spring. It was in the pool for a month before I could get it fixed $2600. The pump sucked up all of the leaves and had burned up before I even knew what happened That was $500 for a new pump.The water balance became almost unfixable and I wound up paying $1100 after I had tried everything other pool companies had suggested and even more $$. This pool is 30 ft 24000 gal. I just spent $300 for a new cover, and a leaf cover and a pool cover pump, a closing kit and I don’t know what all. The pool is in perfect shape. I spent $20k to have a deck built when I first moved in. It was sitting in a field at the end of the property. I tried selling it last summer for $1200, then I lowered it to $600 and finally I offered to give it away and one person wanted just the pump so I just threw up my hands and have been taking care of it myself. To fill a 24000 gallon pool would be prohibitive. And I have read leaving the pool empty during the winter would harm the liner. I can’t leave it sitting full of water all winter it would get murky and bacteria laden and a health hazard or if it was empty, I live in the country and there is no telling what kind of critter would find shelter in there. So I am literally between a rock and a hard place and a pool company wouldn’t come out here and get in that frigid water. Since there was a salt water pump hooked up to that pool before I moved in could it be that the small hole beneath the jet could be where the salt water was dispensed? This was too much information for you. I’m sure but at least it made me feel better. And I still don’t know what I’m going to do.

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

Mdragger88 said:
Here’s how you’re supposed to winterize the light. This will likely require 2 people since you have the deck. Most people shove a rag in the outside hole to slow the water down while attempting to plug the inside hole

If you’re not able to physically get under the deck to remove the hoses & insert the plugs you may need to hire someone.
Any handy person can do this for you. Just show them these instructions.
If it weren’t for the bottom return you could just drain below the top one & skimmer, leave the top return open (or plug it from the inside) & just unhook the hoses from the filter & pump side so if the water fills the pool again it would just drain out & away through the hoses. But you will at the very least need to plug the bottom return. This can be done from the outside.
Then drain all the equipment.

The bottom return…. could I plug it from the outside? I am so confused.

Unbakedpegga · Nov 4, 2023

I have asked a lot of questions about closing my above ground pool because I have never done it before. And it’s getting cold and I need to get it shut down quickly. I have got everything figured out except there is this one hole under the return jet and I’m going to put a picture of it on here. I don’t know what this is. I know it’s got a hose attached to it but it could be a port for a salt water attachment to this pool. I don’t know because the pool was here when I moved here but I don’t want to drain the whole pool and leave it empty just because of that one port it very well could be a saltwater port because I know at one time my pool was a saltwater pool by a previous owner. Could I put an expanding plug in it from the outside because I’ve never seen anybody else’s pool that had this type of configuration below the jet. I’m going to post it with a picture and arrow and if anyone has any information on this, I have got to get this pool closed and if I sound desperate -I am some but I don’t want to ruin anything after I spent so much money

Texas Splash · Nov 4, 2023

That port has nothing to do with a salt function. I would do as @Mdragger88 recommended above and simply plug it. No worries.

Bperry · Nov 4, 2023

Texas Splash said:
That port has nothing to do with a salt function. I would do as @Mdragger88 recommended above and simply plug it. No worries.

The trouble she’s having is getting to it from the inside because of the low temp. I don’t know enough about above ground pools to know how to plug that except from the inside. Is it a suction line?

Realistically, the hose port probably doesn’t need to be plugged except that the hose on the back side of it might freeze and if that hose is connected to the pump the pump can’t be drained either.

Mdragger88 · Nov 5, 2023

Bperry said:
The trouble she’s having is getting to it from the inside because of the low temp. I don’t know enough about above ground pools to know how to plug that except from the inside. Is it a suction line?

Realistically, the hose port probably doesn’t need to be plugged except that the hose on the back side of it might freeze and if that hose is connected to the pump the pump can’t be drained either.

It is a return jet- it can be plugged from the outside if you use a screw in plug with an oring- I do it every year. Look at post #26

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