Draining Pool/Pool Popping Paranoia

Jump to latest Follow Reply
D

drbananahammock

Member
Mar 21, 2022
6
LV NV USA
I hate to make a new account on a forum and make a thread immediately, but I did a few permutations of searches and didn't pull up anything that would answer my question/address my concerns. If someone reading this then does a search and pulls up an exact match to this thread with answers, I apologize.

New-ish pool owner, bought a house with a pool! Kept the pool guy the previous owners was using! I ditched him after a year and found out my levels were out of whack! 450 ppm CYA! 300 ppm Total Alkaline! Yikes!

So a drain is in process. However, I am scared of pool popping after seeing lots of horror stories about it. Did some reading and I should pop a hydrostatic valve as soon as I can, but when? Should I wait until the water level drops below the level of the pump? Or when it's at a foot high? My concern is I don't do it in time. I definitely need to get the water level down as much as possible since even a puddle in the pool would mix in enough CYA to be normal. :(

But then again, I'm in Vegas... the desert. The water table can't be that high. My boss has drained his pool multiple times and said "What's a hydrostatic valve?" with no issues. My ding dong neighbor had a swamp last year, drained his and never refilled it and it didn't lift out of the ground (and I'd bet solid cash he didn't pop his valve). Do I even need to pop mine? It hasn't rained here in at least a month and it was a drizzle. Then there's me, the klutz, trying to open the valve and possibly damaging the pool.

I assure you I am not this paranoid in real life. A $30k pool repair bill is freaking me out, I will admit.

I'm having it refilled tomorrow afternoon - it'll be 4 hours tops before it's refilled after the drain is finished. I guess I just need someone to tell me to relax. Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome to the forum.
There is zero chance your pool will 'pop'. Your pool does not have a hydrostatic valve.

How did you get your water chemistry test results?
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! While TFP is a great resource and there are tons of threads that address draining pools, we also know that every pool is different and not everyone has the same soil conditions, water table, air temperature, ect... We prefer that you start a new thread with your questions so you can get advice particular to your situation. No apologies needed!

Normally you would not see a hydrostatic valve in a pool in an area with low water tables. Are you sure you have a hydrostatic valve? If you could post some photos of your pool that would help us answer your questions. We have several members who live in desert locations that can help with your question.
 
What does your hydrostatic valve look like? I’ve never seen one. I’m not sure if they are usually included during a build or they are specifically done when it’s understood that the water table is high.
 
kul said:
What does your hydrostatic valve look like? I’ve never seen one.
Click to expand...
Its a little pop up doohickey likely hidden in what looks like a main drain in the floor. It might have a plastic cover or a fancy looking one. Ground water can flow into the shell if need be, but not out. Marty can confirm but i believe the builders generally know who needs them and who doesn't.


d2411b7f0b02d3434e412c4077c941a5ab23501c-450x450.jpegmaxresdefault.jpg


Also Dr, Welcome !!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: kul
You know uh, literally everybody, that's a good point. I'm assuming there's a hydrostatic valve in the two drains in the bottom of the pool but I have no way to tell until the pool is drained so they are probably not there. I bought this house but have zero documentation on the installation of the pool. No valve would make me sleep better tonight, that's for Dang sure. That probably explains why my boss had no idea what it was!

I did some research prior to posting and apparently they put them inside the drain housing (like in Newdude's second pic)? Or am I misinterpreting the pics I'm seeing? I definitely don't have the port on the bottom of the pool like Newdude showed in his first pic. This is (more or less) what the two drains in the bottom of the pool look like:


Not exact but similar. I was going to jump in the pool when a foot is left and unscrew one and see what was going on. If there is no risk for popping (which honestly makes sense) and I shouldn't even have one, I won't bother. Last thing I need is to derp open a drain and screw something up I didn't need to look at in the first place.

I bought a Taylor FAS-DPD kit when I took over maintenance of the pool. The reading for the CYA was 60-70 ppm when I diluted the water 1 parts pool water to 6 parts tap. If I tried straight pool water, I couldn't even get close to a reading - the dot vanished with a thin layer of reagant-ed water.

This house was a rental for the better part of a decade and the pool guy did (di? tri?)-chlor tabs the entire time, even in the winter where chlorine consumption is at a minimum. We moved out here in 2020 and in order to have one less thing to worry about while we got acclimated, I kept the pool guy. I shouldn't have, especially at $120/month.

I've been dosing in liquid chlorine to keep it kinda-sorta in line with the massive CYA since November. It's been crystal clear the whole time, pH stable at 7.7, just everything else out of whack. Been waiting for it to get comfortably above freezing at night before draining and we finally hit that (pretty late for Vegas). I want to slam over the next week and then learn what the pool needs when, as far as chlorine as the months go by. Definitely sticking with liquid chlorine with tabs as a supplement. I bought 3" suckers and I'm going to break them into chunks and probably only leave the hopper in when I am not home and can't dose liquid in.

Thank you for the comments!
 
drbananahammock said:
I bought a Taylor FAS-DPD kit
Click to expand...
Great choice.
drbananahammock said:
I want to slam over the next week and then learn what the pool needs when, as far as chlorine as the months go by
Click to expand...
Likely no need to follow the SLAM Process. Do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test after you have 40 ppm CYA and your FC at 5 ppm or higher.

Start to research a SaltWater Chlorine Generator. You will tire very quickly at adding 5ppm FC or more each day to your pool using liquid chlorine.
 
mknauss said:
Great choice.

Likely no need to follow the SLAM Process. Do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test after you have 40 ppm CYA and your FC at 5 ppm or higher.

Start to research a SaltWater Chlorine Generator. You will tire very quickly at adding 5ppm FC or more each day to your pool using liquid chlorine.
Click to expand...

Ok, that works for me. The water truck is also going to accomplish something else - give me a rough estimate of the gallon size of my pool. (Also don't know that, it's kind of bean shaped and has a deep end so I am guessing it's gallons and hey, more information not given to me when I bought the house). Once I have that number, I can pool math out what I need to get to 5/40.

I looked into salt water generators... the impression I got was they don't hold up long term, so I wasn't too motivated to follow up further. The convenience was top notch though. What do you all think?
 
My swcg is on its 8 th year of operation. Maintain proper water chemistry and properly size the swcg and they are a great tool.

I am curious, why are you using a water truck?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
drbananahammock said:
I looked into salt water generators... the impression I got was they don't hold up long term, so I wasn't too motivated to follow up further. The convenience was top notch though. What do you all think?
Click to expand...

No pool equipment holds up for the long term. And new stuff does not hold up the way old stuff did.

SWG cells are consumable devices. They have a finite amount of chlorine they can generate and as you run it the cell gets depleted. You get what you pay for and less expensive cells use smaller titanium plates and less rare earths and have less generating capacity.

For example the Hayward cells are speced for 362 days at 100% or 8,688 hours at 100%, for a 30,000 gallon pool in LV where you run the SWG maybe 9 months out of the year you can expect a T-15 cell to last about 4 years.

Is that holding up long term to you?
 
I was just going on what came up on Google searches and having novice level experience in pool maintenance. To be honest, I read about them very briefly when I took over maintenance in November and never considered them at the time - they were a very low priority/possibly nice to have once I worked out the many kinks in my pool chemistry.

mknauss said:
My swcg is on its 8 th year of operation. Maintain proper water chemistry and properly size the swcg and they are a great tool.

I am curious, why are you using a water truck?
Click to expand...

Mostly wanting to fill the pool fast to get it back on track quicker, getting an estimate on the pool size I can use for calculations and less the pool popping concern (also gotta fill the pool fast) that caused the creation of this thread. Would have been about $80-$100 on top of my normal water bill if I let the hose/autofill do it. I paid $200 for that privilege/info which was worth it to me.

Speaking of which, the pool has been drained and is now refilled. It's exactly 9,000 gallons surprisingly. The water is murky but I treated it and the filter is running. The filter/pump sounds a little weird, but I think I need to get a hose in there and get some water in there to flush out some air that is making the noise I'm hearing. The noise sounds like the noise when air is working out of the system but it's constant but less than the noise priming itself makes. The pump itself is the usual temperature to the touch it always is.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Hopefully that water truck brought you clean/potable water and did not fill from a hydrant. Test your water chemistry.
 
Last edited:
drbananahammock said:
The filter/pump sounds a little weird, but I think I need to get a hose in there and get some water in there to flush out some air that is making the noise I'm hearing. The noise sounds like the noise when air is working out of the system but it's constant but less than the noise priming itself makes. The pump itself is the usual temperature to the touch it always is.
Click to expand...
Did you sort this out. Look through the clear lid of the pump basket. The basket should be full of water with little to no air bubbles.

If you're seeing lots of air in the basket, you may have a suction side air leak that needs to be addressed.

Check you water level. It should be about halfway between the top and bottom of the skimmer mouth.
 
Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
Did you sort this out. Look through the clear lid of the pump basket. The basket should be full of water with little to no air bubbles.

If you're seeing lots of air in the basket, you may have a suction side air leak that needs to be addressed.

Check you water level. It should be about halfway between the top and bottom of the skimmer mouth.
Click to expand...

It's still kinda of has the sound after I stuck a house into the pump basket. However, your comment reminded me that the pool robot port is still shut and that would be the likely place to have what you might be talking about.

mknauss said:
Hopefully that water truck brought you clean/potable water and did not fill from a hydrant. Test your water chemistry.
Click to expand...

I did a OCLT - I am at 5 ppm FC/20 CYA and it did not move overnight. pH is 8.0 so I added a little sodium bisulfate to adjust that. The murkiness is subsiding and silt is starting to form on the bottom of the pool.
 
drbananahammock said:
I did a OCLT - I am at 5 ppm FC/20 CYA and it did not move overnight. pH is 8.0 so I added a little sodium bisulfate to adjust that. The murkiness is subsiding and silt is starting to form on the bottom of the pool.
Click to expand...
Great! Just dirt.
Do realize you should not use dry acid (sodium bisulfate) in a gunite/plaster pool. The sulfates will destroy concrete (plaster) and metals. Use muriatic acid.
 
Please fill out your signature. Include pool and pool equipment (manufacturers and model numbers). Also list your test kit. This helps us help you without needing to ask about pool and equipment each time. Look at mine and others signatures for inspiration.

Are you using PoolMath? Share your logs here.

In Las Vegas and pretty much anywhere in the desert, you won't find a hydrostatic valve and chances of the pool popping are close to nil. Next time you have to drain, just use tap water for the refill. Save the extra money from not having water trucked in and put it toward a SWG and good test kit. Test Kits Compared
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mknauss
mknauss said:
Great! Just dirt.
Do realize you should not use dry acid (sodium bisulfate) in a gunite/plaster pool. The sulfates will destroy concrete (plaster) and metals. Use muriatic acid.
Click to expand...

That is also good to know. I used it as mentioned (won't again) so I'm stuck with it/end up trashing it but the lesson learned is what matters. Funny thing I was at the pool store looking for muriatic acid and didn't see it so I opted for the dry acid.

Pool cleared up already too. Wheeee.

I'll fill out my sig this weekend... will probably be like I'm driving a hoopty (did I mention this pool was neglected, wasn't just in chemistry...) vs. everyone else's luxury cars but it'll be there.
 
You can get everything you need for a pool at Home Depot/Lowes/Walmart/Amazon. I have personally never been in a pool store.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply