How to Close An Inground Pool to Safely Survive a NORTHERN Winter
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Hey Everyone! Welcome back to our RUclips channel. We all love our pools during those hot summer months, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
In this video, we go through the entire process of closing and winterizing an inground pool at the end of a season. I will show you what is required to safely close your pool so that it, along with your equipment will be ready for a faster startup come spring!
I hope you guys enjoy this video and find it useful. If you love this video, please be sure to check out my other videos. Please make sure to like and subscribe to our channel for more videos and ring the notification bell 🔔 so you can be notified of all future content. Don’t forget to share with your friends and family.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I am always looking for new video ideas and would love your feedback! Thank you for watching. (how to winterize an inground pool quickly & easily with this guide!)
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The process I go through in the video is as follows:
1. Gather your required tools (Air compressor, hose, male quick connect air fitting, shop vac, needle nose pliers, channel lock pliers, a sharpie to mark your valves, plumbing antifreeze and a beverage of your choice...
2. Drain your pool so the water level is 12-18 inches below the skimmer. After this, make sure you have your return jet caps (and one for your skimmer.
3. Start by making sure your filter is in the filter position. close and cap your skimmer valve, and make sure your floor drain is open.
4. Connect your hose to your compressor, set your regulator to 30-45 psi (be careful as the burst tolerance on most PVC connections is around the 50psi mark. if your plumbing is old or questionable, go lower and just be patient!) remove the drain plug on your pump closest to the motor and thread in the male quick connect air compressor fitting.
5. Attach the compressor line and wait till you see air bubbles from your floor drain. once you do close the skimmer valve and remove the air line simultaneously. you now have an air lock in the floor drain, and voila! The floor drain is DONE!
6. Remove and cap all of your return jets and adjust your plumbing (except the one at the far end of your pool, you will see why in the video) and proceed to blow air through the pump again to clear out the return jet lines. repeat this process several times to clear out the majority of water from the topside plumbing
7. Cap the remaining jets and remove one drain plug at a time and continue blowing air through the system to clear your equipment like chlorinators, heaters, etc. (and replace the plug before moving on to the next one.
8. Once all the drain plugs have been removed put them in your skimmer basket (along with return jets, etc. so you can find them in spring, and return back to your skimmer. remove the plug from here.
9. Shop Vac out as much water as you can from the skimmer. (you will see how I do it in the video) and add some antifreeze to the skimmer, and re cap the drain. if possible add some milk jugs or plastic bottles to the skimmer to take up space so that the skimmer can't fill with rainwater, or melted snow and expand and crack when frozen.
10. Remove the sight glass, pressure gauge and plug from your filter and put those in the skimmer basket. Set the filter to winter. Remove the final plug and male air compressor fitting from your pump.
11. Crack your beverage of choice and enjoy as you put away your tools while admiring your hard work and think of ways to spend all the money you saved doing this job on your own!
12. Cover up the pool (after adding any necessary chemicals, etc) and then like and subscribe to my channel to support more great content!
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✨Relevant Hashtags:
#Winterize #IngroundPool #IngroundPools #closing #Pool #Pools #RegsChannel #Tips #LifeHacks
Big Job!! Excellent Pointers, Well thought out and very helpful!!
Thank you for the kind words! Glad it could help!
@@RegsChannelyeah, works well, I blow out all my lines through the skimmer connection... Just closed mine today here in Ontario...
Best video I’ve found on closing - all my questions as a first timer were answered and I feel confident to close my own pool - thank you!
@@RonBreen-p7q that's fantastic! Glad the video was able to help!
So glad I found your video. I thought I'd winterized my pool, but I missed some very important steps. Thankfully it's still warm enough I can fix this today!
Glad to hear it! Best of luck to you!
Awesome video. This was very helpful, I'm ready to tackle my pool this October 2023.
Sounds great! Glad the video could help!
Best video I've seen to show the required detail from a first timer. Thank you. I've watched many and the key parts are skipped. The 1/4 NPT air hose adapter into the drain plug was news to me.
Thanks so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it! We have all been first timers at something and I always try to see things through those eyes when I put my videos together. Hope the tips help!
Nervous first time pool owner in Michigan. You had me at Manitoba. Thanks for an informative video!
Thanks so much for the kind words! Once you understand the fundamentals behind how the water and plumbing work with the system it's not too bad! You've got this!!
Its my first season as pool service technician helper. Closing season begin next week. Nervous about it, but this video helps immensely.
@@thelordelric8424 you got this! One you start working hands on it will all make sense! Take your time and be methodical and you will get through it with flying colors!
Thanks Reg, I'm a first time-pool-closer-Winnipegger attempting this this weekend. Wish me luck
Fantastic! Well if you get stuck don't hesitate to shoot me a message! Sad to see the season end but I hope you have a trouble free closing!
Great step by step! Thanks!
Glad it could help!
One of the only videos I’ve seen lowering the water below the jets. Makes sense, just not sure why others don’t do this when they typically lower the water level anyway.
Thanks! Yeah, here the frost has no problem dropping to that level in the ground in my mind this is mission critical. Plus unless you believe your plugs are 💯 watertight fall rain/spring melt can make these levels rise higher than the jets and could cause freeze damage... We recently spent a week in Arizona and had a pool at our Air BNB and I must say it's got to be a delight in regards to what you can do with a pool in terms of design, etc when you don't have to contend with bone chilling, soul numbing winter! Hope the video helps!
@@DKN808 thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! Makes a huge difference for my channel! This was actually me in that video! The pump was on its last legs. I just used my sump pump from my basement (make sure to rinse it off if the pump is sitting in a pit or hasn't ran in a minute) and just connect your hose to it (you might need a fitting adapter or some hose clamps here. Be mindful of the power cable as well but that should do it. The air compressor or shop vac should get you the rest of the way there in terms of air locking the floor drain, and blowing out the return lines!
Question. Are the winterized jet plugs all the same standard size? Or do I have to look at mine and call a pool store to get a matching fit? Thank you for the video!
@@DKN808 mine were all the same size. I would just measure and purchase online, and enjoy the savings!
Can I ask what type of camera you’re using? Great content also. Thank you.
@@Samlol23_drrich Hey there! My main cam is a Sony A7III, using a Hero 10 as my B cam. Hope that helps!
@@RegsChannel thanks. no wonder the quality is so good.
@@Samlol23_drrich I started the channel with a cell phone and a GoPro, everyone has to start somewhere! I picked up an a6100 for a steal that I have been using as a B cam recently, it's a nice little unit, but you need to invest in decent lenses. BTW, I took a quick look at your channel, awesome work!! You gained a sub in me!
Instead of pulling water out of the skimmer, I glued a threaded connection on a pipe so I can connect my shop vac on blower mode, and push all the water through the skimmer line and out the returns into the pool... That way the skimmer line is fully blown out...
Nice fix! That also sounds like a sound method!
Gonna give it a go this year. I dont have a compressor so I will use my shop vac to blow out the lines.
@@Sumbaddy129 yup that should get it done! Take your time, be thorough and you will have no problems!
@@RegsChannel Thanks! I found it interesting that you capped your lines and blew from the farthest jet to the closest. I would think it would be the other way around?
@@Sumbaddy129 for me I just wanted to make darn sure I evacuated all the water out of the lines! The abs pipe in the ground for the returns doesn't always sit flat but again you don't need to get all the water out but you need to get the majority! Good job!
Alright. Bought a Mastercraft 20 gallon air compressor at CT last week on sale. Gonna blow out my sprinkler lines with it but now considering doing my pool with it as well as opposed to the shop vac.
Did you cap the return jets when you were blowing out the heater?
Seems more conducive to use the air compressor.
Great video man, thanks thanks this.
@@Sumbaddy129 thanks! Yes, I did but then I cycle through the drains on the heater to make sure I get the majority of the water out. Good luck on the project!
Thanks for the video, very informative and well explained. I saw a lot video saying when blowing up the main drain, the filter needs to be on the recirculating position. What is the difference?
Thanks for the kind words! I find that by leaving it on the filter setting I end up having less than a cup of water come out of the filter when I pull the plug. I imagine there is a possibility that some sand could get displaced with my method, but I personally have never had an issue with it in all my years of closing the pool in this manner. By setting the filter to recirculation, you are basically bypassing the actual filter it's self, so you would have more water to drain from the filter. Hope that helps!
6:49
Close which valve?
And what stops the air from exiting the main drain piping and being replaced by water from the pool?
Hey there I close the valve for the floor drain. You actually are locking air in the line when you do that and it doesn't re enter the pipe, hard to believe I know but that's how I was taught!
I have 2 skimmers and 3 returns, should i get all the water outta my skimmer lines too, I live in illinois and it can get pretty cold? Thanks great step by step video by the way.
Appreciate the kind words! I'm not familiar with a dual skimmer system but the principals should be the same, you are going to want to get as much water out of there as possible. You are probably going to want to shopvac it out as best as possible
@@RegsChannel when getting water out of skimmer lines, should I leave the valves open or closed?
@@jameymacqueenjameymacqueen7087 it's a little tough for me to say without experiencing it, I would think that open is the way to go, just in case some water finds it's way in over the fall/spring you are giving some capacity for expansion. Another thought, you could try to blow out the skimmer line from the pump , just connect the shopvac to that line on the blower setting and let it rip for 10-15 min... water should erupt from the skimmer. You may also try leaving one open and one closed and then alternating them till you are confident you got enough water out. Again, this is uncharted territory for me, but I think the underlying principles should still be the same. Good luck and keep us posted on how you make out!
Is it okay to still use the compressor to blow out water out of the skimmer? I dont have a shop vac
@@th0r0shvener52 yeah I think you would be ok to do that remember you need to get the majority of the water out, a little bit left in the pipes provided there is room for expansion should be fine. Be persistent and try to get out as much as you can. What I did one year was took a cap, and drilled and tapped a compressor fitting and blew it out that way. That is what I would probably suggest!
Im Having an issue draining the pool to get below the Jets from just my floor drain. I'm below skimmer entrance so only draining from floor but its not working. Any ideas are appreciated
@@songspire I would make sure the valves are set in the right position to make sure you are pulling from just the floor drain. Make sure there are no obstructions on the floor drain either. If you have a ton of leaves down there that might be an issue... Beyond that try priming the pump again. Provided your floor drain is in good shape, that should do it! Keep us posted and let us know how you make out!
Thanks for reply
I Couldn’t get prime, tried all combinations. Was able to suck water from floor drain pipe with a shop vac and when I blow the pipe I see bubbles at bottom so just hoping the problem is pump can’t suck that hard to get going and not issue with floor drain.
Got a submersible pump going to drain the last bit to get below the jets
I shouldn’t have shut off pump when i was lowering water initially, that’s where I lost prime
Thanks again
@@songspire no problem! Good course of action with your troubleshooting. What kind of pump are you using? I had a Hayward super pump that had a gasket going bad, I would check the gasket on the basket just to be safe, but the submersible pump will 💯 get it done! Good luck with the closing!
@@RegsChannel its hayward super pump. Gasket on the basket lid looks good. Shut off valve going to skimmer is also in need of repair , I don't think it was shutting completely. Could be another issue I'm dealing with
@@songspire if you are subscribed, I literally posted a video last week how to fix those valves, hope it can help!
Hey Reg, when blowing out the return lines, is it normal to hear a little bit of a hollow 'gurgling' sound down inside the plumbing when no more water is coming out? Is that sufficient, or is a few more runs of 25psi needed? Using a 8 gallon compressor, if that matters.
I used to use an 8 gallon as well, i'd always run a few extra tanks just to be safe, remember a wee bit of water remaining in the plumbing is OK, but in tighter confines like a heater you need to make sure you evacuate as much as possible. Sounds like you are on the right track!
Hi Reg when you get the air out from main drain don’t you have to wait until there is no more bubbles coming out before you close the main drain valve?
Hey there! In my mind, if you wait till you don't see bubbles anymore the water will just re enter the pipe , at least to the max level of the water in the pool adjacent to the main drain line. By closing the main drain "mid bubble" I for sure know there is air in the line that will be locked. I very well could be wrong, but this is the method I used for the 12 years we have been In the house, and I recently had the line pressure tested and it was all good! So I hope that helps?
Ok great thanks 😊 @@RegsChannel
@@Hardon69 you are most welcome! Hope the shutdown goes well 😁
@@RegsChannel still chicken 🐔 will have the pool guy do it again just to make sure I see the steps on more time , not taking anything away from you , you did a great job explaining everything 😉
@@Hardon69 No problem at all! Let's hope for a short winter!