quick question-closing now

[poolhelp101]

have inground pool
have drained below the skimmer and trying to drain below the returns
i can't get enough pressure to drain much more...lacks about 2 inches being below the returns. do i need to get it below the returns and how can i get more pressure to do that? thanks

[fcfrey]

There is no indication of where you live. How deep does the frost go down in a normal year where you live?

I'm in Central PA and have never drained the pool down or blown the lines.

The returns are approximately 2 feet below the pool copeing and the skimmer boxes are down about a foot. I just put Gizmos in the strainer baskets drain and remove pump & filter then cover with a LoopLoc cover. This will be year #5 doing it this way.

[matt4x4]

If you need to drain below the return, this works well for me:
Place the vacuum adapter into the skimmer with the hose and vac head attached and in the pool.
Get your garden hose on a gentle flow and point it into the skimmer - this will give you a good seal around the vac adapter.
Put your filter to drain or rinse and turn the pump on.
This will allow for you to drain your pool to whatever level you desire.

[Poconos]

An easy way to make a soft gasket for the skimmer vacuum adapter is to put a thick bead of silicone seal around the outside edge of the adapter where it mates with the skimer then place it on a piece of wax paper on a flat surface and let the silicone cure for a couple days. Silicone won't stick to wax paper. Bingo...a good flat soft seal.
Al

[poolhelp101]

i live in kentucky, do you think i need to drain below the returns?
i had pool company to close before and i doubt they drained below the returns, but i don't know. i never paid any attention to this. do you think i need to where i live? thanks.

[SUNNYDAYS]

Easy way to tell if the pool company drained below the returns, did you have to fill the pool up when it was opened? If you had to put a good amount of water in chances are they drained the water down.

[waste]

ph101, IMO you are fine leaving the water where it is and not worrying about the other 2". You will get a little wetter when plugging the rets and your blower will have to work a little harder to evacuate the lines (you also need to plug them while the air is comming out of them to insure that they remain dry).
1 other thing to worry about is the cover, if it is a safety cover - no problem, if a watertube cover - draining it too low will keep the cover from being able to float on the surface and it will fall in.
My computer is acting up right now, so i will end here - if you have any further ?s, post and they will be answered.

[jimgregory]

I assume you don't have a bottom drain. If you do, just close off skimmer and open bottom drain and drain pool.

[poolhelp101]

i do have a bottom drain and i did put it on full drain when i was draining...when it got below the skimmer it remained draining okay for a little while, then it trickled out to a little then nothing. i wasn't going to blow the lines out as others on here have said where i live i should be okay and didn't need to. i have drained the filter and the pump. but nothing has been blown out. i did notice a little water still in the skimmer, should i try some way to get that out too and if so, how do i do that too? please advise and thanks

[waste]

If you're not plugging the lines, why bother lowering the water past the skimmer? (You are going to evacuate the skimmer line, right?)

[poolhelp101]

i have never closed my pool before. always had the pool company do it, so i admit, i have no clue in what i am doing. i did ask the company instruction on how to do it and all i was told was to drain below the skimmer, take the plug loose from the heater, unplug the plug from the filter and turn the cap on top until it lossen and take out the plugs at the pump basket. i've read the posts here and asked alot of questions. if i need to evacuate the skimmer line, i will try, but how do that?