Trouble with opening pool

[Earl J]

I have a 16x32 in-ground...Last Sept I blew out lines thoroughly...Yesterday I removed Gizmo...There is no water flowing back to filter..I tried blowing air through..I don't even feel air at filter end....Has to be blocked; but with what? Like I said I blew out lines in Sept...What do u think? Thx

[PoolDoc]

Sorry, but I've got no good news for you.

Most pool owners (and many pool service guys) do not fully "blow out" their pool lines when they winterize: it's hard to do with a shop vac or non-professional equipment, like this:

This hasn't be a problem in recent years, because we've had mild winters. However, this past winter was more like what winters I remember from 30 years ago, and many, many freeze damage problems are being reported as people attempt to open their pool.

So what's wrong in your case? I can only guess. Usually, a frozen line will crack and leak and not be totally blocked. One, rather bizarre problem I've seen once or twice: someone jammed a too-small plug into the line, and failed to retrieve it.

[Earl J]

Thx, But I've been doing it this way since 1980, w/ no probs...I would think at least I'd be able to feel air unless line is totally collapsed....But how could that happen?

Another thing is: I haven't lost any water in pool

[PoolDoc]

Like I said, a completely blocked line, especially with no leakage, is not typical of freeze damage. But, as I also noted, I can only guess what it might be. I can tell you that most of the completely blocked lines I've dealt with over the years locally, have involved something placed in the lines -- golf balls being one example.

It is also possible to block lines with chemicals. Both stabilizer and borax will form SOLID plugs in line if added too rapidly. But you'd know if you'd adding some chemical at closing.

BTW, the last really cold winter we had here (Chattanooga area) *was* in the winter of 80/81. I remember rather well, because I still had a small plumbing repair business at the time, and I had to work my a## off for about 2 weeks, laying in icy puddles under houses and in holes, trying to get people's water back on. I could only work for my regular customers, there were so many calls, and had to tell others it would be at least a week before I could get to them. We had some local cold 'snaps' in the 80's, but 80/81 was the last sustained cold spell, with temperatures constantly below freezing, till this past winter.

[Earl J]

Ben, I fished line; to find that there was an ice jam 1 to 2 ft from pump/filter.. Still don't no why; cuz line was blown out.. I'm keeping an eye out for LEAKS...Thx buddy

[PoolDoc]

Well, I thought of the possibility of ice . . . but it's 73 outside at the moment here, and I figured it couldn't be THAT much colder there. Wrong!

Just how cold did it get in "NE Penn"?