Quote Originally Posted by DennisP View Post
Thanks for the reply Dennis.

And, from your perspective, being a pool installation professional, I can understand your motivations to keep the "common owners" from going with a main drain.

I am far from a "common owner", and I have noticed that a large number of those on the web posting about pools seem to be those are are far removed from being engineering types, handyman types and/or those with mechanical proficiency.

So, as you said, for the majority of people, no main drain is common sense. But, for those of us "with a clue and ability" a main drain is essential.

Without a main drain winterizing is a PITA. Without a main drain you can't circulate water while heating a pool and melting the ice the formed over winter for an early spring opening (which I did this year, which required using only the main drain to pull water out, circulate it through the heater and then send heated water back to the pool while also allowing me to fill the pool with my dedicated fill bib and line setup)... My kids were swimming the first week of March when we hit 70 degrees for a day or two. Without a main drain that would have been impossible as I would have had to fill the pool first to use the skimmer, then I would have had the issue of ice shards plugging the skimmer (which would have prevented flow through the system to use the heater)...

I just want to be sure that those that are true DIY types that are extremely detail oriented seriously consider a main drain setup for it's many advantages. Those hiring others to do everything need not consider it.


I must say that I have never attempted to heat a pool while there was still ice on the surface. Kind of a luxury heating an outdoor pool while it is still "winter". Kind of hard to remove the pool cover when there is ice and snow on it!

That being said, I would never put a main drain in the bottom of an above pool liner. Too much risk of a leak for my taste, with very little benefit. I also prefer an easy way to winterize the pool. Having water lines below grade are not for me. The only time I have ever drained the pool was when the liner was replaced, so I don't need to worry about drain time.

I have a Fanta Sea 16' x 32' x 4' flat bottom pool that is now on its third vinyl liner. The pool has one skimmer, one pump outlet, and one lower drain/pump feed on the sidewall about 5" from the bottom of the pool. Circulation is fine. However, over time debris does settle in the center of the pool. That's pretty much to be expected due the circulation pattern. Then again, I only vacuum the pool once a month.