Where can you buy a line blower?

[dbursch]

I've been told that the kind of air blower the pool services use is hard to find and my high-powered shop vac can't get air through the bottom drain line.

Anyone know where you can get the right equipment?

[matt4x4]

I would think any good sized air compressor (20 gal+) should do the trick, these things ussually put out up to 110 lbs pressure (enough to blow your lines appart) and hold enough compressed ait to fill one line about 5-10 times.

[chrisexv6]

You want to be extremely careful if you attempt to use an air compressor. *Because* they get to such high pressures, they *can* blow up the lines. You really need a high volume, low pressure source to "blow" the air through the lines, whereas the compressor "squeezes" air through the lines.

I bought my line blower from www.poolsinc.com (search for "line blower"). It was a bit pricy, but well worth it because the big hole in the ground in my backyard isnt going anywhere for a while and it would cost me $75.00 each season just to have the pool guy come out and blow the lines (the chemicals and draining I can take care of myself).

-Chris

[dbursch]

Thanks Chris. That is what I remember my pool guy telling me about the kind of equipment necessary to safely do the job. I just could never find a source to buy or rent one (and strangely enough, the pool guy couldn't help me with that either). Like you, the line blowing was the only reason why I was hiring someone to close my pool.

I've been using the discharge end of a 6hp shop vac for years that gets everything but my bottom drain line. It's always made me a little uneasy, though, wondering if I was going to have a little surprise in the spring!

[cleancloths]

I've used my Sears shop vac for years to blow the lines out with not problem. True, it does not blow air out the main drain, but I don't see any reason that you would need to do that. The ground (unless you live at the North Pole ) does not freeze down to 8 feet below grade. Typical frost line is 36-42" in most places, so as long as you push water down below that level you will have no problem. What I do after blowing lines is pour a gallon or so of mobilehome antifreeze down the line to further protect it. Then in the spring I just pump it to waste, although it will not hurt much if you get it in the pool by accident. I also pour a gallon or more down each skimmer line after blowing them out.

[matt4x4]

Just wanted to let you know that all air compressors have regulators that allow you to ADJUST the air pressure on the output side, I certainly did not mean to make it sound like you should go at it full pressure - I believe I stated that they'll have enough power to blow your lines appart, but, you can turn it down to a trickle if you want, with a rubber stopper bored in the center for the air compressor nozzle to fit as a seal on the line you're all set, and at least with an air compressor, you can put it to tons of other uses, so it's not just one piece of expensive AND overpriced equipment used once a year and collecting dust the remainder of the year. I'm trying to be a little efficient here and give you some bang for your buck.