Pump Restart Issue when COLD

[tenax]

yes, you are on the right track..actually, if you take your basket out of the "pump", you might be able to actually see the impeller..like a big plastic fan with fins (it would be right in that bigger size part of the pump housing just in front of the motor..that has cooling vents usually that cool the impeller on the shaft..where the impeller attaches to the shaft can wear out. (some use a keyway or groove) so that the impeller can make noise and slide back and forth a little on the shaft)

and you're right..if you have... and close the valves..(mine have red handles by the way..the ball valves as mine are called are pretty common you'll see on many pics) and shut off the multivalve by putting it to close (in effect..having the same "close the valve effect on the other side of the pump) then all that's left for water is what is in the plumbing and the pump that is between the the multivalve and the other valves..so yeah, you could well have a couple gallons of water. if you take off the pump, just carefully take it to wherever you can dump it by keeping it level of course..no point spilling anymore inside your shed or whatever than necessary. it should have a drainage plug or 2 on the pump so when you don't have to try to tip it upside down or anything..just put on concrete, take out the plugs and let it drain.

some people will try to drain it dry by simply running it with the drain plugs open.i cannot advise such a way.

[Poconos]

Elsie,
If you're sticking your fingers in the impeller area just make sure the pump cannot kick on. On the multi-port rattling noise, it is trapped air bubbles kicking around. Eventually they should blow out and it will be quiet. Depends on flow rate and pressures.
Al

[tenax]

yeah, that's a good point on the impeller..and make sure the power is foff at the breaker before working on a pump!

[elsie]

Well, on the coldest night of the season here in Alabama--when it was forecast to be in the teens overnight and I needed to run the pump--the noise in my pump upon start up was so loud I didn't dare run it. Fortunately I had wrapped all the pipes the week before in case of such an occurrence (or a power failure). Pool guy came yesterday. What it was all this time is that the inept pool service I used two years ago to replace the Sta-Rite motor did not replace the older seal, and it leaked water into the motor which destroyed the bearings. I did notice upon start up every time that a quick shot of water would shoot from the motor. So that was it. The wtaer killed the bearings. Apparently the Sta-Rite motor, made in Mexico, isn't of a real high quality, he told me, so I didn't bother with driving the old motor some 80 miles round trip to have it rebuilt at $70 for a back-up. Cost of replacement was $170 for the motor and I'm guessing $100 for the < hour labor (they'll bill me).

I was reassured by this service guy that in the event of a power failure in the winter on one of the nights it drops below freezing, that our freeze line is only a foot and even that never happens because our freezes are so brief, so not to worry about the skimmer or return lines. He said that wrapping the pipes and putting a blanket over the secondary trap will avert anything bursting. I'm relieved because it's so much easier not to have to deal with closing it each Fall. I can just do what I've been doing for four years which is wait for that perfect windless, dry day in early September to cover it and eventually take 10 minutes and $25 in various insulators to wrap pipes (I wouldn't cover it but for living on a heavily-treed lot). Have yet to find PVC foam that will fit over the 2" pipes, so it's piecemealed with that vertically and when I ran out and didn't want to drive to HD, a silver insulating wrap that I got at local hardware store. Then I used duct tape to keep everything hanging together. Looks like it belongs in the ghetto, but who cares in the winter?

I was also reassured to read recent posts on how long it generally takes for water to freeze. I can sleep easy now whether power or equipment failure.

[dawndenise]

If you're worried about your pressure gauge, you can put a styrofoam faucet/outdoor spigot cover over it. I use l-o-n-g bungee cords to hold it securely on the top of my cartridge filter. Knock on wood...so far, so good and our temps have dipped below freezing overnight almost every night since early December. During a cold week, we dipped into the single digits overnight and stayed below freezing during the day.