Quote Originally Posted by aswetich View Post
1. Can I use this with the water level up in the skimmer ?
http://intheswim.com/Winter-Pool-Clo...mer-Guard-I-G/

2. Can I use these for the outlets ?
http://intheswim.com/Winter-Pool-Clo...er-Pool-Valve/

3. After blowing the lines I would add antifreeze to the return lines and blow until I saw some anti-freeze go in the pool.

4. Do I need to do something else with the skimer ? Last year I copied what the pool guy did. He blew and capped the inlet in the bottom, left the water level up and put a empty chrorine jug in the skimmer .
Spensar, I'm not familiar with those but the theory sounds sound Just be sure to lube the rubber 'duck bill' with a non-petrolium lube every year, to prevent dry rot (check it before you use it to insure that it hasn't gotten brittle)

aswetich,
#1 I don't think that that's a 'blow through', but the pic doesn't show the top. The only good 'blow through' gizzmo I've seen is made by Gizzmo ( it has a solid tube inside (think cross section doughnut) so if the outer wall gets crushed by ice expansion, the skimmer line doesn't fill with water - if there's a freeze/ thaw/ freeze)
#2 I'm not familiar with those either, but they look like they should do the job, as long as they stay watertight all winter. (I've seen similar ones that after a season or two will leak, but the black cover on yours should prevent that)
#3 I've never done it that way, but I believe that Al (Poconos) does. With the plugs you're looking at (as per #2) it'd be easy to do it that way - I don't because I've always used solid plugs which prevent the addition of ading antifreeze and 'reblowing'. BTW: adding antifreeze is just an extra precaution, properly evacuated lines don't have enough water in them to burst the pipes, usually the lines are run below the 'frostline' so they won't freeze anyway, but whenever I can, I'll put some antifreeze into the line JUST IN CASE
#4 The guy's an idiot! Unless you are close to the equator, there's a good chance that the water in the skimmer will freeze, an empty bottle floats and therefore will not provide any protection from ice expansion! If he had ~ 1/2 filled it with pebbles or sand, it would have stayed 'neutral boyant' and been able to kep your skimmer walls from breaking. Get the "Ultra-Gizzmo" and don't sweat any problems. I'm not trying to sell anything, hell I don't even like anyone in Vermont,family excluded, but that's the only product I would trust.
I wish you well with your winterizing, and if I can be of further service - don't hesitate to ask