Quote Originally Posted by Roddapool View Post
How do you blow out the bottom drain in the deep end.
Hey Roddapool,
Fellow Long Islander here (but my pool's Upstate).
Last year was my first time closing my 22K IG. It's at 1000' elevation outside Albany, so deep freeze is to be expected. I lowered the water level ~18", forced air into the pump end of the maindrain line with the leaf blower part of my shopvac and quickly capped with a rubber stopper and duct tape. I'm pretty sure I wasn't 100% effective getting the water out but consider that the level of the water in the maindrain line will only rise as high as the surface of the pool water, just like a water level. So for me that puts it 18"+ below the ground surface.

i guess it could happen that the ground would freeze that deep (that"s why they specify foundation footings to be 52" deep in our area) but with the inevitable air cushion in the pipe, I don't worry too much about bursting.

HTH.

Chuck