Do you have to oil swimming pool pump?

To winterize a pool, you have to drain it down below the skimmers, drain the filter, blow water out of the skimmer, return lines, pool cleaner lines, put expansion plugs in them to keep water from getting back in, remove plugs from heater, probably disconnect an internal line at the heater, blow out the heater, remove plugs from pumps, blow out bottom drain line to get air coming out the bottom, then close off the valve to the bottom line to hopefully keep air trapped so water doesn't come back into that line..... You need to put some 2L soda bottles half full of antifreeze in the skimmers, for ice expansion room. Then you put a cover over it. And before all that, you get a winterizing chemical kit to put in.

It's quite involved and if you screw it up, you could wind up with a frozen and busted pipe under your stamped concrete pool deck, among other very bad things.

That's why the whole thing made no sense to me. Sure, in FL people keep the pool open year round, and if it gets down to 25 once in a while, they can leave the pump on at night. But in climates where it's 0F? That's why I thought it was probably a troll and the fact that this poster with a supposedly serious problem in 0F weather hasn't been back tends to support that.

Reply to
trader4
Loading thread data ...

Too cold for rain, silly. We did have snow, last night. and it's +8F in western NYS, on Sunday Jan 26, 2014. Pool is being used for skating rink, if it still has water. When I was a kid, one of the people a couple blocks away made a frame of tarps and two by fours. Filled it with water, and the kids skated. Lot of fun. That kid who lived there was popular for a while.

Hope my truck starts. I did clean the battery clamps when I got the truck. Might need a terminal some day.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The neighbors, next door to our other house, never winterized their pool. It doesn't get cold very often but it does get colder than 15F once or twice a "normal" Winter. It doesn't stay that cold long, though. It's rarely below 32F for more than 24 hours. The "official" frost line is 6", so it's not likely to burst pipes underground, even if the pump is shut down. It won't freeze anything with the pump running because the water in the pool never freezes. There is too much thermal mass and it doesn't stay cold long enough. I don't believe 0F, overnight, is going to do any damage, either.

Reply to
krw

But in places where it gets down to 0F, it can typically stay well below freezing not just overnight but for days at a time. Look at the temp history for the last week in the US where it's been down to 0F. It hasn't been just a brief, overnight event. Those locations have had temps well below freezing for most of the time for many days in a row. Here in NJ, we haven't hit 0 yet either, but we've had day after day where the high has been 15 or 20F, with the low in the single digits.

And your point is what? That it makes sense to not winterize a pool in places where it gets down to 0F and instead rely on running a pump 24/7 for much of the winter? That the troll should go out, take apart a pool pump and *try* to put in a ceramic seal when it's 0F out so they can keep on trucking, instead of winterizing the pool like everyone else in their area did long ago? Of course if they fail in that effort, can't get the pump back together, etc, then they are really screwed, because at 0F all that pool eqpt is going to freeze pretty damn fast. One good storm that takes out the electric for a number of hours and unless they have backup, they are screwed.

Reply to
trader4

Usually but not always. It was 5F here a couple of weeks ago. It was below zero in GA a few nights ago.

The point being, that if the pool never freezes, running the pump

*will* work. It may be expensive but closing a pool isn't cheap, either.

Do a least try to read.

Reply to
krw

Yeah, someplace in the mountains of GA perhaps. If I had a pool there, where it's zero, I'd have it winterized too. What exactly is the point to keeping a pool going when you can't use it for months?

BS. Even here in NJ where everything is expensive, it's $300 to close a pool. That is if you did it in Sept or Oct when everyone did it like they do every year. If you call a pool company now, IDK what they would charge. I sure wouldn't do it for $300 now, for a lot of reasons. But if you called up a pool company to come take your pump apart when it's

0F, they'd surely tell you that you're totally nuts. It hasn't hit zero here yet and my pool has been totally frozen over for days. Let's see. $300 to winterize it, or $150 a month to run a pump, hoping that the power doesn't go out, the pump doesn't break (doh, the one in quesiton is breaking), and that running the pump is going to be sufficient to keep it from freezing when it's 0F, having to keep an eye on it, etc And the cost of failure? Could be $20K. You do the math and make your choice. Around here I don't remember the last time it got to 0F, but there isn't anyone dumb enough to not winterize their pool.

I did. So, answer the question. Wherever it's been 0F 3 days ago, it's still damn cold, and it's forecasted to be cold for days to come. It's only the middle of winter. Is your point that it's a good idea for someone who doesn't know how to put in a ceramic seal to start taking apart a pool pump in that weather, instead of winterizing it? Yes or no? Good grief.

Reply to
trader4

Because Winterizing and opening a pool takes a lot of time and expense. There is no reason to do it if the water won't freeze. It's cheaper and easier to run the pump for a few months.

$300 is cheap? ...and that's assuming you have all of the parts to do it. *THAT* is BS. It doesn't cost that much to run the filter for a couple of hours a day.

Idiot. There is *NO* reason to do it in October or now, even if it gets to 0F. Why spend the money at all? When I lived in NY, sure I closed the pool every year. It took a day to close it and a long weekend to open it in the Spring. It was NO FUN. There is no reason to do it in the South because it doesn't get cold enough to bother. It's *not* about the temperature, it's about whether it will freeze or not. Even at 0F, 20K gallons of water doesn't freeze instantly.

Idiot. It has nothing to do with whether one knows how to repair a pump. IT'S NOT GOING TO FREEZE here. It's *NOT* just S. Florida that need not worry about damage. Jeez. Read, for once!

Reply to
krw

BS. It doesn't take a lot of time, nor is it expensive. As far as expense, what's the expense of running a pool pump all winter when it's below freezing someplace where it hits 0F?

You're in way over your head here and obviously have no experience. The $300 is the price for calling a pool company up and having *them* close the pool for you. Parts? What parts? If you DIY, it can be as little as 0$ if you want to skip the chemical kit that costs $45, which is optional. If $300 is expensive to you, then you shouldn't have a pool or learn to do it yourself.

Yeah, and it's fun to monitor the pump and make sure it's running in 0F weather, right? Pump goes off for just a few hours when it's 0f and you're screwed, big time. It could go off and you wouldn't even know it. You could have a $10K, $20K disaster.

And if it takes you a day to close a pool, well that says a lot. DIY takes a couple hours, that's how long it takes me to do a 48K gallon pool. Pros, for $300 do it in less time than that. So, clearly you don't know what you're doing and are too cheap to pay someone who does.

There is no reason

BS. The winter temperatures in the south aren't on average signicantly higher in winter? Good grief.

I didn't say it was going to freeze where you are. Is that where the question about the failing pump seal came from? The question came from somewhere where it's 0F, not Florida. Read for once.

I said any place where it can hit 0F in winter, normal people winterize their pool. Why the hell did you do it when you lived in the NYC area? That 0F possible temp once in a while is about as cold as it gets there. So, when you were doing it, then it was peachy keen. And I'm the idiot?

Let's see, free to $300, versus keeping a pump running for much of the winter. How much is that going to cost in electric? You say it takes time to close a pool? Yeah, about two hours. Pros, using 2 guys for the $300 do it even faster. It takes you a day, and you thought $300 was what it costs to DIY, so obviously you're lying and unqualified to even comment.

So, a couple hours in Sept, versus how many hours keeping an eye on the pool all winter when it's below freezing? What happens when the power goes out? What happens when the pump fails and it's 0F and 9PM? The pump in question, if it really exists, *is* apparently failing. What happens when the pump stops running and you don't even know it? You go away for a week on vacation, then what? Hire a pool sitter? That's why normal people close pools in environments where it can get down to 0F. I've never seen a single pool open here in coastal NJ that wasn't winterized in all my life. And temps of 0F during very cold snaps every decade or so is what we have here.

Oh and it does very much have to do with knowing how to repair a pool pump. Because if the pump fails at 8PM at night when it's

0F, you better be able to deal with it because the clock is ticking..... In a few hours, you better either have it fixed or winterized. If it takes you a day to winterize a pool in Sept, how long is it going to take you to fix a pump, or winterize it, at night when it's 0F out? And I'm the idiot? Good grief.
Reply to
trader4

Idiot. If the pool isn't frozen, the pump won't be either. The pools never freeze, ergo...

You always revert to the same lie. You're simply wrong. All the way around.

The cover. The bags (or whatever is used to hold the cover down. All the stuff that goes into closing a pool. They don't own that stuff here. It's not needed.

If you do it yourself, it's a day closing and a long weekend opening the pool. Time isn't free. BTDT, no matter that you lie.

Goal post movement. The *FACT* is that it's not done here. There is simply no reason. The pools don't freeze so it's wasted effort/expense.

It certainly did. By myself.

You're lying again, but that's your MO.

Of course the Winter temperatures in the South aren't on average significantly higher in the Winter. Whatever that means.

Learn some grammar, and composition. Good grief, indeed!

Bullshit. You don't even know what you're saying, much less what you said.

Idiot. I'm not the one arguing that just because it gets down to 0F for a nanosecond, one needs to close a pool.

Yes, you did say pools need to be closed, except for perhaps places in Florida. You're wrong, of course.

Again, just because it hits 0F once a season (or decade) is no reason to Winterize a pool. The question is whether it's going to freeze (and how hard).

So now you're even giving up on the 0F thing. It's cheaper to run the pump here, dummy. That's exactly what people do.

I have never said anything about what you do "there". I'm telling you that it's rare (never seen it) to see a pool closed in the South. It's simply not needed. You keep arguing that it is. You know better than the pool owners what they need, evidently. That's Malformed-level arrogance.

Bullshit. The chances of a failure at that point are nil. If by chance it does, no big deal. Open the system and let it drain back into the pool. It's not going to freeze anyway.

Idiot.

Reply to
krw

What? Are you now saying you don't have to run the pump in the winter when it's below freezing to keep the system from freezing? Of course you have to. So, again, what's the cost of that going to be for a whole winter in places where it gets down to 0F?

Running the filter for a couple hours a day when it's 0F, isn't going to keep the system from freezing.

Of course you don't own it where you are. It's also not 0F where you are. People here in places where it does get down to 0f usually have covers. And new pools haven't used bags to hold covers for years. There are better solutions, but since you don't live in such a climate, you wouldn't know. And further, if you want to skip the pool cover, you can. It's not essential.

If it takes you a whole day, then clearly you don't know what you're doing. I've watched pros close many pools and they have it done in under two hours. They'd be out of business if they charged $300 and it took a day. And that $300 is here in NJ, I'll bet it's done for less elsewhere.

Perhaps others who have had pool services close their pools would like to share their experiences.

Idiot. One more time. I never said it was done where you live. Is it 0f where you live? The question asked was about a pool where it was 0F.

There is

It's not the pool that is of concern. It's the pool EQUIPMENT. And again, stop trying to change the discussion to where you live. You even said you closed your pool when you lived in the NY area. That's an example of where it's been down close to 0F. So, why did you do it if it's not needed? Why did all your neighbors? Good grief.

Because you obviously don't know what you're doing and guys like you are just too obstinate to learn. Go watch some youtube videos of pros showing how to do it. They do it in a few hours for $300. What's the cost of that electric bill again? What's the cost of monitoring the system all winter, worrying what happens if the pump breaks, the power goes out? Go away for a week, then what? Hire a pool sitter?

Go take a look at any of the many youtube videos that show how to winterize a pool. Nothing there that should take more than a few hours. Watch and learn.

Have you gone totally stupid? The average winter temperatures in FL aren't higher than in Boston?

Learn how to winterize a pool.

It's all there for everyone to read, as usual. I said anywhere winter temps get down to 0F, people winterize their pools. I never said a damn thing about winterizing a pool where you are or in South Florida, though you desperately want to lie. In some of my earliest posts I clealy stated that people do keep pools open year round in warmer climates, where it only drops below freezing occasionally.

You must be living on another planet. In this world, when it gets down to 0F, the conditions for pool equipment to freeze and bust doesn't exist for a nanosecond. In those climates, the possibility exists for much of the winter. Again, it hasn't gotten to 0F here yet. But it has been in the single digits, teens day after day. You watch TV at all? And every single pool that I know of has been winterized long ago.

I never said that, you're lying. I said that in places where it gets down to 0F, you winterize a pool.

What a dope. Like it just hits 0F for one minute, the rest of the time it's 45F. In my world, places where it hits 0f once a season or even once a decade, it's below freezing enough of the time that people winterize pools. Of course that's exactly what you did when you lived in NY, but now you want to argue about it and lie.

Stop lying. I never said you should close your pool in TX. You wouldn't even know what's cheaper, because you claim you can't close a pool for $300.

And I never said otherwise idiot.

It's

I know enough about pools that I can close one in a few hours, unlike you, who claims it takes all day. Watch those youtube videos and learn.

Why are the chances of a pool pump failing when it's 0F nil? Why are the chances of a power outage in a winter storm nil?

If by

Which shows that you don't understand pool systems at all. You can't just open the system and let it drain. That isn't how pool systems are winterized. For example, go look at a manual for a typical pool heater and see what it says about the steps necessary to keep it from freezing and bursting. Clue: It involves blowing it out with air. Where is the air coming from when it's 0f out and you have no electric power, genius?

And if it's so easy to do at 0F, why exactly is it that it took you all day to do it when it was Sept and 65F?

Reply to
trader4

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.