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| Anyone in a "freezing winter" area who doesn't close their swimming pool? (Page 2/3) |
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cliffw
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OCT 12, 07:51 AM
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What is a pool ? Asks a guy who is able to choose clean rivers and lakes.
Actually, I want to mention a water line freeze preventative I use in my RVs and, at times, water hoses.
I get a schraeder valve, like the type that you put an air chuck hose on to fill a tire. I then use various fittings to adapt it to water hose fittings. Two "cross over" adaptions, one for male hose fitting, and another for female hose fittings.
I don't see why it would not work with iron pipe fittings and melded into a swimming pool plumbing system.
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Australian
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OCT 12, 07:56 AM
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You can buy a 500w pond/tank heater stainless steel rod for $20 it won't freeze with one of those.
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jmbishop
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OCT 12, 10:55 AM
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Here in north texas, we really don't winterize pools, I'm sure a few people do, but the cost to do it usually isn't economical. Instead it's advised to use a freeze guard, it's a thermostat that turns the pump on when the temperatures are close enough to freezing.
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jmbishop
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OCT 12, 11:09 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
I am NOT a long time experienced pool guy,
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I am, over 2 decades doing it professionally. And as mentioned above, a freeze guard would definitely benefit you.
https://www.wildwestpoolsup...ion-240v-3hp-pf1102/
For adove ground pools with pumps plugged into an outlet, there are pretty inexpensive freeze protection devices made for stock tanks that run around $20
Also an upgrade for your DE filter is to use cellulose, it takes less, it's much more pleasant to work with, it washes out easier with your backwashes and when you wash the grids. Save the DE for pest control.[This message has been edited by jmbishop (edited 10-12-2022).]
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maryjane
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OCT 12, 12:48 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Australian:
You can buy a 500w pond/tank heater stainless steel rod for $20 it won't freeze with one of those. |
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I've used them in 300 gal livestock water troughs. I doubt one would work with 27,000 gals of pool.
I would tho, very much like to find a solar powered pool heater. One that collects heat , not electricity.
There are no nat gas lines in my subdivision and close proximity to neighbors prevents me from getting a big propane tank (City code) which leaves only an electric heater as an option. Up front purchase/nstallation cost is pretty high but doable. However, the big increase in my monthly electric bill from Oct-April is not in the budget.
Mr Bishop. Glad you stopped in.
Is this actually an option?
https://www.swimuniversity....y-solar-pool-heater/
I'll look into cellulose. DE was really hard to find locally back in late July/early August when the temps were over100F for several weeks.
Exactly what does multiport valve's 'winterize' position do? Isn't it just to protect the valve itself from freezing?
As far as using DE for pest control, most vets and yard 'experts' advise against using pool grade DE for pest control due to it's particle size. Food grade perhaps but not pool grade. I know DE has over and over been proven not to work on cattle against flies, mosquitoes, lice or mites or any other biting/sucking parasite. The "all natural/free range/100% organic/gluten free/(etc) folks say it does but many independant studies from places like TAMU and Kansas St have shown it does not.[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 10-12-2022).]
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jmbishop
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OCT 12, 02:30 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
Mr Bishop. Glad you stopped in.
Is this actually an option?
https://www.swimuniversity....y-solar-pool-heater/
I'll look into cellulose. DE was really hard to find locally back in late July/early August when the temps were over100F for several weeks.
Exactly what does multiport valve's 'winterize' position do? Isn't it just to protect the valve itself from freezing?
As far as using DE for pest control, most vets and yard 'experts' advise against using pool grade DE for pest control due to it's particle size. Food grade perhaps but not pool grade. I know DE has over and over been proven not to work on cattle against flies, mosquitoes, lice or mites or any other biting/sucking parasite. The "all natural/free range/100% organic/gluten free/(etc) folks say it does but many independant studies from places like TAMU and Kansas St have shown it does not.
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Most people are looking to cool their pools in the summer in Texas, so they add fountains. I've seen people play with those heaters on a 30k gallon pool with little success. I have no doubt it could work with enough surface area exposed to the sun and enough water flow throughout it but I personally wouldn't try the instructions from that link on anything more than a hot tub. Some solar installs are water cooled using swimming pools, it raises the water pools temp and brings up the efficiency of the panels. I assume they use a heat exchanger with some type of antifreeze on the panel side but I don't actually know. In theory if you're looking for heated water in the summer you could cut down on your AC bill by re-placing your AC condenser with a heat exchanger cooled by pool water. Not something I've looked deep into but I've seen it mentioned using ponds.
And as far as the winterize setting goes, I'm not actually sure, we don't use it but I'm guessing it bypasses the filter so you can drain it, that way if you're pump is running on a freeze guard for an extended period of time and you're not paying attention, the filter isn't going to get full. But our winters are so short, we might only have a week or two of a pump running on a freeze guard all year.
I haven't tried pool DE outside of fire ants and it works. We used it on haybales all the time that weren't being used for animals, they were being used as bunkers.
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jmbishop
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OCT 12, 02:43 PM
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Raydar
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OCT 12, 07:04 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by jmbishop:
Here in north texas, we really don't winterize pools, I'm sure a few people do, but the cost to do it usually isn't economical. Instead it's advised to use a freeze guard, it's a thermostat that turns the pump on when the temperatures are close enough to freezing. |
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That's a great idea. The only real down side of that is that we are in that band that gets ice storms, instead of snow. They are just infrequent enough to allow all the trees and limbs to get big enough that they become a problem (by falling) when covered with ice.
That, compounded with the fact that our particular location is one of the last drops towards the end of the electrical distribution line, usually means that we are among the last to have power restored.
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jmbishop
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OCT 13, 12:16 PM
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Yeah, and that was a problem with our 6 days of winter here in north Texas, we saw a lot of indoor plumbing damage because too many people weren't prepared for freezing temps and days without power. And sadly, the solutions aren't cheap. Your best options would be to winterize yearly, adding up over the years and paying for the inflation, or get a generator and a freeze guard, a large initial investment but ultimately is likely to save you money, it's also a life upgrade beyond just protecting the pool.
My brother and I are both in the pool business here in north Texas. I don't think I'd ever have a pool, maybe a above ground pool that when the newness wears off and people stop using it, I can toss in the trash. My brother however bought a house with a pool and filled it in, he then bought another house and just finished having a pool installed.
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maryjane
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OCT 13, 12:31 PM
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Looks and sounds pricey and, my ac isn't running much right now because of cool days/nights and open windows. 11:30am, it's 76F outside with a nice cool NW wind blowing and it was in the mid 60s when I got up at 6:30. AC will be on even less in upcoming weeks and months. And, my a/c condenser is about 120' from my pool pump/filter. That's a long way to run refrigerant lines or pool water piping.
Nifty idea tho. 
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