In the middle of September, somewhere in North America, an opening crew has finished three pools, and is working on a forth. This includes travel time. On the day that a crew closes a pool, there is not much fat. There is no extra time to take a break for lunch or bathroom breaks. No time to talk with pool owners if they have any questions.
The pool closing crew and thousands of others like them, will burst in to a backyard, like Seal Team Six, and within 90 second, all the tools needed to close a pool are already on hand. The pump is out of the truck, set up and running. The discharge hoses are stretched to the road and drain the water from the pool. The pool cover is being dragged toward the pool by one person while another (more experienced person) is at the equipment pad disassembling the pump, heater, filter and salt system.
Uninitiated people are amazed at the speed with which an experienced technician can complete this task. The entire disassembly process of the heater draincocks and pump, the filter, the gas valves and the salt cell can be completed in less than 60 seconds. It is easy to winterize pool equipment because it is not complicated. All brands, models and makes of heaters, filters, pumps and draincocks are winterized the same way.
The closing crew does not need to run the pumps or backwash the filters. It is important to do all of this in advance, because everything will fall apart within minutes of arriving. Fast, focused and efficient are the three “f”s.
Remove the lid from the pump and remove the strainer. Rinse out any leaves or debris. Remove the drain plugs from the pump (front and side) and place them in the strainer basket. The pump is now winterized. Now the pump is winterized. Winterizing plugs are usually either wing nuts that you can remove by hand or 9/16″ plastic-sized nuts.
The Filter’s Turn
The three types of filters, sand cartridge, D.E. Filters must be drained in order to prevent them from breaking during freezing temperatures. After backwashing and rinse, you open the bottom drain. Then set the filter to winter.
They need to be disassembled, cleaned and opened for the new season. Even a pool professional from the special forces will take some time to remove the split flange and filter elements. However, a technician with the right skills can do it quickly. The flange has a brass or soft metal head, but the professional is not using channel locks on it or an adjustable tool. The socket is the right one and it comes off with just a few clicks.
The pressure gauge and the sight glass are removed. The air relief valve remains in its open position so that water cannot be trapped and frozen, causing damage.
HEATER CLEAR
Safety is the first priority for professionals. When a technician is ready to winterize an outdoor gas heater, he will shut the external gas valve and turn off power to the heater. The technician will then open the service access in the front and shut off the secondary valve. If the heater has a pressure switch, the technician will also open it. Sometimes you will need to use two 7/16″ wrenches, but usually a 7/16″ wrench and a 1/2″ wrench. The draincocks, which may look like the ones on your pump or be made of brass, are then removed. This allows you to blow through the heater, removing all the water trapped within. After I reach this point, I leave the blower running for a few moments while I go do something else. This will help to atomize any residual moisture and water within the heater. The goal is to make it as dry as you can.
SALT CELL
You can winterize your saltwater chlorinator by simply turning it off and unscrewing the generator cell. Install a “dummy” cell or rubber plugs in the pool pipe to keep water and pests out.
Winterizing your pool is not as difficult as people think. If you do something wrong and break something, it can be expensive. But if all goes well, closing and winterizing your pool equipment only takes a few moments and a couple of tools. You can rest assured that all the plugs will be in the basket when you reassemble the pool in the spring if you leave them in there. You will find that if you store all of this stuff in your garage, shed or basement, they are missing a lot by spring.
Our team of commandos for pool closure has worked calmly and efficiently up to this point, totaling about 10 minutes. Now the entire equipment pad has been winterized. The pool has been draining for a long time with a large pump. It is now almost at the bottom of returns, perfect for the next step. This pump is turned off, rolled and placed back into the truck. The blower, which was used to empty out the equipment, is now set to blow the skimmer through for a few moments while the two-person team orientates the cover properly on or near the pool.
The blower will now blow through the return pipe. The crew will blow out all return pipes, then close all but one to remove the maximum amount water. The winter plugs are installed and then the cover is fixed over the pool.
CLOSING DETAILS
The main tech was winterizing the equipment while the assistant located the pool cover and prepared for installation. During this period, the ladders from the pool were removed and winterizing chemicals were added to the water as requested by the pool owner. The pool owner paid for the winterizing chemicals and added chlorine to keep it clear.
Even the largest and most complex of pools will only take two to three hours for this team of experienced professionals, and the easiest pools can be closed and winterized within 15 minutes.
Why the obsession with speed and accuracy? There are thousands of pools located above the frostline, in cities like Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. And they all want to close at the same time.
Steve Goodale, a second generation swimming pool expert from Ontario, Canada. You can learn more about Steve, as well as swimming pool construction, maintenance and repair from his website: SwimmingPoolSteve.com
