Pool freeze protection
If you have a swimming pool and you are worried about your pipes freezing or equipment busting I have a few tips for you. I usually tell my customers to run their pool at night so that water is going through the pipes and do not have the time to freeze. Our company is based in SE Louisiana so our winters are not too harsh. On the southshore of Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain’s water is warmer than the outdoor temperatures in the winter so when a cold front comes through the north wind blows it’s colder air over the warmer lake causing the temperature on the southshore to be considerably higher that the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Point being is if you have a pool in SE Louisiana and live on the northshore the outside low temperatures will be lower causing you to have more problems with freezing. If you have a upper-scale computer system for your pool it probably have a freeze protect allowing you to set a temperature I usually put 38 degrees just to be safe and when the temperature hits that point it automatically turns on whatever equipment you have set up. So I have all pumps come on, the filter pump, the pool cleaner pump and if you have a pump for your waterfall you have that come on also.
If you do not have a computer system for you swimming pool and you are looking to protect your plumbing, here is some advice. You can run your pool manually or change your time clock to run the pool overnight. Depending on the high and low of the temperature depends on when I run the pump/s. The easiest way to set it up is I will run a pump from 11 pm-8 am. If the weather is going to stay in the 30’s all day I would manually term on the pumps after the 8 am time period or run the pool for 24 hours or whenever the temperature is going to go above freezing.
If you are really nervous because the temperature is going to be really low for an extended period of time I would drain your plumbing/equipment. First turn off all timers then take the lid off of your pump to allow air to enter the plumbing. Next, if you have a good upper end filter there should be a drain plug at the bottom of the filter. Unscrew the plug, you may need pliers. Also the pumps have drain plugs usually located at the front of the pump, unscrew them also. If you have a check valve for a raised spa or wall for a water fountain/feature, if it is a high end check valve you will be able to unscrew and take the center part out or unscrew screws and take the lid off.
We at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. us ALL upper end equipment/parts and if you are a prior customer all the steps I stated in the paragraph above you can easily follow. You don’t have to worry about getting a saw out and cutting pipes because you have a cheap in line check valve for instance.
If you have any other questions about protecting pipes/equipment just email us at kevin@nolapools.com. Thanks and have a great holidays!!!
Pool freeze
