Emptying An Old Pool For Liner Replacement

[drew12233]

I bought a home that has an older above ground pool with a center drain. The liner is to be changed but I need to drain it of the 2 feet of water still left there. I was told to put a garden hose in the skimmer (the water line is way below the skimmer) and turn it on until the pipes fills up, then switch it to "Full Drain" on the valve below the skimmer in order to make sure there is no air in the piping. The trouble is that the pipes never fill up. Its as though the hose is just pumping water back in through the center drain and never emptying. So the pump eventually just runs empty and the water is not draining. I know that you can use a hose or a sump pump to do the job but I want to make sure it is working from the center drain. I figure the center drain is working because when I detach the piping from it the water spews out. But when I put the pump on, it is not emptying. The setup is that there is one pipe from the pump to the valve below the skimmer and one pipe from the center drain exit to the same valve, which can be put on varios settings (1/2 and 1/2, full drain, full skimmer and closed).

Anyone have any ideas about how I can get this thing working?

Thanks

[ps558]

I bought a home that has an older above ground pool with a center drain. The liner is to be changed but I need to drain it of the 2 feet of water still left there. I was told to put a garden hose in the skimmer (the water line is way below the skimmer) and turn it on until the pipes fills up, then switch it to "Full Drain" on the valve below the skimmer in order to make sure there is no air in the piping. The trouble is that the pipes never fill up. Its as though the hose is just pumping water back in through the center drain and never emptying. So the pump eventually just runs empty and the water is not draining. I know that you can use a hose or a sump pump to do the job but I want to make sure it is working from the center drain. I figure the center drain is working because when I detach the piping from it the water spews out. But when I put the pump on, it is not emptying. The setup is that there is one pipe from the pump to the valve below the skimmer and one pipe from the center drain exit to the same valve, which can be put on varios settings (1/2 and 1/2, full drain, full skimmer and closed).

Anyone have any ideas about how I can get this thing working?

Thanks

The valve you are describing sounds like a Hayward 735 ball valve. They do not seal tight due to the way there made and or age. Did you try to plug the skimmer and then try to drain the pool? Most above ground pool pumps are not self priming and can't pull water.

you might need a sump pump for the last couple of feet of water.

[imnay]

Above ground pools with a center drain are unusual.

We have a center drain and a skimmer. We have two ball valves - one from the skimmer and one from the center drain - that allows us to cut off water pulled to the pump from the skimmer or the center drain and then there is a separate valve that allows us to vary between the two - sounds a bit like what you have. What make and model pump to you have and what type of filter?

We can cut off our skimmer so that water only draws from our main center drain. If you set things to close off the skimmer and draw only from the center drain and it ain't draining then there is a problem.

If you detach the pipe from the floor drain and water pours out but the pump isn't drawing water then sounds like valves are either mis-set or blocked.

I would go to a rent-all place and rent a free standing pump to drain out all the standing water ASAP. Then, while all the pool and system are empty I would work through testing valves and etc. and replace and fix until it all works as designed.

A center drain in a AGPool is an elegant thing to have - in our experience, it can make cleaning and maintenance a LOT easier.

Once you get it figured out and the new liner installed you will be glad to have the floor drain.