This post first appeared on NESPA’s The Edge magazine.

Winterizing is a critical part of the pool season for many in the industry and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Just like nature plans for the harsh cold months, so do pool professionals! At Raypak, we’re sensitive to the importance of properly winterizing pool equipment to minimize the possibility of system failure and equipment damage. Ultimately our focus being to align with the pool professional on best practices that will create customer satisfaction for the homeowner.

How to Winterize Your Pool Equipment

For heaters installed in freezing temperatures and shut down for the winter, please observe the following procedures:

  1. Shut the gas supply off to the heater and turn off the heater gas valve.
  2. Turn off the breaker to the pump.  If you have actuators for your valves, situate them properly so that pool water does not drain, then proceed to shut off power to the automation system.  In most cases the heater is on the same circuit as the pump, but if not, turn the heater breaker off as well.  (If you mean to backwash before draining the filter, do that before killing the power)
  3. Close any valves between the equipment and the pool, and any valve that could cause the pool to drain.
  4. Drain all the equipment.  Open any drain plugs on the filter, pump, heater, anything that holds water.  Opening the pressure relief valve on the filter will speed things up a bit.  Draining the heater: Raypak heaters will have a drain plug on the front, inlet-outlet header.  Newer models will also have our ProTek Shield module; a cutting-edge module that protects the heat exchanger and extends the life of the unit by mitigating galvanic corrosion. This provides a good place from which to drain, as it should be removed as well.  Where possible, you might want to disconnect the plumbing unions and tip the heater toward the plumbing.
  5. Remove the cabinet panels on the side opposite the water piping to gain access to the drain plug on the return header, and open that as well.

To winterize the filter and pump equipment, such as our Protégé pool equipment products, follow these simple and easy procedures to ensure that your equipment will last a long time.

  1. Again, kill the power and close valves as described earlier.  NOTE: Where the equipment is below the pool water level, you must close valves that isolate the equipment, or drain the pool to a level below the suction and return lines.
  2. Drain the pump.  Take the lid off the lint pot and remove the plug from the drain/test port.  Clear the basket of any leaves or debris. Most modern pumps have unions on the inlet and outlet; you may want to disconnect the plumbing there and tip the whole pump.  Get the pump as dry as you can.
  3. For above-ground pools, disconnect any filter hoses that are attached to the pool, provided, as mentioned above, the water level is below the return line.

For cartridge filters, like the Protégé CFP: 

  1. Remove the drain plug at the bottom of the tank, then open the cartridge filter air relief valve, allowing the water to drain from the filter.  (by now I hope we don’t need to remind you about the water level and return lines, do we?)
  2. Open the ring lock and take out the filter element for cleaning.  The cartridge should be allowed to dry completely, and ideally should be stored indoors and warm for the winter if you plan to reuse it next spring.  A new cartridge at start-up is ideal.
  3. The cartridge filter tank should also be as dry as possible to avoid the growth of unpleasant smelling mold. Most cartridge filters are equipped with plumbing unions, which allow the tank to be removed completely from the system and turned upside down.

For sand filters, like the Protégé SF and SFP:

  1. Backwash the filter for at least 30 minutes before closing the pool for winterizing. This will clean the filter bed thoroughly and remove any debris from the system.
  2. Remove the drain cap at the bottom of the filter tank to drain. Leave the cap off during winter.
  3. Set the control valve handle between the RINSE and FILTER. This will lift the handle and help with the draining process by allowing air to enter the tank.
  4. Unscrew and remove the pressure gauge from the top of the filter tank and store it indoors for winter.  For multi-port valves with a sight glass, remove that and store it indoors as well.

For those of you who might be winterizing the new AVIA pool heater this year you’ll be happy to know we kept it simple. The above steps will get you in and out of the yard and on to the next pool. Drop those plugs and the ProTek Shield module in the empty strainer basket for safe keeping until the spring. If your winters typically get cold enough to move equipment indoors, you might be happy to know our new AVIA is less than one-hundred forty pounds, making it easier for one person to handle if necessary.

Here is a quick tip for those of you that might be working with some classics like the Raypak RP2100: for heaters made before 1998, with a Pressure Switch Tube Assembly, (copper tube), you will need to disconnect the pressure switch and allow the tube to drain. For heaters made after 1998, there is no need to disconnect the Pressure switch.

There are many other aspects to consider when winterizing, and Raypak recommends searching for more articles on winterizing, as there are many. Of course, the best advice would be to refer to the product operation manuals for the equipment you’re handling for any safety information and recommended procedures to know ahead of winterizing.

A great, underutilized resource of information would be the Pool & Spa FAQs section on the Raypak website. Next time you’re looking for some quick tips head on over to www.raypak.com/pool-and-faqs. Additional you can call in for factory support to help you with those tough to diagnose situations.