Leaving for 16 day vacation - what to do with pool

[hulla]

I recently came back from a two week vacation and found my pool level 1.5 feet below normal with water greener than Shrek. I usually turn off my skimmers before leaving but this time I forgot.

The pump ran dry. The booster pump for my polaris went bye bye but the main pump seems ok. I don't know how it survived. It was set for 5 hours a day. Must have quickly got too hot and shut itself off.

I set my sprinkler system to dump water in the pool every other night expecting a lot of evaporation in the Texas heat but I guess it wasn't enough.

In my opinion, the most important thing to do (if you leave the pumps set to turn on) is to turn off your skimmers.

[frankcav]

Why not use one of those automatic water levelers that hookup to a hose they run about $80...

[vim]

Why not use one of those automatic water levelers that hookup to a hose they run about $80...

I am just affraid to put in something new and then what if it fails when I am away. What if watter keeps filling up? I am just kind of paranoid on these things :-(.

About closing skimmer. What do you mean by that? I have skimmer that has 2 holes at the bottom. One goes to pump, another to main drain. So if water level is below skimmer line, that water starts to come in from main drain. Do I have to close anything in this case?

[ChuckD]

I am just affraid to put in something new and then what if it fails when I am away. What if watter keeps filling up? I am just kind of paranoid on these things :-(.

About closing skimmer. What do you mean by that? I have skimmer that has 2 holes at the bottom. One goes to pump, another to main drain. So if water level is below skimmer line, that water starts to come in from main drain. Do I have to close anything in this case?

Skimmer: Only a concern if you decide to put your pump on a timer (I'm not recommending leaving it running 24/7). I'm talking about closing the valve to the skimmer to disable it.