Emptying A Swimming Pool

[sophie_1003]

Wasn't really sure where to put this so decided on Home an Garden in case anyone has a swimming pool! How long would it take to empty a swimming pool; obviously it would depend on the size; was thinking about the one at the gym which is 25m long and probably about 8m wide. Not sure how deep; below chest height anyway. I said it would take at least a day and MrS thought it wouldn't take that long, maybe half a day. Any ideas?

[PiedPiper13]

25 hours, trust me.

[bednobs]

it would depend on how you were emptying it! If you were doing it with 1 person and 1 bucket, probably ages

[boxtops]

It depend how big the outlet pipe is, what the rate of emptying etc. This sounds like one of those old school homework questions, how long does it take to empty the bath?!

[sophie_1003]

Haha bednobs! I imagined just pulling a plug and it draining through the same sort of pipes as a bath just on a bigger scale. I did think about asking someone at the gym but didn't want them to think I was some sort of pool-emptying-fanatic!

[ChillDoubt]

Shouldn't the question be how long would it take to FILL the pool, surely?

[sophie_1003]

Errm, nope we were definitely talking about how long it would take to drain it. Can't remember why! How long would it take to fill it then?

[ChillDoubt]

Pass!

[gness]

Sophie. My pool was small...20'x10'x5'. I emptied it through a fireman's hose attached to the working pump so it emptied quite quickly. About an hour and a half tops I think. Filling was done through the garden hose so took much, much longer.

[sophie_1003]

Ah hadn't even thought of it being pumped out! Haha; I'm a bit of a geek to find this all so interesting lol!

[Mosaic]

Thing is Sophie, a pool of that size simply won't get emptied very often. The water is chemically dosed, passed through filters and recirculated. Emptying it can lead to additional problems like substrates moving / tiles cracking because of the 'relief' the ground feels at the weight being reduced - that much water is very heavy. The water will be topped up periodically but lots of it might have been in there for years.
mmmmm. yummy.

[Brinjal]

I would think at least a day. My pool is about that size and have only emptied it once. I think it took about a day. It took about 3 days to fill again.

[sophie_1003]

Thanks for all the answers; yeah didn't think it would be emptied very often although I seem to remember the public swimming pools in our town being closed due to them having to empty and re-fill it after the ceiling fell in and a light fell and broke in the pool (or something!)