First time opening

[raysaint]

My thread from last year said "inactive" now, so I'm starting a new one. Thanks to all for all I learned last year as a newbie with an AGP.
Pool made it thru our snowy Ontario winter, the snow weight didn't do any damage that I know of, snow was too heavy to remove most of the time. The cover moved down a bit and pushed some water out of the lines.
Hope to take the cover off next week. Hoping the water is in good shape and at the level I expect (no winter leak.) Any tips on 2 people removing the cover? Me and wife will pull it back and fold it back on itself, rather than dragging from the far end and along the top rail.
I read articles on here and it seems straight forward. Remove cover, fill with water asap, circulate for a couple hours, test, and add chemicals as needed. (if it's green, I'll let you know)
Anything I need to do the pump or cartridge filter before turning them on?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome back to another season. The link below should help you out. Others will reply to assist as well.

Opening your pool- An easy to follow guide

Opening your pool can be stressful. This Pool Start Up guide teaches everything from start-up chemicals, covers, and more for your start up.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[raysaint]

Thanks for that. I had read that guide a couple weeks ago, but read it again in case I missed something.
Besides the basics I was testing last year (both chlorines, PH, TA, CYA), anything else I should test that may have got out of whack over winter?

 

[Texas Splash]

anything else I should test that may have got out of whack over winter?

Your primary focus will be on CYA, FC, and pH. Everything else can wait until the pool is fully open or you complete a SLAM Process to remove algae (if needed). If you have any doubt about whether or not a
SLAM Process is required, be sure to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Hope that helps.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Try to get the pool cover as clean as possible and remove as much water as possible, I use a sump pump. I have found that filling the pool with the winter cover still on makes it slide off better so start filling as you attach all the filter pipes back on. Make sure you keep the plug in the return until the piping is done! Once the pool fills up to the correct level then we usually fold the winter cover into a taco shape and pull from both sides. If it's done correctly (and at times I haven't done it correctly!) it should be fairly easy. There is nothing worse than being engulfed with nasty water!

 

[raysaint]

Try to get the pool cover as clean as possible and remove as much water as possible, I use a sump pump. I have found that filling the pool with the winter cover still on makes it slide off better so start filling as you attach all the filter pipes back on. Make sure you keep the plug in the return until the piping is done! Once the pool fills up to the correct level then we usually fold the winter cover into a taco shape and pull from both sides. If it's done correctly (and at times I haven't done it correctly!) it should be fairly easy. There is nothing worse than being engulfed with nasty water!

I have a cover pump so I want to pump as much water off the cover as it can, then use my rubber snow broom to pull all leaves/debris over to the side and reach down and clean them off the cover, then remove the cover. We'll try pulling back the cover then, and if it's difficult, I'll put water in the pool to raise it up as you said (my pipes have shutoffs.)
Cover will be laid out on the grass and washed. Probably the underside too as it'll have stuff on it from laying there and so no debris goes into the pool when it goes back on in the fall.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

I have a cover pump so I want to pump as much water off the cover as it can, then use my rubber snow broom to pull all leaves/debris over to the side and reach down and clean them off the cover, then remove the cover. We'll try pulling back the cover then, and if it's difficult, I'll put water in the pool to raise it up as you said (my pipes have shutoffs.)
Cover will be laid out on the grass and washed. Probably the underside too as it'll have stuff on it from laying there and so no debris goes into the pool when it goes back on in the fall.

If you have a lot of trees around do yourself a favor and buy a leaf rake. It's great for when the leaves are on the bottom of the pool and you can do a couple of scoops with it's large pocket. I'm in the process of getting a new one (waiting for Amazon to deliver it) and am using the old one for scooping the garbage off the top of the pool. It's great for the big stuff so the cleaner/vacuum doesn't have to suck it up and possibly get clogged.

 

[raysaint]

If you have a lot of trees around do yourself a favor and buy a leaf rake. It's great for when the leaves are on the bottom of the pool and you can do a couple of scoops with it's large pocket. I'm in the process of getting a new one (waiting for Amazon to deliver it) and am using the old one for scooping the garbage off the top of the pool. It's great for the big stuff so the cleaner/vacuum doesn't have to suck it up and possibly get clogged.

Turns out I have a leaf rake (deep net with a flat front edge.) Yes it's good for getting leaves off the bottom.
Gonna connect the equipment tomorrow. Anything I should lube? (do seals dry out inside the Hayward pump?) Last year I looked for visible rubber gaskets etc. and didn't really see any. My cartridge filter seems to be almost maintenance free too, except for cleaning.
My father said he stores his pool cover wet, in water or something; your thoughts.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Turns out I have a leaf rake (deep net with a flat front edge.) Yes it's good for getting leaves off the bottom.
Gonna connect the equipment tomorrow. Anything I should lube? (do seals dry out inside the Hayward pump?) Last year I looked for visible rubber gaskets etc. and didn't really see any. My cartridge filter seems to be almost maintenance free too, except for cleaning.
My father said he stores his pool cover wet, in water or something; your thoughts.

I lube all orings. If I can't get to the oring then I lube the surface it will mate to. I tend to go a little (or a lot depending on how you look at it) over the top where I take some of the orings off to lube them up. I was kicking myself opening the pool because I forgot where the orings went (took them off for winter storage). Once I spotted the channels in the unions and things all went smoothly.

As far as the cover, we tend to try and dry it the best we can. We clean the top of the cover and then grab a bunch of chairs to get it off the grass to dry the bottom. We have had good luck doing it this way. Just a FYI, winter and solar covers are considered "throw away" so getting 2 to 4 years out of them is expected.

 

[raysaint]

I lube all orings. If I can't get to the oring then I lube the surface it will mate to. I tend to go a little (or a lot depending on how you look at it) over the top where I take some of the orings off to lube them up. I was kicking myself opening the pool because I forgot where the orings went (took them off for winter storage). Once I spotted the channels in the unions and things all went smoothly.

As far as the cover, we tend to try and dry it the best we can. We clean the top of the cover and then grab a bunch of chairs to get it off the grass to dry the bottom. We have had good luck doing it this way. Just a FYI, winter and solar covers are considered "throw away" so getting 2 to 4 years out of them is expected.

Reading my Hayward pump manual again, all seals and bearings are self lubing. The rubber ring inside the pump lid, I didn't really want to start digging to get it out (it doesn't just fall out, kinda under a lip), and it only ran for 3 months since it was new.
My cartridge filter has one big rubber ring inside the lid, again it'd need to be dug out maybe with needlenose, and I worry about damage. Maybe let a sleeping dog lie. They shouldn't be dried out yet. I'll watch for leaks.
The chair idea is useful. New cover last fall (deluxe), should last as long as we'll be here. trying to talk wife out of rigging up the solar blanket. More work than it's probably worth.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Orings are/can be different then seals. Orings usually go between 2 hard plains, think of a hose washer but round. My old DE filter had a large one that separated the 2 halves. All my unions have orings but my filter drain had a flat rubber which I consider a seal.

We have a 24 foot pool and the solar cover was a great addition if you like to swim in warm water.

 

[raysaint]

Just thought of something, re: removing the cover. If the 2 of us, one on each side starting at one end, and we fold it in on itself and keep folding it little by little towards the far end, won't it get real heavy because the folded sections keep building on top of each other, every time we try to fold it over, we're lifting all the cover we've already folded.
Might it be better to start at one end and start to fold but just keep pulling up and back until it's off, that way it doesn't drag along the top rail. We have the distance needed for this at the far end of the pool, because this method you need the full length past the end of the pool.

 

[Mdragger88]

I fold it in 1/2 like a taco as vinny said. Then walk each side of the taco to the edge (holding the edges of the taco out if the pool) as i get the top of the taco over the opposite top rails. it shouldn’t be heavy if you cleaned it off.. i also use large binder clips on the bottom side of the cover “taco” to keep that attached to the top rails so i can mostly focus on pulling the top of the taco over the rails towards myself. If there’s any water accumulation throw the pump into the little pocket you have created & get it out real quick. So far I have never gotten debris in the pool this way.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Just thought of something, re: removing the cover. If the 2 of us, one on each side starting at one end, and we fold it in on itself and keep folding it little by little towards the far end, won't it get real heavy because the folded sections keep building on top of each other, every time we try to fold it over, we're lifting all the cover we've already folded.
Might it be better to start at one end and start to fold but just keep pulling up and back until it's off, that way it doesn't drag along the top rail. We have the distance needed for this at the far end of the pool, because this method you need the full length past the end of the pool.

I took the cover off last Saturday. It had a bunch of whirly seed pods on it but because of water on top of the cover a lot of them were wet. So I grabbed a hose, put my sump pump on top of the cover and pushed the seed pods toward the sump pump indentation. Every so often I would drain the cover and start all over. At one point all the seed pods were in one location, I used the leaf rake and cleaned them off the cover and drained about 99% of the water off the cover. I made sure as I was folding the taco that the water in it was going toward the sump pump so I could remove the water. Once there was just a little puddle I took the pump off the cover and the cover came right off.

The cover will get extremely heavy if you don't get the water off of it. And it is very disgusting if the water on the cover is ugly ... been there and it's not fun! We always fill the pool up to the proper level so we aren't dealing with a 18inch drop of the cover, it seems to just slide off except where the water has collected

 

[raysaint]

Cover is off, wasn't bad at all, was completely dry on top; topped up the water, circulated overnite, first test of the season, results below.
Alkalinity: 170, CYA: 50, FC: 4.0, CC: 0.2, PH: 7.3.
So now, how do I lower Alk (seems to be the worst number.)
I didn't want to lower PH (but raising it a bit will worsen Alk?), but will that help? Aeration is difficult with no swimmers yet.

 

[Texas Splash]

how do I lower Alk (seems to be the worst number.)

Lower Total Alkalinity

A lower Total Alkalinity level can help a pool owner stabalize their pH increase. We'll explain how to lower TA with a little help from muriatic acid.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Texas Splash]

Since your pH is already on the low end, you'll have to just wait for it to rise or help the pH rise with aeration. Honestly though, even though the TA is a bit elevated, if the pH doesn't shoot up like a rocket, I would just let it fall slowly over time as you manage the pH.

 

[Texas Splash]

More than anything I would be concerned about the elevated CC. It may just be that the sun needs to oxidize junk trapped in the water. If the CC doesn't go down soon, you may consider doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test just to be safe, especially after just opening for the season. Adding another 3-4 ppm of chlorine wouldn't hurt either.

 

[raysaint]

More than anything I would be concerned about the elevated CC. It may just be that the sun needs to oxidize junk trapped in the water. If the CC doesn't go down soon, you may consider doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test just to be safe, especially after just opening for the season. Adding another 3-4 ppm of chlorine wouldn't hurt either.

So high alk. won't cause a calcium issue? If my ph rises, it's more in the target range, but I'll monitor it in case it falls (then I'd add baking soda?)
The CC I thought was low, as it only took one drop to change from pink to clear. The article says over 0.5 is bad.
I plan to raise FC to about 8.0. today.

 

[Texas Splash]

So high alk. won't cause a calcium issue?

The reaction of calcium turning into scale is a total of pH, TA, CH, and water temp. I don't see a CH test number above, but it would normally be N/A for your vinyl pool anyway unless you had an SWG, but I don't see that in your sig so I'm guessing you use liquid chlorine.

So unless the CH is really high, the TA is not a huge priority really unless the pH shoots upwards really fast every day or two.