Pool Renovations in Tucson

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I am sorry to jump in in the middle of this thread but this may be the first time in nine years calcium has been added to an AZ pool.

I see the background info now and sorry for making you repeat some stuff. That said, I would at least test your fill water.
 
duraleigh said:
I am sorry to jump in in the middle of this thread but this may be the first time in nine years calcium has been added to an AZ pool.

I see the background info now and sorry for making you repeat some stuff. That said, I would at least test your fill water.
Click to expand...

I don't mind at all and apprecaite the help. Here are new test results from water out of the garden hose attached to the same line as the water leveler. That very hose was used for the initial fill:

FC 0 (as expected)
pH <7
TA 100 (10ml sample)
CH 75 (10ml sample)
 
Uncle Flappy, Do you have a sub pump? If you do you can use it to circulate your water and keep if from going green while they figure out the problem. Just add your chlorine and let the pump circulate it. If you do not have one they can be had for cheap at Harbor Freight.

Kim
 
duraleigh said:
I am sorry to jump in in the middle of this thread but this may be the first time in nine years calcium has been added to an AZ pool.

I see the background info now and sorry for making you repeat some stuff. That said, I would at least test your fill water.
Click to expand...

Yeah, normally I would never counsel anyone in the southwest to add CH to their water as the fill water in these parts is as hard as stone (high pH, CH and TA). But Uncle Flappy has about the most unusual well water I ever see for a Tucsonan. Given the current cold water temperatures (~55-60F), his fill water has a CSI of -1.1. That really too aggressive not to treat with a little extra CH. Even if his fill water had 250-300ppm CH (which is typical for Tucson), the really low pH makes his water aggressive towards plaster.

Uncle Flappy said:
I don't mind at all and apprecaite the help. Here are new test results from water out of the garden hose attached to the same line as the water leveler. That very hose was used for the initial fill:

FC 0 (as expected)
pH <7
TA 100 (10ml sample)
CH 75 (10ml sample)
Click to expand...

So your well basically consists of bottled water!?!? Wow, that is really the strangest well water water I've ever seen.


kimkats said:
Uncle Flappy, Do you have a sub pump? If you do you can use it to circulate your water and keep if from going green while they figure out the problem. Just add your chlorine and let the pump circulate it. If you do not have one they can be had for cheap at Harbor Freight.

Kim
Click to expand...

I agree but don't go too crazy (you could rent one from Home Depot). Water temps are really cold here right now so there's very low probability that anything will grow. Even adding chlorine manually and brushing with a wall brush should be sufficient until the PB can get a handle on the leak.
 
Uncle Flappy said:
I do know how to do the bucket test but took the lazy way out. Since it is losing water pretty quickly, I think we can confidently say that there is a problem.

The good news, I suppose, is that the PB replied to my email within seconds:
Do me a favor and shut off your pump and your water leveler. More often it's not necessarily a plumbing leak if there is a fitting in your pool that wasn't sealed properly we can get water leaking from there . I am going to make a call tomorrow to our guy that takes care of any leak issues that we have and see how soon I can get him out there. If it is a fitting that wasn't sealed properly we will certainly take care of it. If there truly is a plumbing leak then he can identify where the leak is at and depending on what it is we can get a price from him to fix it for you.​

Not sure I like that last sentence but will play this out to see what they find before going apey. It will be interesting to see how far the waterline continues to fall.

I am curious - what sort of voodoo will they use to determine where the leak actually is?

- Flappy
Click to expand...


Yeah, that last statement is a "cover your (other name for donkey)" as the PB is saying that if the leak is in the plumbing, it's not his fault.

It's not voodoo, just some nifty tech. Sometimes they can use sound pulses to find where a water line goes, sometimes they can use electrical pulses too. They can put a test source at the fill line and then use a probe to scan around the autofill. If the line is straight enough and not too long, they also have fiber optic cameras they snake into pipes to look for problems. It all depends on how tricky the leak is.

Hopefully by cutting the fill and leaving the pump off, you can see the leak's highest point. If the water level falls below the skimmer and stops, it's likely at the skimmer box or in the skimmer line. If the level drops down to the returns, then it's in your pipes somewhere or a return pipe is not properly sealed to the gunite. If the entire pool drains, then it's at the main drain. But I think they'd find the leak before you lose the entire pool volume.

Keep us updated. Posts like these are very useful for future reference.

Good luck,
Matt
 
JoyfulNoise said:
So your well basically consists of bottled water!?!? Wow, that is really the strangest well water water I've ever seen.
Click to expand...
With so much scrutiny, I had to do some more tests. Before sharing the results, let me go back 4 years to when we first bought the house.

The garage was plumbed for a water softener. Knowing how well water usually is in Tucson, I had the Culligan Man out to do a test. He told me my water wasn't too bad and that I could probably get by with a small softener. Seeing their outrages prices, I went out to Home Depot, bought my own, and installed it.

Now, I know what you’re thinkin' - is soft water being distributed to the outside faucets? I just took a sample directly from the well spigot. Got the same/similar result: CH of 50 (10ml sample). Is it at all possible that the reagents are bad or is my water just that awesome (for drinking)?

- Flappy
 
You have awesome water...

It would be incredibly unusual for an outdoor spigot to have softened water plumbed to it. Spigots are on a separate loop from the house water to ensure that your not using softened water for irrigation purposes (which would be bad). So it does seem that, in fact, you have incredibly awesome well water....and, out of the dishwasher, you probably have the cleanest and shiniest dishes and glasses in town....
 
Looks like a 1/2" of water loss overnight. It was double the previous night with the pump on.

Now, not believing in coincidences, I can't help but wonder if my lack of flow from two of the return fittings is related. The new 1" eyeballs may contribute but I suspect one of the return fittings is not sealed properly.
I should be hearing from the PB later today.

Edit: I should have checked the backwash valve. PB replaced that a few weeks ago. I already left for the office so it will be a while before I can see if that is causing the leak. Not sure why I didn't think of it sooner.
 

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Maybe you and the PB could split the difference in cost to have American Leak Detection come out? They're the only big name I know around these parts that does that sort of stuff. Just a thought.

Keep us posted.

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
I think that is reasonable if their remediation efforts fail or drag out too long. I'll give them a shot at the diver checking out all fittings. I have four drain covers in the pool and two in the spa; there are also 8 popups and 8 returns.

- Flappy
 
Gotcha. Yeah, that's a lot of infiltrations through the gunite. Definitely need a diver.

Good luck!!

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
Checked on the water level this morning and it had not fallen. It is at the base of the waterline tile.

I just got an email from the PB. No details yet but the subject line read, "Crack by skimmer." Here are two photos he attached:
20151208_090433_zpsbt8jo1p8.jpg


20151208_090229_zpsblbnb7wz.jpg


I would suspect this just needs to be resealed.

Thoughts?
 
How old is the skimmer?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
Well, my thought is this - if it is truly the source of the leak, then a patch job is just that, a patch. Maybe you get 5 years out it. If you think you're going to be there for the long haul, then I would definitely sit down with the PB and see what the cost is to chip out the old skimmer and do a replacement. Maybe the cost is high or maybe it's not. For me, I hate just patching thing over and rest easier knowing things have been fixed right.

Take it for what it's worth, just my personal 2 cent opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 

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