Recent content by scdaren

Following… my Warrior SE is almost 4 years old. Mostly seems to work but I feel like sometimes it’s maybe not pulling its weight any more. I don’t see it lasting much longer. Really tempted to go back to a suction side cleaner… but our cost of power in California has gone absolutely bonkers...

This is what they had up front near the garden center cashier at my local Lowes today 22 325. In back with the pool stuff it was 23 102. Not super fresh but a whole lot better than last year’s stock.

I’m in Central California, we’ve had a historic amount of rain this winter (we don’t close our pools here). This has been the best thing that’s ever happened to my pool water. Literally the only thing I’ve done since “closing” last summer has been to leave some pucks in a floater. Just did the...

Thanks for the feedback -- I will keep an eye on this. This pool is four and a half years old, and I've dealt with constantly rising pH since it was built. I'm normally adding muriatic all summer long to keep my pH and CSI down with the higher temps, and let it rise up on its own during the...

I just did the full line of tests as I usually do this time of year to "close" my pool. I say that in quotes, because I don't actually close since it doesn't get cold enough here in California, it's my end-of-season routine. I'm seeing TA of 50, and I've never seen it get that low before. My...

Maybe I missed something and maybe this is a stupid question -- are you trying to keep your pool warmer, or cooler? I'm thinking warmer. Just a thin bubble wrap solar cover on top is probably going to make more difference than anything else. In my experience it cuts overnight heat loss in...

Just check what was in it before - avoid harsh chemicals or pesticide. Food grade use is best. We find a lot that were used for food oils or sweeteners.

If you have the space, just get yourself a few 275 gallon or 330 gallon IBC totes, like these -- IBC Totes, Portable Water Tanks, IBC Tanks in Stock - ULINE. Don't pay those stupid prices though - check on your local craigslist for someone selling used reconditioned ones. I'm in the fertilizer...

Before doing anything else, I'd probably scoop out everything you can with a net, and just start dumping chlorine in and running the pump. Pool that size, probably a couple gallons a day, at least until green is gone, then once your test kit comes in see where things stand.

Even with suction side cleaners there is that issue. With the robot, I never run my pump over 50% unless we are swimming and I want the water features going. My suction cleaner needed 90-100%. With some conservative back of the napkin math, my $750 robot paid for itself in 2 years, maybe...

Sorry to hear your robot experience ended up like this @JoyfulNoise. I'm in my 3rd season of my Warrior Si, no issues to date other than decomposing power cords (and they replaced the first under warranty). I keep mine in the pool year-round, mostly because it's more convenient, especially...

This one time when I was in college my friends and I were so desperate to chill our pool we went to the ice depot and loaded up the back of a truck with like 500 lbs of ice and dumped it in the pool. It was like dropping one ice cube into a cup of hot coffee -- it all just disappeared with no...

Intesting read about your experience with the chiller. I have a Pentair 140 heat pump, that also runs in a chiller mode - though it's analogous to an air conditioner as opposed to a swamp cooler, and I'm in a low humidity area. My experience is similar, actually cooling the pool would require...

I used a solar "bubble" type cover for 3 seasons before I got sick of it and decided to just not do it any more. But I would say it definitely helps a lot with evaporation, as it eliminates the surface area from which water can evaporate. As far as heat buildup -- I don't think the color...

Is that a thing? With enough effort, could I develop the skills to just taste the water and know what to add? Like a human TF-100!