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It's spring - I can tell from all the mud (fortunately not in the pool). I'd like to put on the solar cover and get a head start on warming things up. However, the water's still well below 50F, so our SWCG won't be generating chlorine anytime soon (or so it says on the label). Would it be OK to...

I'm getting ready to put my pool equipment back in service, and I'm not sure about the state of the filter. The cartridges are two years old and are a little ragged, with discoloration from the chlorine (I assume). Are they beaten up enough to need replacement? They look like...

Now that I'm about to add some solar collectors, it's time to think about automation. A friend of ours is using manual control, and he's constantly watching the panel and pool temperatures and running out to twiddle the valves. However, the complexity of choosing a system is driving me to think...

We went away for a week, and I left our pump running at the lowest setting and the SWCG running at 60%. We got back today, and when I did the FAS/DPD test, the FC reading was 25 ppm. Is there anything I can do, other than shut off the SWCG, take off the solar cover, and wait for the sun to do...

My TF-100 tells me that my TA and FC are a bit high, and my pH is still low. I've cut back on SWCG runtime, and started aerating to raise pH. Should I also lower TA, or is 90 OK? TF-100 readings: FC - 7.5 CC - 0.5 pH - 7.2 TA - 90 CH - 80 CYA - 25 (new pool, still adding stabilizer) Salt -...

My pool is finally open :-D! The murky pond water I started with is now pretty clear, although my filter isn't especially happy with me. I want to start out by following Water Balance for SWGs. Right now, the SWG isn't working, so I've been adding a little bleach to (hopefully) keep things...

I've run conduit for a pool feeder circuit to the edge of a concrete slab, which is the foundation for a pool house (someday). In the meantime, I need a place to mount a subpanel. I plan to anchor a length of 2x4 on the slab and mount a 4x4 post on it. A scrap of plywood fastened to the front...

The ground has unfrozen, and it's time to finish the electrical hookup for my pool. I spent the winter reading NEC 680, so I'm an expert on this now and nothing can possibly go wrong... The builder ran 1 1/4" PVC conduit from the pool light shell. The end of the conduit is now sticking out of...

While negotiating for my new pool, I asked for an Intellibrite white LED light. My builder bid one to me, but at install time, he actually put in an Amerlite housing and replaced the standard bulb with an LED array. When I noticed that the manual said "AMERLITE" and mentioned it to him, he said...

Or sump, or pump-out, or whatever it's called - the pipe buried in gravel under the deep end of a pool which lets you pump out the ground water so the vinyl liner can be changed. I'm pretty sure that the way my PB made one was to fasten some kind of plastic screen cloth over the end of a length...

Just closed the deal with my preferred builder. He'll be here Thursday to get started. Thank you all very much for making me a better-informed and prepared consumer. I don't know if I got the best deal, but it's considerably better than if I hadn't been able to lean on your experience. Sim

Let's say I've decided on 2.5" suction and 2" returns for my (please, please) soon-to-be pool. Rather than just telling the builder to shut up and do it my way, I'd like to understand exactly what I'm asking for. Besides a bigger stock of 2.5" pipe, what changes to my builder's normal stock of...

One of the builders I've been talking with is absolutely adamant that using 2" instead of 1 1/2" pipe is a horrible idea. He says that only commercial installations use 2" pipe. He warns that using it for my pool will cause the pressure at the returns to be too low. Also, none of the normal pool...

I've found a builder that suits me. He gave me a preliminary quote showing base price and options, and we've hashed out the options we want. Now I'm ready to make a counteroffer. Is there a usual way to do this? I'm thinking of offering a lump sum price for everything that can be known up...

I really want an SR Smith Turbo Twister - for the kids, you understand. Nothing I'd ever use. The kids are forcing me. Anyway, two local builders have told me that they often remove them after a year or two because they get boring very quickly. A reference I talked to actually had that done...