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Oh, man! What a mess! I figured I'd be using a roller to retract a one-piece cover, so perhaps it might not be so messy. But I also wondered about liability. What if someone breaks in there after dark and gets trapped under the cover? Stuff like that....

Our community pool is heated, with annual propane costs ~$5K even though we only run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. One cost control option that has been proposed is covering the pool at night. My first reaction as CPO was that I have to fool with the cover every morning and evening --...

Thanks, JasonLion. I'll look into the Taylor view tube and be satisfied for now with that level of accuracy. I'm pleased to see that TFTestkits (our preferred seller), stocks a similar product.

I run CYA 20-40 ppm, which is the bottom of my K2006 testing range. The K2006 appears focused on those running their CYA higher. Is there a kit that covers a lower range? And for that matter, if the focus were on a lower, narrower range, is there a kit that reads more accurately (e.g., 5 ppm...

Thanks all! Having trouble getting forum notifications, so I missed your replies. My bad! FC at X ppm above CYA raises the question of accuracy in CYA tests. I practice regularly with standard solutions, and it only makes me doubt CYA testing more. Especially for CYA < 30 b/c my K-2006 isn't...

Drafted to be CPO for NC community pool. Code in our state: "Pools that use chlorine as the disinfectant must be stabilized with cyanuric acid except at indoor pools or where it can be shown that cyanuric acid is not necessary to maintain a stable free chlorine residual. The cyanuric acid...

Thanks, all. I'll pursue and post back if something interesting emerges. Meanwhile, you've taught me a lot already about bucket tests and leak finding.

jblizzle, water levels were near the top of the bucket, so much so that I could only do this test without people swimming and raindrops splashing. So the 1/4" is not likely to be evaporation difference. zea3, I accept your experience that 1/4" isn't significant, and that's what I was asking...

I performed two bucket tests for leaks, during times with no swimming, rain, or water replacement. Both times I got exactly 1/4" difference between bucket and pool water level after 24 hours. Is 1/4" a significant difference? I'm being careful, and results are consistent. I think I may have...

Thanks, Jason! And of course thank you for the calculator itself!

OK. I've switched my link to PoolMath. Looking at PoolMath, seems that oz for the soda ash is in volume, not weight. For example, "Effects of adding chemicals" says 22 oz of soda ash will raise pH by 0.1 and raise TA by 3.1. That seems to correspond to numbers under the "pH" section at...

Pool Calculator is awesome and I use it every year. Question about the section at the bottom, "Effects of adding chemicals". Does "oz" mean weight or volume? I'm trying to estimate effect of soda ash on TA. That's a powder and I guess it could be weighed but I always dish it out in measuring...

If I'm building up the area with epoxy, I might consider also just plugging the hole with epoxy. Sorta gets back to the question of what materials can survive this environment. If epoxy is truly legitimate than health inspector can't complain. So I followed up on Charlie's brass fitting idea...

Looked into the drill/tap situation. Limiting issue looks to me to be the lack of meat in that area. Photo below shows how the hole has eroded and reduced the wall thickness granted in the plastic casting. Double-checked the measurements and the hole is approximately 1/2". If next size up is...

Wow, Charlie, that's a much more elegant solution than I was considering. I don't have the tapping tools, but will see if I can obtain locally. Meanwhile, I'm still open to simple sealant if one can be relied upon chemically. Thanks!

Aging trichlor feeder has two pressure release valves on the cover. One of them has threads so stripped that the only fix is to plug the hole completely. What kind of goop should I use to fill in that hole? This is the most oxidation-intense locale in the whole system so I have concerns about...

Thanks, Isaac-1. Sounds like if we were to insist on working the $10 end of the spectrum, we'd need to find that ideal candidate that has 1) capability and 21) no sense of the dollar value of their own time. Or put it another way, while there's both good and bad to be found at both ends of the...

Yes, the $10 CPO approach has been tried multiple times. The result is that the ones who do good work eventually realize they're being low-balled and won't stick around. The flunkies are happy to stay ... and run the pool into the ground. They exact their cost in damage to the pool. So I...

$40/hr? No wonder TFP fills such an important DYI market. I had seen figures closer to half that, but got the impression they were for W-2 employees, perhaps for large pools. I noted your distinction in excluding opening, closing, chemical, and repair costs. Appreciate the thought of a...

Well, we've been working it 7 days a week this season, and it's gone well. On the one hand, some days there's noticeably less to do, though on others there's more (like debris in the water after a good mountain storm). So realistically one could skip a day. But on the other hand the health...

We have a community pool in the mountains of western NC. We've learned a lot from TFP this season and have run the pool ourselves, but we may need to contract most of the work out to a CPO and use our TFP knowledge for monitoring and decision making more than daily upkeep. But we're not sure...

Extremely practical, both short and long term. I'll use up existing soda ash supplies by applying in the evening, then switch to borax. Or at least I'll be much more aware now that borax is an important option and why. A boost to TA is often a good thing here, where make-up water drives TA...

Thanks, Chem. An amazingly complete answer. I find hydrogen peroxide much less intimidating than other more sinister-sounding chlorine neutralizing chemicals. Yes, the code and its enforcement is odd here, and hasn't helped my pool learning curve at all. The health inspector's battered old...

Thanks, Jason. Yes I've read the very helpful SLAM article. In this case, I pass all three criteria before I even begin as I'm only doing this to get at the black algae on the bottom of an otherwise pretty pool. The regulations appear only concerned with the 1ppm min, and are ignorant of...

Make-up water has low CH here (western NC) and I've been struggling to get CH up to levels appropriate for a plaster pool. Fighting against a pool leak requiring a lot of water addition every day. But I've finally reached CH~130ppm. FC ~4ppm CC ~0ppm pH ~7.4 TA ~80ppm CH...

Thanks, Ike. I run CYA low. ~30ppm and sometimes lower. I plan to lose ~2ppm FC per day. I guess low CYA would mean FC would drop faster from shock levels. On the other hand, the pool is slightly shaded and in the mountains of western NC which have seen few sunny days this summer! Do I...

First of all, I can't say enough good things about this forum. I've gone from completely ignorant to successfully running a community pool 24/7 completely on the advice available here. You guys have the patience of saints when it comes to dealing with newbies. Following your guidance, I have...