Do I have to dilute?

[Richard320]

My pool suffers from extremely high CYA, thanks to previous homeowner's use of chlorine tablets exclusively. The Pool Calculator indicates that I need 14 to 21 Free Chlorine.

My test kit doesn't go that high.

This morning I diluted the sample 1:3 and came up with Chlorine somewhere between 6 and 9. I added the gallon of Chlorine needed to push it up somewhere near 13.

Am I going to have to dilute the sample every time until they ease the water restrictions and I can drain some water? I asked the pool store for the best kit they had, it wasn't the one with the powder. Will that kit read the high numbers I need?

 

[JasonLion]

Only the FAS-DPD chlorine test, the one with the powder and adding drops till it goes from pink to clear, can read FC levels that high with any precision. You can use dilution with chlorine free water and the regular DPD test, shades of red/pink compared to a color chart, to get approximate values. Dilution dramatically reduces the precision, but you can probably get by that way for a while as long as nothing unusual happens.

TFTestKits.net, and several other places on the Internet, sell the FAS-DPD test, which is well worth getting in the long run.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Yes, You'll either have to dilute it every time or get a better test kit.

Of course I recommend the TF-100 kit because that's what I have and it works great. But, the Taylor K-2006 will measure it too.

The TF-100 kit will measure FC up to 50PPM. That should be more than enough. It also includes a lot of other tests that you need.

Which test kit do you currently have? If it's the K-2005 you can add the FAS/DPD rather than buy an entire new kit.

 

[polyvue]

My pool suffers from extremely high CYA, thanks to previous homeowner's use of chlorine tablets exclusively. The Pool Calculator indicates that I need 14 to 21 Free Chlorine.

Am I going to have to dilute the sample every time until they ease the water restrictions and I can drain some water? I asked the pool store for the best kit they had, it wasn't the one with the powder. Will that kit read the high numbers I need?

If you're shopping for a complete test kit, consider this one or the Taylor K-2006, competitively priced here. If you already have a pretty good test kit and just need the better FAS-DPD chlorine test, recommend K-1515-A or equivalent, available here and here. But it's going to be a pain having to maintain the levels of chlorine that are needed to support a very high CYA level. No way to release any water, say, about midnight, via a garden house aimed in the general vicinity of a sewer connection or storm drain? Your water will thank you.

 

[Richard320]

If you're shopping for a complete test kit, consider this one or the Taylor K-2006, competitively priced here. If you already have a pretty good test kit and just need the better FAS-DPD chlorine test, recommend K-1515-A or equivalent, available here and here. But it's going to be a pain having to maintain the levels of chlorine that are needed to support a very high CYA level. No way to release any water, say, about midnight, via a garden house aimed in the general vicinity of a sewer connection or storm drain? Your water will thank you.

I was afraid of that. The kit I have is this.

Disposal of the water is not a problem... it's that meter down by the curb that can cause trouble. Down here they've been threatening that if you exceed baseline quantities by some percentage, you'll get a flow restrictor installed. I don't know what my baseline is, or what percentage I need to exceed, but I don't really want to find out!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You can supplement your kit with the separate FAS-DPD Test mentioned above...you won't regret it. especially in your situation. You have to know what your min FC level is.

I would call and find out what the baseline is. A bit each month....what harm could that cause?

 

[PaulR]

You have the Leslie's relabeled K-2005. If you get the FAS-DPD test separately then you will have all the same tests as the K-2006 or TF-100. I personally have so much trouble reading the color-matching FC tests that I don't ever use anything but FAS-DPD anymore.

Regarding dilution in the face of water restriction, it takes longer and ultimately uses more water but it can be done. There was somebody on the forum a while back who rigged something up so they were using pool water to feed the sprinklers and then topped off the pool from the hose. Net water usage doesn't change, but you are (slowly) resolving the high CYA problem.
--paulr

 

[geekgranny]

Regarding dilution in the face of water restriction, it takes longer and ultimately uses more water but it can be done. There was somebody on the forum a while back who rigged something up so they were using pool water to feed the sprinklers and then topped off the pool from the hose. Net water usage doesn't change, but you are (slowly) resolving the high CYA problem.
--paulr

I've kept two inexpensive submersible pumps for years and use them for many things including when the garage floods, but mostly for pumping water out of the spa and pool, and to recirculate pool water when I can't or don't want to use the main pool pump, for various reasons. But the most valid reason that I've always kept two is to wet the house down, from pool water, in case of approaching forest/brush fires. It took only one fire, years ago, a few miles from here in the State Park (adjoining the back of my property, to convince me to always have at least one. I keep several big backup batteries charged up at all times that will run the pumps. One pump failed 2008 which I just replaced. BTW... the small ones cost $65 at HD years ago.

I have my pool partially closed (normally keep open all year) due to our recent freezes and I have pipes cut at pumping station to put in new filter and pump so I'm really making use of the old pump and new one for circulation and distribution of chems. I purchased a new one, last week, that is 4/10 hp. Cost at HD $137 but got $37 off as it was a floor model. It is powerful enough to run, abeit very slowly, my Polaris 280 (I have put in a screen to catch any fine debris that would make it to the Polaris.)

Which leads to...... I need to lower the water in pool by several inches. Temps are coming up in next few days. So here's what I'll do..... I'll hook up a couple of different portable sprinklers to the discharged water to see what kind of "yard watering" action I get from the 3/4 hp pump and the smaller, older pump. If I have some drip hose that has survived the puppies I'll hook one of those up too. At any rate some water will be used for watering plants even if it is not as fast as using the spigot (mine has great pressure).

The submersible pumps more than pay for themselves, almost immediately, by simplifying many water moving chores AND in the peace of mind I get knowing that I might be able to save the house in case of wild fires.

I'll report back when I do the testing. BTW.... we certainly don't need any watering right now with all the rain we've been having so I'll run the hose down the hill to woods. I put this in for local people so they wouldn't think that I was any crazier than I am. :lol:

For anyone reading this, in case you are not in an area where fires run wild, but have neighbor houses/structures close to your house..... when I was a kid our next door neighbors house burned. Heavy, fiery coals were hitting our roof. It took the fire dept. way to long to get on site. Until they arrived my father hosed the roof. This may have possibly saved our house.

gg=alice

 

[Richard320]

Thanks to all for replying.

I had considered leaving the automatic sprinklers off and getting an old fashioned sprinkler for the lawn, using the submersible pump to use pool water. Good to hear it's possible. The high Chlorine won't do anything to the lawn, will it?
On a more critical note: We have some planters around the patio that are sparsely filled with ornamental garlic, which we dislike. We plan to tear it out (actually, starting today, while the ground is still soaked) and plant some tomatos and other vegetables. Is it okay to use pool water to water vegetables? Will Chlorine harm them? Or any other chemical? It seems like it would be really easy to just scoop out a few buckets of pool water and carry it the four feet to the plants, then refill the pool from the hose. As stated above, lose the CYA without increasing net water consumption.

 

[JasonLion]

The chlorine in the water is not a problem for grass or most other plants.

 

[geekgranny]

The chlorine in the water is not a problem for grass or most other plants.

I asked this questions several months ago because I backwash with the water going down the hill into vines and woods. I haven't had high chlorine levels for years though, as I used Ionization, prior to finding TPF, and implementing BBB, but this years backwashings, with adequate chlorine levels doesn't seem to have hurt anything, at least in the woods. There are going to be a few plants that are sensitive though. When I had my nine (9) greenhouses, for tropicals, there were some plants that did better using filters that took the tap water chlorine out. I do let the chlorine go to lowest "adequate" level before backwashing, when I can, and then add any needed chemicals after I backwash. BTW... my old filter got so bad that I went from backwashing weekly to twice a week, and then every other day. Then right before our BIG FREEZE I was having to backwash every 24 hours. This is because the top manifold nibs, that hold the grids in line, were breaking. Grids were freshly soaked and cleaned, a few replaced but we have so much silt that it filled the undersized filter in a weeks time, even when it was operating at its best. I have a new big filter now so backwashing, so frequently, will be a thing of the past. But the woods and vines, down the hill, are going to suffer. I, also, use cellulose, but planning on going back to DE, as I won't be backwashing so much, and then capture the DE in a "Slimebag" or separator, for disposal of DE.

gg=alice