Hello! New to Forum and have a unique problem

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I

interpim

0
May 13, 2014
35
San Diego, CA
Hello everyone... I've been lurking around this site for a couple months now, and have finally decided to make a post.

First some background. We purchased our house last June, and it was a flip... The house was built in 1970, and obviously the pool added sometime after that, but I don't have any knowledge of the actual age of the pool. It's a organic shaped pool which I estimate around 10,000 gallons, and as part of the house flip the flipper "remodeled" the pool by giving it a good scrub and painting it. They obviously didn't care to much about the chemical makeup of the water considering it is completely jacked up as I will get to in a minute.

pool.jpg

One thing about the painted surface of the pool is they never used any non-slip additive to the paint, so the steps and floor are very slippery. I promised my wife that when we got the opportunity we could get some non-slip coating added.

Now... on to the chemistry of the pool. The CYA level is 150+ the CH is 400, and I can't maintain FC levels above 1 for more than 3 days at a time. I made the mistake of going to Leslie and letting them convince me to buy about $200 in chemicals... but I am done with them after they told me conflicting things within about 2 days of each other.

equipment.jpg

I have decided the best move forward is to completely drain the pool, and since the water is out give the thing a good scrub, and repaint with anti-slip additive. Considering this is the first pool I have ever dealt with, my first questions are essentially how do I completely drain my pool (my waste pipe is capped off on my filter) and what is the best advice on painting the pool surface?
Here is a picture of my pool pump/filter which I think or circa 1980 :p

I have been studying the pool school methods for maintaining water, and feel confident I can maintain the water myself once I get the pool back up.

Oh... One last thing... I'm also trying to plan, and organize all of this work from about 2000 miles away from my pool LOL. I'm away from home for a month due to the Military and can't do any of this work until I get home, so I am trying to plan and organize my attack so I can get it right the first time.
Any advice is definitely appreciated.
 
Welcome! :wave:

Sorry, you're not unique. Lousy work by inept contractors and erroneous information and advice from pool store employees are fairly common around here.

Unless your pool is plumbed with a dedicated line to the main drain (it doesn't look like it), you won't be able to use the pool pump to drain. Just rent or buy a sump pump. and be done with it.

The backwash port on your pool shouldn't need to be capped. That metal rod underneath is your backwash valve. Sometimes whatever it is inside doesn't seat right and it drips. I find that moving it back and forth a few times after everything is cleaned will usually get it to stop.
 
Thank you for the reply Richard... You are right... I have one skimmer and one main drain that are tied into the same return line to the filter. Is it possible to use a diverter to force the water to come from the main drain and not the skimmer? or will this cause air to enter the system regardless of the seal on the diverter?
 
You'll suck air, guaranteed. If you fumbled around you might be able to fabricate some kind of U with O-ring seals that would connect the two ports, but a cheap submersible pump would likely be cheaper and the pool could be empty by the time you're done fussing around building an airtight loop.
 
JVTrain said:
You could plug the hole in the bottom of the skimmer with an expandable rubber plug. Like this: Expandable rubber plug

That way all the suction would be directed at the floor drain. Experts may or may not agree with doing this.
Click to expand...
All that would do is block all the suction or block the line to the floor drain. You must be one of the fortunate ones whose main drain has a dedicated line.
 
I think I'm going to have to go with the sump pump... my main drain feeds into my skimmer and suction is taken at the skimmer... the only way to prevent air from entering the system would be to build a air-tight loop like Richard mentioned.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the process of painting? As in best way to prep an already painted surface and brand of products I should use?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
There are number of threads on the site discussing pool paint. Search for "pool paint" in the search box and there's quite a bit of info.

Getting the details of your pool in your forum signature would help the experts here and help you gather specifics on your pool and equipment.
 
Thanks for the offer to chat Carl... It would be nice to speak with someone that knows what they are talking about and isn't trying to get me to buy something. I'm unable to chat for a while though because of being in Central America for a little while... As far as Santee, I actually live near Santana High School!

JVTrain, Thanks for the advice, and I am honestly not sure what to put down in my signature, as I am not sure exactly what I have :/
I know my pump is a single speed Pentair pump, but the filter is so old I have no idea what it is besides DE. As far as the pool itself, I am guessing that it is a gunite inground pool with about 10,000 gallons based on the organic shape.
 
Hi Interpim,
Welcome.

I noticed in your initial post that you mention you cant maintain FC above 1 due to CYA of +150. It is of huge importance to be able to maintain FC at a level so as to keep algae at arms length and your pool seems to be in the high risk category for an algae attack.

If you've read very much here, you know we put a lot of stock in using a proper test kit in order to determine what "is" and what to do aboiut it.
Do you have someone who can test and maintain your pool while you're away from home?

Would it be possible for someone to assist to getting a recommended test kit and test, so we can help with regards to keeping your pool chemistry on the up and up?
Or is the plan to just let it go for now and drain, repaint and start over?
 
I hate to say that I am "letting it go" but, when it boils down to it, that's whats going to happen.

My wife is home and I have her testing it with some cheap strips just to get a good idea where the chlorine is and adding a bag of hypo chloride when she gets a low reading... I am just having her do that until I get home, and then the plan is to completely drain, repaint and start from scratch.

My water is to far gone to try and maintain it as it sits. I have been looking at the kits, and I am planning on buying the TF100 kit. I'll probably order it a week or two before I return so it will be there when I get back home.

At that point I can start at a good baseline, and maintain the pool properly now that I have found this place!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply