Short term pump off

[xoomer]

I just noticed a leak at my pool pump--a couple of drops every second. The problem is I'm going out of town for a few days and don't have time to have the pump replaced so my question is--is there any problem if I just turn it off for about 10 days without doing an other measures or is there some procedure I need to follow. I don't want to leave it on since the leak could get much worse.

Currently the chemicals are all in balance with the exception of the chlorine being at about 7; it is a salt water pool, about 14k gallons and in FL so no danger of freezing where I am.

Thanks...

 

[zethacat]

Whether you can leave the pool for 10 days safely and without developing an algae problem depends on several factors, such as how much sun the pool gets, how much daily debris, assuming it is not covered, how much free chlorine you have (based on your cya), what the weather will be like for those 10 days, how quickly your PH rises, etc. Without running the pump it would be much better to have someone come test your pool water every couple of days, maybe add some chlorine and/or acid while you're gone as needed. A light brushing after adding chemicals will suffice for adequate circulation of chemicals when the pump is not running.

 

[duraleigh]

for a few days

How many? Bring your FC up to shock value and then turn it off until you return....should be fine unless your absence is in excess of a week.

 

[zethacat]

:foot:

Or what he said.

 

[woodyp]

.....and covering it will help even more if you can after raising to SLAM level for your CYA.

- - - Updated - - -

How many? Bring your FC up to SLAM value and then turn it off until you return....should be fine unless your absence is in excess of a week.

.......Fixed that for ya'!

 

[xoomer]

I'll be gone for 8 days and the pool is completely covered with a solar cover.

Since this is a salt water pool should I turn it up all the way for a couple of days and then just turn it off before I leave?

 

[tim5055]

I'll be gone for 8 days and the pool is completely covered with a solar cover.

Since this is a salt water pool should I turn it up all the way for a couple of days and then just turn it off before I leave?

12% Liquid chlorine is available in FL, so I would just use that to bring it up to SLAM level. Trying to get the FC that high with the SWCG alone will shorten the life of the cell.

This is one of those times that knowing your pool and it's appetite for chlorine would be a good thing to know. Do you test regularly and know your FC loss day to day?

 

[xoomer]

I test every couple of weeks but the chlorine has been a bit high, but stable, for quite a long time--don't know what the loss day to day would be.

I just remembered that the pool has a "Pool Frog" that the previous owner installed. I never use it but I'm wondering if could just insert a canister of chlorine and turn it up to the highest level--that should bring it us quite a bit in a short period of time.

Thanks for all the responses...

 

[tim5055]

The problem is that the "Frog" canisters are not just chlorine. They are not very popular on this forum because of the silver content.

With a covered pool just bringing it up to SLAM level and closing the cover should keep the pool for your 8 days. Do you know your CYA (stabilizer level) as that is what the SLAM level is based on?

On an ongoing basis we recomend testing the water more often than every two weeks. How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[duraleigh]

Ditch the "Frog". It's just too easy to solve your issue with chlorine rather than put things in your pool that you don't want....like silver.