AOP, Tab Feeder and Pool Tiger are out! New SWCG is in!

[Turbo1Ton]

Makes sense.


I have read differing opinions on using the dummy pipe. We do not winterize the pool but leave it open year round. Is it advisable to use a dummy pipe in this situation?

I don't use a dummy pipe. I have one, and the only reason I bought it was that it was the same price, or less, than buying new unions, when I reworked my plumbing.

--Jeff

 

[Mdragger88]

I don't use a dummy pipe. I have one, and the only reason I bought it was that it was the same price, or less, than buying new unions, when I reworked my plumbing.

--Jeff

Do you close/winterize your pool?

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Nope. Runs all year. I think that is what OP @dailygenesis is doing as well.

--Jeff

 

[Mdragger88]

How warm is Oklahoma? I was under the impression ya’ll got blizzards

 

[Turbo1Ton]

How warm is Oklahoma? I was under the impression ya’ll got blizzards

The last 'blizzard' was in 2011. We get snow, but most every day goes well above freezing. There's usually a week or so where we might have temps below freezing all week, but not bad. Nights will drop down into freezing, but days are in the 40's/50's most of the time.



--Jeff

 

[Mdragger88]

The last 'blizzard' was in 2011. We get snow, but most every day goes well above freezing. There's usually a week or so where we might have temps below freezing all week, but not bad. Nights will drop down into freezing, but days are in the 40's/50's most of the time.

View attachment 538100

--Jeff

Looks like where I am in the south gets colder than ya’ll! Crazy! We get two week bouts of freezing weather & the last few years some zero degree temperatures. When it hits here the power goes out & then its a mess!

 

[dailygenesis]

How warm is Oklahoma? I was under the impression ya’ll got blizzards

Last year was my first winter with a pool, so I have very little experience, but there was only one week last year that made me nervous as we had a really sharp cold front blow in a bring some very low temps for several days in a row. But, we survived with no damage, and that was before I decided to try and pre-heat my pool in advance of any big cold systems that come in. Only did that once the rest of the winter and it made things much less nerve wracking.

Most of the neighbors around me with pools keep them open all year. We mainly do it because of the spa, which would also have to close if we close the pool, and we love using the spa even when it's really cold out.

We also had a whole home generator installed this summer so that alleviates a bit of worry about losing power. But there are still plenty of potential points of failure -- a pump going out for example. So here's hoping for a mild winter!

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Last year was my first winter with a pool, so I have very little experience, but there was only one week last year that made me nervous as we had a really sharp cold front blow in a bring some very low temps for several days in a row. But, we survived with no damage, and that was before I decided to try and pre-heat my pool in advance of any big cold systems that come in. Only did that once the rest of the winter and it made things much less nerve wracking.

Most of the neighbors around me with pools keep them open all year. We mainly do it because of the spa, which would also have to close if we close the pool, and we love using the spa even when it's really cold out.

We also had a whole home generator installed this summer so that alleviates a bit of worry about losing power. But there are still plenty of potential points of failure -- a pump going out for example. So here's hoping for a mild winter!

With a whole home generator, I have zero concerns. I am trying to get one... Hopefully soon.

I managed the arctic blast of 2021 with little issue. The whole pool was frozen over, and if I had lost power, it would have been bad, but we never lost power, and I was able to keep it all going, and the piping covered, and survived with no issues. It is true that moving water does not freeze.

--Jeff

 

[dailygenesis]

The whole pool was frozen over

Can you tell me more about this? This is probably the biggest concern I have -- that the surface of the pool would freeze over and damage sides / tile / plaster. Last year we got close at the freeze around Christmas. The surface was about 60% frozen but fortunately temps came back up before it froze solid.

It sounds like you are saying you had the pool running but the top surface froze solid. Did you do anything to mitigate the impact of this on your pool tile or plaster, etc (plastic bottles in the water for crush relief, etc)? Was there any damage?

Just trying to think of what I can do to prepare for that piece. I feel pretty confident with keeping the equipment protected as long as it's running (I cover it all with an insulated tarp and use small warmers underneath if needed), but the pool surface freezing scares me.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Can you tell me more about this? This is probably the biggest concern I have -- that the surface of the pool would freeze over and damage sides / tile / plaster. Last year we got close at the freeze around Christmas. The surface was about 60% frozen but fortunately temps came back up before it froze solid.

It sounds like you are saying you had the pool running but the top surface froze solid. Did you do anything to mitigate the impact of this on your pool tile or plaster, etc (plastic bottles in the water for crush relief, etc)? Was there any damage?

Just trying to think of what I can do to prepare for that piece. I feel pretty confident with keeping the equipment protected as long as it's running (I cover it all with an insulated tarp and use small warmers underneath if needed), but the pool surface freezing scares me.

In our climate, I wouldn't sweat it. Not sure if you were in OKC at that time but that episode I mentioned we were sub freezing temps for almost 2 weeks. Sub zero for a couple of those days. Definitely not a normal occurrence for our region.

The only thing extra that I did, was to rig up some electric water heater elements, to hang in front of the skimmers, so that the mouth of the skimmers wouldn't freeze. I also tented the equipment pad to keep the wind off of the exposed pipes/equipment.

My surface was frozen completely except for the areas right in front of the skimmers. No damage.

I have a friend at work who did nothing but make sure the pumps stayed running during that arctic freeze. He had ice built up from his waterfalls/scuppers, and his spa spillover as well as the whole surface was frozen. His skimmer mouths got ice in them as well. No damage to his pool.

I don't even remember the freeze last year. I remember getting snow right before Christmas, was that it? I don't think mine froze at all during that. If it did, it wasn't significant because I don't remember it.

--Jeff

 

[dailygenesis]

In our climate, I wouldn't sweat it. Not sure if you were in OKC at that time but that episode I mentioned we were sub freezing temps for almost 2 weeks. Sub zero for a couple of those days. Definitely not a normal occurrence for our region.

The only thing extra that I did, was to rig up some electric water heater elements, to hang in front of the skimmers, so that the mouth of the skimmers wouldn't freeze. I also tented the equipment pad to keep the wind off of the exposed pipes/equipment.

My surface was frozen completely except for the areas right in front of the skimmers. No damage.

I have a friend at work who did nothing but make sure the pumps stayed running during that arctic freeze. He had ice built up from his waterfalls/scuppers, and his spa spillover as well as the whole surface was frozen. His skimmer mouths got ice in them as well. No damage to his pool.

I don't even remember the freeze last year. I remember getting snow right before Christmas, was that it? I don't think mine froze at all during that. If it did, it wasn't significant because I don't remember it.

--Jeff

This is helpful, thanks. Yes, I do remember the two weeks of freezing a few years back, but I did not own a pool at that time. It's amazing and encouraging to me that yours and your friend's pools survived that with no damage. One of my neighbors behind me has a pool and told me he also survived that storm with no damage, and he isn't the type to do much of anything preventative. So, this is all helping me to relax a bit.

Yes, last year I am talking about the freeze right before Christmas. We dropped from about 40 degrees to 0 degrees overnight with 50-75 MPH north winds blowing in. I woke up to see ice on the south edge of my pool from the wind blowing it and freezing it in place. It stayed below freezing for about 4-5 days, I think. I had solid ice all around the edges of the pool and it was starting to form across the top but never fully iced over. I'm glad to know it's possible to survive a full icing over with no damage. I was concerned that once it was solid it would be exerting pressure on the tiles around the sides that could knock them loose or crack the plaster or gunite, etc.

I have also thought about some type of warming device to put in front of the skimmers. Last year, I put an old hair dryer just blowing warm air on the skimmer opening and that at least kept that spot from freezing. I'd like to get something a little better to have at the ready like what you describe or I've seen some others talk about cattle water trough warmers. This is a good reminder to try and get that figured out before any real cold hits.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Yes, last year I am talking about the freeze right before Christmas. We dropped from about 40 degrees to 0 degrees overnight with 50-75 MPH north winds blowing in. I woke up to see ice on the south edge of my pool from the wind blowing it and freezing it in place. It stayed below freezing for about 4-5 days, I think. I had solid ice all around the edges of the pool and it was starting to form across the top but never fully iced over. I'm glad to know it's possible to survive a full icing over with no damage. I was concerned that once it was solid it would be exerting pressure on the tiles around the sides that could knock them loose or crack the plaster or gunite, etc.

So, we left to go visit my sister-in-law for Christmas on day 2 of that mess. Pool running in freeze protect mode and I was just praying that the power stayed on!

What will cause you the most damage with the tiles and freezing is if the grout lines open up, then water can get behind them and freeze and expand and pop the tiles off. I usually inspect my grout lines in late August, that way if I need to address anything, I can do so before it gets cold. After that, I assume it will be ok until I 'open' the next spring.

--Jeff

 

[dailygenesis]

Just a follow up on the "dummy pipe" discussion. I have one and I was about to take the cell out and put the dummy pipe in for the winter. But just wanted to double check -- do I just leave everything else the same as far as my controller and the Aquarite controller? The pool will be running. I can set the chlorinator outputs to 0% but even with the cell unplugged the Aquarite controller sits there acting like it's doing something. Is this alright? I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to do anything else. There's not much else I could do without getting into the box and disconnecting the control wire or power to the Aquarite, which I hope is not necessary.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Just a follow up on the "dummy pipe" discussion. I have one and I was about to take the cell out and put the dummy pipe in for the winter. But just wanted to double check -- do I just leave everything else the same as far as my controller and the Aquarite controller? The pool will be running. I can set the chlorinator outputs to 0% but even with the cell unplugged the Aquarite controller sits there acting like it's doing something. Is this alright? I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to do anything else. There's not much else I could do without getting into the box and disconnecting the control wire or power to the Aquarite, which I hope is not necessary.

If you aren't going to completely remove the cell, and bring it indoors during the winter months, then the dummy cell is pointless, IMO. The whole point of putting the dummy cell in is to be able to bring the SWCG cell out of the elements.

Is there no quick connector on the cell cord to make it easy to disconnect?

This is just my opinion and others may vary.

--Jeff

 

[dailygenesis]

If you aren't going to completely remove the cell, and bring it indoors during the winter months, then the dummy cell is pointless, IMO. The whole point of putting the dummy cell in is to be able to bring the SWCG cell out of the elements.

Is there no quick connector on the cell cord to make it easy to disconnect?

This is just my opinion and others may vary.

--Jeff

Sorry I don't think my post was clear. I am definitely removing the salt cell completely and bringing it inside. But on my system, since the automation controller is not capable of controlling a cell directly, there is a separate control box for the salt system and the cell plugs into that. It is easy to unplug the cell from this control box, but when I remove the cell, I'll still have my automation control box and the salt cell control box on the wall. The salt cell control box still turns on and off with the filter pump and acts like it's operating even when the cell is unplugged. This was my concern. I don't really think it's a problem, but I wanted to double check before I unplug the cell and leave the system running without it.

 

[Mdragger88]

It’s not doing anything if output is set to zero.

Sorry I don't think my post was clear. I am definitely removing the salt cell completely and bringing it inside. But on my system, since the automation controller is not capable of controlling a cell directly, there is a separate control box for the salt system and the cell plugs into that. It is easy to unplug the cell from this control box, but when I remove the cell, I'll still have my automation control box and the salt cell control box on the wall. The salt cell control box still turns on and off with the filter pump and acts like it's operating even when the cell is unplugged. This was my concern. I don't really think it's a problem, but I wanted to double check before I unplug the cell and leave the system running without it.

Can you just switch the aquarite box to off? That would be fine.

 

[Newdude]

The salt cell control box still turns on and off with the filter pump and acts like it's operating even when the cell is unplugged. This was my concern. I don't really think it's a problem, but I wanted to double check before I unplug the cell and leave the system running without it.

It's no problem. My SWG controller is hard wired to the pump breaker. If I was running all winter without the cell, the power center would be live. (Without harm).

I am capable of un-wiring it, and probably wouldn't.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Sorry I don't think my post was clear. I am definitely removing the salt cell completely and bringing it inside. But on my system, since the automation controller is not capable of controlling a cell directly, there is a separate control box for the salt system and the cell plugs into that. It is easy to unplug the cell from this control box, but when I remove the cell, I'll still have my automation control box and the salt cell control box on the wall. The salt cell control box still turns on and off with the filter pump and acts like it's operating even when the cell is unplugged. This was my concern. I don't really think it's a problem, but I wanted to double check before I unplug the cell and leave the system running without it.

Sorry, my misunderstanding! You clearly said it was unplugged, but I completely missed that part!

Yeah, set it to zero and it should be fine. I would do the same thing as you if I removed my cell. I can't turn it off in my automation except to set output to 0 either.

--Jeff

 

[dailygenesis]

Thanks all. It sounds like the consensus is just disconnect the cell but leave everything else as is with the chlorinator output settings set to zero. That was what I was thinking but just wanted to confirm.

Can you just switch the aquarite box to off? That would be fine.

It is actually always set to "off" but since it has a control wire connected to my Ecommand automation controller, this overrides everything on the box itself so it continues to function even when set to "off" if that makes sense. The only way around this that I can think of would be to disconnect the control wire and then the box would actually be "off," but I was hoping to avoid going to that trouble. Also, even if I went to that trouble, it would continue to power up and power down as the pump goes on and off because the box is wired into the pump relay, as per recommendations earlier in this thread. The only way around that would be to disconnect the power to the aquarite box, which would be even more trouble.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Thanks all. It sounds like the consensus is just disconnect the cell but leave everything else as is with the chlorinator output settings set to zero. That was what I was thinking but just wanted to confirm.


It is actually always set to "off" but since it has a control wire connected to my Ecommand automation controller, this overrides everything on the box itself so it continues to function even when set to "off" if that makes sense. The only way around this that I can think of would be to disconnect the control wire and then the box would actually be "off," but I was hoping to avoid going to that trouble. Also, even if I went to that trouble, it would continue to power up and power down as the pump goes on and off because the box is wired into the pump relay, as per recommendations earlier in this thread. The only way around that would be to disconnect the power to the aquarite box, which would be even more trouble.

The only other thing I might suggest is to cover the connector for the cell, with a piece of painters tape or something to prevent the pins from being open. I assume it is on the bottom, so not really a concern of water/moisture collecting in it but just to generally keep anything from getting in there.

--Jeff