Help with filter

[Richard320]

OK, I did this and the water seems to be flowing out of the jets etc. It's running at about 21 PSI right now.

Thanks guys!

You're welcome!

Now that you have flow, what about the rest of the pool? What's it look like? What does the water look like? Is it so green and thick you can walk on it? :-D

We know you have a digital camera and can upload pictures, show us what you got and let's get that pool swimmable!

 

[pooln00b]

It's dark now so I can't find the number, but I'll check it first thing in the morning.

I lied, I took a flashlight out there and looked. I know this seems neurotic, but I'm so afraid of the filter blowing up that initially I didn't want to do it because the sticker's on the back of the pump motor and I have to stand back there and stick my head down to look.

But I did it. However, the only numbers I could see were at the top. I can get a better look when it's light out. What I have so far is that it's a Sta-Rite Max-E-Glas II and the number-letter combo at the top is U27-880.

 

[pooln00b]

OK, I did this and the water seems to be flowing out of the jets etc. It's running at about 21 PSI right now.

Thanks guys!

You're welcome!

Now that you have flow, what about the rest of the pool? What's it look like? What does the water look like? Is it so green and thick you can walk on it? :-D

We know you have a digital camera and can upload pictures, show us what you got and let's get that pool swimmable!

OK, I will take a pic tomorrow and show you my shame!

It's actually not green, but it's probably headed that way. There's a lot of leaves and dirt in the pool. There was A LOT more before, but I've been cleaning it out.

I looked at the pool school and the test kits that are recommended are out of my price range at the moment. Are there somewhat cheaper kits that are still kind of good? I want to get one of the more expensive kits at some point, but right now, things are REALLY tight - or I probably would have had someone come look at the filter for me! I'm glad I didn't though, learning this is great!

 

[Richard320]

I looked at the pool school and the test kits that are recommended are out of my price range at the moment. Are there somewhat cheaper kits that are still kind of good? I want to get one of the more expensive kits at some point, but right now, things are REALLY tight - or I probably would have had someone come look at the filter for me! I'm glad I didn't though, learning this is great!

Just bite the bullet and go get a good one now.

I bought a kit at Leslie's before I found this board. pH and Cl only. Then I did a little more reading, went back, told the guy I needed one that reads CYA. He sold me a K-2005. Which is useless for measuring the Chlorine levels I have to maintain to accomodate the astronomical CYA that came with the pool that came with the house.

So now I have three- count'em, three - pH test vials, lots of extra reagents, and a couple extra blowmolded cases. Which are good for storing the excess reagents. The K-2005 kit doesn't come with much CYA reagent, it ran out quick.

Seriously - just order the good kit. It's cheaper in the long run. The TF-100 comes with realistically-sized reagents. And the CYA tube is much larger and easier to use than the one i got with my Leslie's kit.

 

[pooln00b]

I looked at the pool school and the test kits that are recommended are out of my price range at the moment. Are there somewhat cheaper kits that are still kind of good? I want to get one of the more expensive kits at some point, but right now, things are REALLY tight - or I probably would have had someone come look at the filter for me! I'm glad I didn't though, learning this is great!

Just bite the bullet and go get a good one now.

I bought a kit at Leslie's before I found this board. pH and Cl only. Then I did a little more reading, went back, told the guy I needed one that reads CYA. He sold me a K-2005. Which is useless for measuring the Chlorine levels I have to maintain to accomodate the astronomical CYA that came with the pool that came with the house.

So now I have three- count'em, three - pH test vials, lots of extra reagents, and a couple extra blowmolded cases. Which are good for storing the excess reagents. The K-2005 kit doesn't come with much CYA reagent, it ran out quick.

Seriously - just order the good kit. It's cheaper in the long run. The TF-100 comes with realistically-sized reagents. And the CYA tube is much larger and easier to use than the one i got with my Leslie's kit.

It would have to wait until my next pay check at least. Pathetic, but true.

 

[Henry Porter]

Hi poolnoob

Nothing is pathetic with running short on money from time to time, everyone does...
I can't help you with any of your issues unfortunately but I wanna whish you goodluck and welcome on board.
Must feel good to move into a house with a pool now when we heading towards more :sun: weather, right
Looking forward to see your pool in some pics when you get the time.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Richard is right, it's a tough pill when things are tight but it will actually save you money in the long run. You can safely add a small jug of bleach without being able to test, and until you can afford your kit, take your water sample to a local pool store for testing.

Don't buy anything from them.

Get the test results, a printout, whatever, and post the results here, and we'll tell you what to do.

 

[pooln00b]

Hi poolnoob

Nothing is pathetic with running short on money from time to time, everyone does...
I can't help you with any of your issues unfortunately but I wanna whish you goodluck and welcome on board.
Must feel good to move into a house with a pool now when we heading towards more :sun: weather, right
Looking forward to see your pool in some pics when you get the time.

Thanks!! I'm feeling better now that I'm understanding a little bit more about pools/pumps.

Richard is right, it's a tough pill when things are tight but it will actually save you money in the long run. You can safely add a small jug of bleach without being able to test, and until you can afford your kit, take your water sample to a local pool store for testing.

Don't buy anything from them.

Get the test results, a printout, whatever, and post the results here, and we'll tell you what to do.

Awesome! I'll do that as soon as I can.

I wanted to take a pic of the pool this morning, but it's raining! I wasn't expecting rain at all, it was nice and sunny yesterday. Ugh.

 

[pooln00b]

OK, here's my pool:

That's not really a duck in the pool but a duck decoy my kids found in the garage and thought would be hilarious to float in the pool.

And a close up:

I just finished sweeping so the water is pretty cloudy. BUT! The filter is working.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Well, I can't really tell (it may be the color of your plaster, the time of day.... pics detail and what not...) but the water looks pretty green to me. You are adding the bleach, right?

It's gonna be fabulous!

 

[Richard320]

OK, here's my pool:
That's not really a duck in the pool but a duck decoy my kids found in the garage and thought would be hilarious to float in the pool.

And a close up:

I just finished sweeping so the water is pretty cloudy. BUT! The filter is working.

Hey, you can see the step, that's something! Figure out how big it is and get some Chlorine in there before it thickens. You'll need a test kit to do a real kill, though.

Years ago - decades now, actually - I worked summers at a scout camp. The pool was just let go every year at the end of the season. When we started clearing it in May, we'd actually use a rake attached to a pole to start cleaning the pine needles out. One year we snagged and ended up pulling about an 8' long pine branch out, and we couldn't even see it was there in 3' of water!

 

[Noggin]

Richard is right, it's a tough pill when things are tight but it will actually save you money in the long run. You can safely add a small jug of bleach without being able to test, and until you can afford your kit, take your water sample to every local pool store for testing.

Don't buy anything from them.

Get the test results, a printout, whatever, and post the results here, and we'll tell you what to do.

I corrected your post poolmom

Take your sample to every pool store in the area so these guys can determine which pool stores are off their rockers, maybe you'll get lucky and get a best of three. I'm no expert (yet) but I would say that the most important thing you need to know right now is how much CYA is in the pool so that you know how much chlorine you need. I took my water to three stores. One said 90, one said 62, one said 30. I tested mine at about 55.

I think that the cheaper chlorine tests can only read chlorine up to 5pmm. If shocking for your pool requires 12ppm of chlorine, then you can dilute your pool water and test the diluted sample. I haven't read up on diluting the water, but I imagine it is relatively straightforward. Mix 2 cups of water (distilled is probably best cause your tap water might be treated with chlorine) with 1 cup of pool water. Stir it up real good then run the chlorine test on it. Multiply your result by 3, so if you read 4ppm after diluting, then your pool water should be near 12ppm.

Anything anyone else says here overrides what I say