This past winter, we bought a vacation home with a pool. It's about 70 miles from our permanent residence. Most weeks, we'll only be at the vacation house weekends (from Friday evening till Sunday evening). So far, I have not been able to find a pool support person who can do mid-week adjustments. I need some advice about how to keep the chlorine level OK from Sunday night till Friday.
With help from people at TFP, the pool looks great right now. FC 5, pH 7.2, TH 120, CYA 35. It is 20,000 gallons, vinyl, with a Hayward chlorinator. I also have a solar cover.
Until I get the timer repaired, I have been running the pump 24/7. So, if I use the chlorinator, it's also running 24/7. I've only had the pool open for two weeks, but I find that the 3-inch Tri-chlor tabs are gone by the time I get to the house on Friday, and the chlorine level is <1. I use bleach to get the chlorine up fast and I've gotten away with that so far. But I'm concerned that having a low chlorine level for part of the week will be a problem as the water gets warmer.
Once I get the timer working, I can run the pump/chlorinator maybe 8 hours per day. Maybe at that rate, the Tri-chlor won't get used up before Friday. So that might provide a partial solution. But I'm also concerned about what my CYA levels will be if I have to rely on Tri-Chlor all summer.
What do you recommend? Would I be better of using a floating basket so the chlorination rate doesn't depend on the pump? Is there some slow-release chlorine source that won't add CYA at the same time?
Please don't suggest that I should just retire and live there full time so I could take proper care of the pool. I might take you up on it. But my creditors would have a problem with that...
Thanks for your advice.
With help from people at TFP, the pool looks great right now. FC 5, pH 7.2, TH 120, CYA 35. It is 20,000 gallons, vinyl, with a Hayward chlorinator. I also have a solar cover.
Until I get the timer repaired, I have been running the pump 24/7. So, if I use the chlorinator, it's also running 24/7. I've only had the pool open for two weeks, but I find that the 3-inch Tri-chlor tabs are gone by the time I get to the house on Friday, and the chlorine level is <1. I use bleach to get the chlorine up fast and I've gotten away with that so far. But I'm concerned that having a low chlorine level for part of the week will be a problem as the water gets warmer.
Once I get the timer working, I can run the pump/chlorinator maybe 8 hours per day. Maybe at that rate, the Tri-chlor won't get used up before Friday. So that might provide a partial solution. But I'm also concerned about what my CYA levels will be if I have to rely on Tri-Chlor all summer.
What do you recommend? Would I be better of using a floating basket so the chlorination rate doesn't depend on the pump? Is there some slow-release chlorine source that won't add CYA at the same time?
Please don't suggest that I should just retire and live there full time so I could take proper care of the pool. I might take you up on it. But my creditors would have a problem with that...
Thanks for your advice.