Is it possible to open a pool and not have to do anything to it?

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T

tko

0
Apr 13, 2016
75
Portland/OR
I had this buried in another thread as a comment, but decided it should be a new post.

I'm so happy with BBB method and so thankful I found this site last year when we moved into our new home (complete with the pool I never wanted).

This is my second year, and opening was much smoother - I'm on day 4 of my SLAM.

Here's my question: My daughter says two of her friends in the neighborhood just "took off their cover and swam immediately in clear water". How can this be? Is that normal - or maybe they put a cover on but never really closed their pool? Maybe and elf (aka a parent) was adding chemicals over the winter? Did I do something wrong in closing (disconnected everything, shocked, and put on safety. We had lots of snow (for Portland, OR) this winter and freezing temps so I don't regret it - but I feel slightly like a loser cuz our pool isn't quite ready yet. (of course, the friends have heated pools and I refuse to pay the money! :cool:


 
Donldson said:
My opening numbers were,
FC 5.5
CC 0.5
pH 7.2
CH 350
CYA 40
Water crystal clear

So yes, quite possible. Just wish some other pools I opened were that good...
Click to expand...


But that's unusual, right? The reaction I'm getting makes me think that it is very strange that I have to do anything but take off the cover and jump in.

My pool is now pretty clear (water is still very slightly cloudy), but FC holds overnight, and burns off in the sun. CC is .5 or less, so I will probably stop shocking after today. What did you do chemistry-wise when you closed?

And did I mention I never wanted this pool? So I can't justify $300-500 a month to heat it. :)
 
I think the most important thing is that I closed in October when the water temperature was quite low. I SLAMed for 24 hours before hand. I was actually pretty late opening, the water was actually quite warm until I added all the cold tap water to bring the water level back up. Actually I lied, the FC level probably wasn't that high. I knew the warm water and no flow was probably going to cause problems so I (wrongly assuming my CYA would be lower) sprinkled some dichlor and brushed. So my FC was probably closer to 1-2 and CYA slightly lower than 40.

Do you have a solid tarp cover or a mesh safety cover?
 
Given your location, why do you close your pool? If the pool water never freezes, then you probably don't need to close it. A little freezing weather can be handled plus you don't need much run time to keep the pool clean and clear.

The winters here are fairly mild but do get below freezing several nights a year but usually never more than about 8 hours. In this environment, I don't need to worry much about freezing and I can keep the pool fairly clean and clear with just an hour of run time per day.
 
mas985 said:
Given your location, why do you close your pool? If the pool water never freezes, then you probably don't need to close it. A little freezing weather can be handled plus you don't need much run time to keep the pool clean and clear.

The winters here are fairly mild but do get below freezing several nights a year but usually never more than about 8 hours. In this environment, I don't need to worry much about freezing and I can keep the pool fairly clean and clear with just an hour of run time per day.
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I have a mesh cover (does that explain all the dirt?)

I guess I close because I get calls from the pool folks offering to close my pool so thought that's what people do here. And I'm terrified that pipes will freeze/burst under the concrete. We do have about 20-30 days of below freezing weather in Portland. Am I being paranoid? If I don't close, do I put the safety cover on and run the filter an hour a day. Would I need to test the water and add bleach? If so, I'd have to remove it to mix it?
 
Do you need the safety cover (i.e. small children)? Does the cover also cover the skimmer lids?


We do have about 20-30 days of below freezing weather in Portland.
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The number of days is less important than how long it stays below freezing each day.
 
mas985 said:
Do you need the safety cover (i.e. small children)? Does the cover also cover the skimmer lids?


The number of days is less important than how long it stays below freezing each day.
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Some days it is below freezing almost all day (> 8 hours).

Cover does not go over skimmer - and my elderly father likes to walk out back so I'd prefer to use the safety cover.
 

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I do very little when opening, I have learned everything I know from reading this forum :)


1. Close late: water between 40 to 45 degrees at all times
2. Open early: water between 45 to 50 degrees at all times

My pool was closed 4 months, I closed in late November and opened Mar 4th.. I use no cover and take my water to SLAM level before closing.. I also add bleach up to SLAM level if my FC gets below 5 and brush in on a warm day... I had to add 1 time this year...

this was opening day :)

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tko said:
Some days it is below freezing almost all day (> 8 hours).

Cover does not go over skimmer - and my elderly father likes to walk out back so I'd prefer to use the safety cover.
Click to expand...

So on those days where you have a possibility of the plumbing freezing, there are several options. You can run the pump during those sub-freezing temperatures. You can tarp the equipment with a heat source (i.e. incandescent light bulb). Or just drain the equipment. The underground plumbing takes many days in a row of sub freezing temperatures before that will freeze so I don't think you need to worry about that.

As for maintaining the pool, since the skimmer is not covered, you could test from that point and add CL as well (with pump running). Given the colder weather and water, you have a bit more leeway with FC levels. Longer term, you might consider an SWG or a chlorine injection system (i.e. peristaltic pump).

So I think you could leave the pool open if you wanted to but it is entirely up to you. A partial close is an option as well. Leave the pool running during most of the winter but for the weeks where it gets really cold drain the pad equipment and plumbing and leave the pump off for a few weeks. Then start up immediately after the cold snap.
 
Mine was closed from early November to early March, with a solid cover. I added a little water and vacuumed and could have jumped right in. Numbers were real good, but the water was in the 50s........so I just stood back and admired!!!!
 
This is my third season using TFPC, and my second opening to a clear and clean pool. I close by raising FC to shock level and maintaining that for about 2 days, pool was 52F when I closed.

Here are opening day's numbers:
IMG_0112.jpg

If the water was 70F I would have jumped right in.
 
All I did when I took the cover off the pool was bring the level back up and connect the plumbing. Did a quick test of the water and adjusted chemicals as needed. No SLAM or anything else if I had wanted to go for a swim in 60*F water I could have but I like things a lil warmer.

This is what it looked like when I pulled the cover this spring.
 

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tko said:
Here's my question: My daughter says two of her friends in the neighborhood just "took off their cover and swam immediately in clear water". How can this be?
Click to expand...

My pool was perfectly clear when I opened, although I did not jump in as it was something like 65. Did go in starting at 72. This is not to say there wasn't some stuff on bottom - some dirt and pine needles that got in. I boosted my FC to SLAM before I closed and ran pump and SWG on abbreviated schedule until it reported water temps into lower 50s (my SWG automatically lowers %age as temp drops). I started the same abbreviated schedule once things started to warm up (water temp hit 60). Opened cover when air temps hit upper 70s. Leave open during sun, close at night for now.

So yes, its possible.
 

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