Need to paint the pool, would like to add solar heat

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Mar 30, 2011
35
Clearwater, FL
My pool has needed re-painting for several years. It now has a lot of patches where the paint has chipped away and some dark squishy spots. I started draining the pool, it's not cooperating but I'll keep at it.

ADVICE FOR PAINT?
What's the best paint / epoxy for the money?

I have an old Pentair Automatic In-Line Chlorine Feeder that's leaking at the hose and the lid is always hard to remove. Should I repair it, replace it or just get rid of it? I was thinking about possibly going saltwater chlorinator. Are there other options for automatic chlorine? My neighbor claims there is something like an in-line chlorinator that you just add salt to. Not a salt water pool... but a little in-line unit you put just a little salt into.
And what about those in-line copper / silver particle cartridge units? Are they worth it?


Solar heat
While the pool is empty I'd like to work on the plumbing. I'd like to add solar heat. The problem is the pool is only accessible from inside the house, there is a 6 foot tall cement block wall around the pool and the pump / filter is around to the side of the house with the AC unit. I have to go through the house, into the garage and out the side door to get to the pump. It's a real pain. The best place for solar heat is the flat porch roof at the opposite side of the house, near the pool. I'd like it to run off it's own pump so I could have the filter run at different times and have the heat run all the time the sun is out and heat is needed. Can I get away with a submersible pump attached to the pool ladder and pump through black garden irrigation hose up to the roof and just have a lot of that black irrigation hose coiled up in circles. Or am I really better off just finding a way to tie it into the mail pool pump filter? I have a 2-speed pump, will the low speed push water through long hoses and up to the roof?

Pool pump timer
As I said, it's a real pain running through the house and garage to turn on/off the pump when I'm trying to work on the pool. It has a mechanical clock timer with little screw on pins for the ON and OFF times. Is there a good digital timer that I could somehow control from inside the walled off pool area, far from the pump itself? I don't want to spend a ton of money...

Thanks!

21K gallon kidney shape concrete pool with painted surface
Clearwater, FL
Cartridge filter
2-speed pump (manual control)
 
From what I've read painting the pool surface doesn't last very long. Maybe someone else has thoughts on painting.

The two best ways to keep your water sanitary are liquid chlorine or a Salt Water Chlorine Generator. Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool
Stay away from the copper/silver units, they can cause stains in your pool. Alternative sanitizers and pools--The Truth!!

It would be best to tie into your main pump and filter. Maybe now is a good time to upgrade to a variable speed pump?

If you upgrade the pump to vs I know both Pentair and Hayward include an interface that you can set up a schedule to run the pump at different speeds or times of the day.
 
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Paint will last 2 years at best.

I inherited a painted pool when I bought my first house.
The water would cloud up when I had guests over or brushed
from it being old paint coming off.

I'd never paint a pool from that experience.

Be careful draining, make sure you open the hydrostatic
valve in the main drain before draining it all the way
or the pool might pop out of the ground.
 
Blast the paint off and replaster the pool.

To get effective solar heat you need to install solar panels and a solar controller. 50%-100% of the pool surface. I use the Pentair Solartouch to control my solar panels. I did my research and bought my panels from Solar Direct. They are DIY friendly. There are pics of my solar and plumbing in my pool thread, link in sig.
 
I don't recall seeing anyone post the name brand of a pool paint that they liked after a couple of years. It would be better to just wait a year or two and replaster. As long as the pool isn't leaking there isn't any real need to replaster right away. Paint won't help the dark squishy spots. Be sure to take note of the water table and any hydrostatic valves or well points that are installed for your pool to deal with potential ground water. If a pool pops out of the ground it is all over.


Here is a DIY plaster thread
DIY Pool restoration project

And here is a DIY paint thread with a 2 year update
It's Pool Repair Weekend!!
 
I bought this house 2 years ago and at that time the pool needed re-painting pretty bad.... now it's 2 years later and it's just ridiculous. I'm constantly vacuuming up large paint chips and algae grows under the paint. I don't need a perfect looking pool but it's getting to be a pain. i don't know how long before I came into the picture since it was painted but from google map photos I know the year or 2 before it was a dark green neglected pool and the previous owners were very old. I'm guessing it had been 4-5 years.

Anyway, if I can go 2 years after it needed painting and a new coat of paint lasts at least 2 years that would be 4-5 years before I was in the same boat. THEN I might be in a better position to hire a re-plaster company. Just painting is enough for me to handle but there is no way I'm taking on a do-it-yourself plaster project and I cannot afford $5K to pay someone else to do it.

Thanks for the link to the paint thread, but it's 10 pages long and devolved into some legal battle with a tenant. I just need to know if there is a best paint choice for the money option out there or if there is anything to worry about like shelf life of the paint.

I'm not worried about the water table level or pool lifting. I'm up on a hill and my neighbor has a 13 foot deep pool that's been empty for a year.
 

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I am sorry if you are frustrated with the lack of a answer but you received what we can offer-there is no paint we would recommend. We have seen it time and again....so far NO paint has lasted long enough to be worth while in our eyes.

Kim TFP MOD
 
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