Pool Closing questions - new quartz plaster April 2023

[AZinPA]

This is my third year owning the pool and renovated it this spring. The pool is 23,000 gallons, diamondbrite French grey plaster, tile and ep Henry bull nose coping. I have a solid Anchor safety cover. I’m preparing to close the pool and have several concerns that I never worried about in years past because I knew it needed renovating and the plaster was already damaged. Now that everything is fresh I’ve been maintaining it as close to perfect as possible. Want to take good care of it over the winter also.

First, water level. I’ve traditionally lowered to just below skimmer mouth which basically means stopping when the tile is fully exposed. I have a tanning ledge that’s 12” deep when pool is filled but have a step on it almost even with the tile line and a step on the far end of the pool coming off a bench that’s exactly even with the tile line. It will be slightly exposed if I drain to bottom of tile line. Should i be concerned with water level impacting freeze thaw on those steps? The tanning ledge was deeply pitted when we bought the house. I have no idea how they maintained the pool, but know it wasn’t great. Lots of staining and pitting in the finish after 13 years before we redid everything this year. What’s the ideal height for me to lower water? Trusted pool guy says just below the skimmer. Will i develop a water ring in new plaster with some if it exposed?
Chemically I’ve been balancing everything using TFP pool test kit for two years. This year I’ve tried to maintain levels that satisfy both pool builder guidelines (National Plasterer’s Council Guidelines) and TFP. NPC uses LSI. I’m concerned about keeping my water balanced with LSI once temps drop.
I’ve purchased a submersible pump with a 2” outlet that i can attach my backwash hose to. If i use this to circulate water and keep chemicals balanced all winter, how long do I have to run it to circulate 23,000 gallons sufficiently?
Current levels:
FC: .5
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA: 80
CH: 250
CYA: 60
Temp: 75
TDS: 945

Planning to adjust my pH down with some acid and if I close on Tuesday as scheduled Pool guy will add liquid chlorine. Should I be concerned with these levels? Attached the NPC guidelines also.

Finally, if someone wants to tell me to just stop being a lunatic and that my pool will open just as I closed it without crazy interventions during the winter, I’m more than happy to hear that also. It was a huge investment that I don’t want to screw up.

Thank you!!

 

[Bperry]

This is my third year owning the pool and renovated it this spring. The pool is 23,000 gallons, diamondbrite French grey plaster, tile and ep Henry bull nose coping. I have a solid Anchor safety cover. I’m preparing to close the pool and have several concerns that I never worried about in years past because I knew it needed renovating and the plaster was already damaged. Now that everything is fresh I’ve been maintaining it as close to perfect as possible. Want to take good care of it over the winter also.

First, water level. I’ve traditionally lowered to just below skimmer mouth which basically means stopping when the tile is fully exposed. I have a tanning ledge that’s 12” deep when pool is filled but have a step on it almost even with the tile line and a step on the far end of the pool coming off a bench that’s exactly even with the tile line. It will be slightly exposed if I drain to bottom of tile line. Should i be concerned with water level impacting freeze thaw on those steps? The tanning ledge was deeply pitted when we bought the house. I have no idea how they maintained the pool, but know it wasn’t great. Lots of staining and pitting in the finish after 13 years before we redid everything this year. What’s the ideal height for me to lower water? Trusted pool guy says just below the skimmer. Will i develop a water ring in new plaster with some if it exposed?
Chemically I’ve been balancing everything using TFP pool test kit for two years. This year I’ve tried to maintain levels that satisfy both pool builder guidelines (National Plasterer’s Council Guidelines) and TFP. NPC uses LSI. I’m concerned about keeping my water balanced with LSI once temps drop.
I’ve purchased a submersible pump with a 2” outlet that i can attach my backwash hose to. If i use this to circulate water and keep chemicals balanced all winter, how long do I have to run it to circulate 23,000 gallons sufficiently?
Current levels:
FC: .5
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA: 80
CH: 250
CYA: 60
Temp: 75
TDS: 945

Planning to adjust my pH down with some acid and if I close on Tuesday as scheduled Pool guy will add liquid chlorine. Should I be concerned with these levels? Attached the NPC guidelines also.

Finally, if someone wants to tell me to just stop being a lunatic and that my pool will open just as I closed it without crazy interventions during the winter, I’m more than happy to hear that also. It was a huge investment that I don’t want to screw up.

Thank you!!

You need to decide if you want to follow TFP or the NPC stuff. You’ve got almost no chlorine in your pool and depending on how long it’s been that low, there’s no guarantee you will be opening to a clear pool. Everyone here of course would recommend the TFP option. The only thing TFP would recommend if those test results come from a Taylor test kit would be to get more chlorine in the water and make sure to follow the FC/CYA chart. Your pH is fine.

 

[AZinPA]

You need to decide if you want to follow TFP or the NPC stuff. You’ve got almost no chlorine in your pool and depending on how long it’s been that low, there’s no guarantee you will be opening to a clear pool. Everyone here of course would recommend the TFP option. The only thing TFP would recommend if those test results come from a Taylor test kit would be to get more chlorine in the water and make sure to follow the FC/CYA chart. Your pH is fine.

Thank you!

I’m trying to ride the line and satisfy both. I was previously following TFP in the past but TFP is not warrantying my new plaster so I’m stuck satisfying NPC for the next 5 years.

Chlorine has been pretty constantly 3 ppm all summer long. I Let it burn off in the past week because pool guy asked me to keep it below 2ppm before he comes. He was going to come today but i pushed him off until Tuesday while I decide on where to adjust things so I’ll be adding some more chlorine tomorrow.

pH had climbed constantly but slowly all season so I was trying to push it to 7.4 before closing. You think I should leave it at 7.8?

Anything I should be careful of with water level? I normally put it just below the skimmers. I think my Main concern is keeping enough water on my tanning ledge that it doesn’t constantly freeze/thaw. That ledge was horribly chipped and pitted from previous owners prior to our renovation. They did not maintain pool well.

Would i be wasting my time circulating water every once in a while with a sump pump? If i did how often and how long would i need to keep it running? It’s a 1/2 HP submersible pump with a 2” outlet i was gonna hook my backwash hose up to.

I will admit in years past once the cover went on I focused on keeping the cover clean and clear of leaves/snow/water and never really peeled it back to worry about the water. Just trying to make sure my plaster lasts as long as possible. The old plaster was so badly stained and pitted.

 

[Bperry]

Thank you!

I’m trying to ride the line and satisfy both. I was previously following TFP in the past but TFP is not warrantying my new plaster so I’m stuck satisfying NPC for the next 5 years.

Chlorine has been pretty constantly 3 ppm all summer long. I Let it burn off in the past week because pool guy asked me to keep it below 2ppm before he comes. He was going to come today but i pushed him off until Tuesday while I decide on where to adjust things so I’ll be adding some more chlorine tomorrow.

pH had climbed constantly but slowly all season so I was trying to push it to 7.4 before closing. You think I should leave it at 7.8?

Anything I should be careful of with water level? I normally put it just below the skimmers. I think my Main concern is keeping enough water on my tanning ledge that it doesn’t constantly freeze/thaw. That ledge was horribly chipped and pitted from previous owners prior to our renovation. They did not maintain pool well.

Would i be wasting my time circulating water every once in a while with a sump pump? If i did how often and how long would i need to keep it running? It’s a 1/2 HP submersible pump with a 2” outlet i was gonna hook my backwash hose up to.

I will admit in years past once the cover went on I focused on keeping the cover clean and clear of leaves/snow/water and never really peeled it back to worry about the water. Just trying to make sure my plaster lasts as long as possible. The old plaster was so badly stained and pitted.

I’m in the same spot on water level. I’m tempted to leave it full, plug the skimmers and returns, and just pack the skimmers full of pool noodles/gizmo. Leaving the plaster exposed it really hard on it and got chipped in several places last winter.

 

[Bperry]

Thank you!

I’m trying to ride the line and satisfy both. I was previously following TFP in the past but TFP is not warrantying my new plaster so I’m stuck satisfying NPC for the next 5 years.

Chlorine has been pretty constantly 3 ppm all summer long. I Let it burn off in the past week because pool guy asked me to keep it below 2ppm before he comes. He was going to come today but i pushed him off until Tuesday while I decide on where to adjust things so I’ll be adding some more chlorine tomorrow.

pH had climbed constantly but slowly all season so I was trying to push it to 7.4 before closing. You think I should leave it at 7.8?

Anything I should be careful of with water level? I normally put it just below the skimmers. I think my Main concern is keeping enough water on my tanning ledge that it doesn’t constantly freeze/thaw. That ledge was horribly chipped and pitted from previous owners prior to our renovation. They did not maintain pool well.

Would i be wasting my time circulating water every once in a while with a sump pump? If i did how often and how long would i need to keep it running? It’s a 1/2 HP submersible pump with a 2” outlet i was gonna hook my backwash hose up to.

I will admit in years past once the cover went on I focused on keeping the cover clean and clear of leaves/snow/water and never really peeled it back to worry about the water. Just trying to make sure my plaster lasts as long as possible. The old plaster was so badly stained and pitted.

Also, FWIW the warranty is pretty rare when it actually honored. There’s so many loopholes and exclusions that it seems like it only covers extreme incompetence on installation. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[newdude]

+1. The first thing they'll want to see is your weekly poolstore tests. If you're away or just busy at any point you need to have someone else go get those weekly tests for you.

They will not take your word for it that you maintained their reccomended levels if you file a claim.

 

[AZinPA]

+1. The first thing they'll want to see is your weekly poolstore tests. If you're away or just busy at any point you need to have someone else go get those weekly tests for you.

They will not take your word for it that you maintained their reccomended levels if you file a claim.

Yeah, I’m not expecting an easy process if that happens, but I’ve got a huge stack of them from a small local pool store I trust. Every 1-2 days in the beginning of the summer after it was filled. They know me by name at this point lol. I saved them just in case, but honestly I’m doing all this maintenance to try to get the most years out of the plaster as possible and hopefully not have to ever make a claim.

 

[AZinPA]

Is it worth circulating the water with a sub pump throughout the winter? How often and for how long should I do it to mix any newly added chemicals in?