@ss32000 tell us more about your vinyl safety cover. Is it an automatic one? Do you keep it open or closed most of the time? I'll assume it is opaque.
Quick Question on following the process here
- Thread starter ss32000
- Start date
I'm glad you have observed this. Often times when we have a baseball team over i ask one of my kids to grab some goggles and tell me if they can see clearly end to end, 40', if they can i'm good, if its not perfectly clear, its time for me to add some bleach to the pool.
Are you using your autocover to cover the pool all the time except when swimming?
So yes, my cover opaque. Historically I would keep the pool covered most of the time. Since joining this forum I’ve been opening it up more to let the pool breathe. The cover was mainly for safety reasons as we have 3 kids under 8. If an adult isn’t out back when the kids are playing we close it up. When they aren’t around I’ll open it up some. The cover is nice to help keep debris out during storms or landscaping.
I have an autocover same as you. I've had it since I joined TFP, during my pool build, I'm on my second tarp.
I struggled to maintain proper FC levels for years. I ran my stabilizer level between 30-50. I could never really dial in the pump run time and SWCG % time to hit the sweet spot.
I was constantly over target FC. I kept my cover closed unless we were swimming. This had several effects.
1) My pool uses up very little chlorine. It only gets sunshine when it's open minus about .5" in shallow end when it's "closed". So the constant destruction of chlorine by the sun is not a factor in my chlorine usage.
2) My pool can get very HOT. If I leave the cover closed, and pool is say 92 F, and it's a sunny 95 F day, if the pool pump is not circulating the top foot of water can reach 105 F- 110 F. If the pump is circulating then the whole pool heats up. It's been as hot as 97 F before. I used to use spray bars connected to my returns to spray water into the air, when it feel to the pool surface it would cool by 10 degrees. I did this for years when my kids were little.
Here are some observations regarding these types of auto covers. I love mine, I have no evaporation except what occurs while swimming, nothing is getting in the pool all day, so I have very little chlorine use. We actually use the auto cover more than the pool. My son and dog will either pump out our 250 gallon hot tub onto the cover, or wait for a rain to occur. Then I will proceed to through my son football passes where he runs from shallow to deep end and does diving catches. Like a combo between a slip n slide and a giant waterbed. In the winter he will wear a wet suit. The dog keeps up with him and tackles him when he makes a catch it's entertaining. Often times we do this in the middle of a pool party for a change of pace. The only rule is keep in the middle third away from coping. We've camped out on the pool cover, especially nice in fall when night time temps dip but pool is still 92 F..
I'm able to to heat up the pool anytime there are 3-5 days in low 70's and sun. We've swam at Xmas, my October B-day, kid's November B-day, New Years eve etc. As I have a heat pump I couldn't do it without the cover. Yes it does cost some money but it's always worth it.
After my first Heat Pump died, I got a new one that cools and heats the pool. This has been a gamechanger. I also finally fixed my side pressure cleaner. So for most of this summer I just let the heat pump cool. But recently I've just left the pool open 24/7 and it's just sitting at 89. That's due to the lack of the cover. If I keep it covered it will go back up to 93/94 and I'll need to run heat pump throughout the day.
The only other thing worth mentioning is your stabilizer level. If you get it much higher you might start to see the effects it will have on prolonging chlorine consumption if you keep it covered all the time.
The only thing I don't like is cleaning out the pit about twice a year.
How are you liking yours?
I struggled to maintain proper FC levels for years. I ran my stabilizer level between 30-50. I could never really dial in the pump run time and SWCG % time to hit the sweet spot.
I was constantly over target FC. I kept my cover closed unless we were swimming. This had several effects.
1) My pool uses up very little chlorine. It only gets sunshine when it's open minus about .5" in shallow end when it's "closed". So the constant destruction of chlorine by the sun is not a factor in my chlorine usage.
2) My pool can get very HOT. If I leave the cover closed, and pool is say 92 F, and it's a sunny 95 F day, if the pool pump is not circulating the top foot of water can reach 105 F- 110 F. If the pump is circulating then the whole pool heats up. It's been as hot as 97 F before. I used to use spray bars connected to my returns to spray water into the air, when it feel to the pool surface it would cool by 10 degrees. I did this for years when my kids were little.
Here are some observations regarding these types of auto covers. I love mine, I have no evaporation except what occurs while swimming, nothing is getting in the pool all day, so I have very little chlorine use. We actually use the auto cover more than the pool. My son and dog will either pump out our 250 gallon hot tub onto the cover, or wait for a rain to occur. Then I will proceed to through my son football passes where he runs from shallow to deep end and does diving catches. Like a combo between a slip n slide and a giant waterbed. In the winter he will wear a wet suit. The dog keeps up with him and tackles him when he makes a catch it's entertaining. Often times we do this in the middle of a pool party for a change of pace. The only rule is keep in the middle third away from coping. We've camped out on the pool cover, especially nice in fall when night time temps dip but pool is still 92 F..
I'm able to to heat up the pool anytime there are 3-5 days in low 70's and sun. We've swam at Xmas, my October B-day, kid's November B-day, New Years eve etc. As I have a heat pump I couldn't do it without the cover. Yes it does cost some money but it's always worth it.
After my first Heat Pump died, I got a new one that cools and heats the pool. This has been a gamechanger. I also finally fixed my side pressure cleaner. So for most of this summer I just let the heat pump cool. But recently I've just left the pool open 24/7 and it's just sitting at 89. That's due to the lack of the cover. If I keep it covered it will go back up to 93/94 and I'll need to run heat pump throughout the day.
The only other thing worth mentioning is your stabilizer level. If you get it much higher you might start to see the effects it will have on prolonging chlorine consumption if you keep it covered all the time.
The only thing I don't like is cleaning out the pit about twice a year.
How are you liking yours?
I really like the auto cover for peace of mind. It does help heat the pool nicely as well. I’ll check on FC levels to see how it goes for me.
Just a quick update for everyone that things are looking great. I’m on day 3 of my SLAM and I thought my pool was clear before, but it’s more of a wow now. I’m still not there yet as I failed my overnight test, but I think today might be the last day given the trend lines of chlorine loss. Thanks to everyone here.
Attachments
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Nice!
Be sure to check hidden areas for algae - inside the skimmer throat, back of the weir door / weir door foam, any light niches/ladders, etc.
Be sure to check hidden areas for algae - inside the skimmer throat, back of the weir door / weir door foam, any light niches/ladders, etc.
So on that point, when I'm checking things those areas what should I do? For example, if I find some brown stuff (assuming dead algae), should I just wipe it out or try to vacuum?
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Scrub it out into the water. It'll either die and settle to the bottom where it can be vacuumed up manually or with a robot or will find its way to your filter and get filtered out. The important thing is to scrub it out so it can be killed by the elevated chlorine in the water.
I have done that and it does look good. I have to admit, my pool looks great, but I'm still failing the overnight test and I'm finding brown dead algae in the pool. It's ironic that the algae always settles in the bottom in the same spots, so it's easy to brush or vacuum up. I figured with my water starting really clear I'd be through this in a couple days, but I'm still in it.
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Clear pool + failing OCLT means it's hiding somewhere. Really check those niches and nooks and crannies, anywhere that indirect sun could reach and algae isn't normally hit by your brushing.
It's settling in the same places because your returns create a predictable current, and it pushes everything together. If you changed the direction of your return eyeballs, it would settle in a new pattern.
It's settling in the same places because your returns create a predictable current, and it pushes everything together. If you changed the direction of your return eyeballs, it would settle in a new pattern.
So 1 thing I notice this weekend was my lights. Earlier this year, I think I had a really bad pollen situation with my pool. I finally got my vacuum to get it all up and I couldn't see any in the pool. Yesterday after reading another forum, I put some goggles on and saw some pollen inside the lights. I'm not sure how to take the lights out (Hayward Color Logic), but I was able to tap the outside and start to make some stuff come out that looked like pollen. That's really the only place I can think of, but I've brought my SLAM levels up to the right point at least 3 times a day. I'll keep brushing and vacuuming.
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Take a photo. Is it the sort that has a screw at the top in the middle of the light?
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Here's the product manual:
Page 6 has the directions for removal. Looks like the trim ring comes off by turning it counter-clockwise. Then there's a hole you can push a phillips screwdriver into and turn the fixture to remove it from the niche. I bet you've found your hidden algae place.
(Don't undo the visible screws you can see now, those are holding the niche to the liner.)
Page 6 has the directions for removal. Looks like the trim ring comes off by turning it counter-clockwise. Then there's a hole you can push a phillips screwdriver into and turn the fixture to remove it from the niche. I bet you've found your hidden algae place.
(Don't undo the visible screws you can see now, those are holding the niche to the liner.)
I literally just found the same thing. I couldn't tell, but I would imagine I might not have to kill the electrical for this? It seems like since it's two steps, maybe turning it will allow me to clean it without taking the whole light out of the pool. Just being able to get out in there might help.
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The light is in a niche. The niche stays in the pool but the light can be pulled out and set on the pool deck (or held in your hands in the pool while the niche is cleaned out). There's typically a few feet of extra conduit/cable in it for that purpose.
This is how my light is - I think yours will be similar, just held in with a trim piece and a turn-to-remove instead of a screw:
Here's someone with the light out of the pool (not as useful for seeing what it will be like but it does show the trim piece and the light piece):
This is how my light is - I think yours will be similar, just held in with a trim piece and a turn-to-remove instead of a screw:
Here's someone with the light out of the pool (not as useful for seeing what it will be like but it does show the trim piece and the light piece):
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Oh, I'd probably turn off the breaker for the pool light on it to be safe, just in case. Better to turn it off when it's not needed than to find out the hard way there's a short somewhere.
To be safe I killed the power at the breaker for my lights. Might be hopping here after my last call.