I'll take better pics when I get home tonight. My home inspector took a pic of this and stated "THE POOL EQUIPMENT IS VERY INVOLVED. HAVE POOL COMPANY DEMONSTRATE ALL FUNCTIONS." Hah!
Rocky Beginning...
- Thread starter chet999
- Start date
GULP! LOL We will get it sorted out. I might have to call in reinforcements but someone will help you figure it all out!
Conducted all of the tests, here is where I'm at:
FC - 4.5
CC - 0
CH - 325
TA - 50
CYA - 40
PH - 7.2
So the plan is to add 42 oz of Borax, and 211 oz by weight (gulp) of baking soda. I already add bleach. With such a large amount of baking soda needed, should I add it gradually? Can it be done at the same time as the Borax?
FC - 4.5
CC - 0
CH - 325
TA - 50
CYA - 40
PH - 7.2
So the plan is to add 42 oz of Borax, and 211 oz by weight (gulp) of baking soda. I already add bleach. With such a large amount of baking soda needed, should I add it gradually? Can it be done at the same time as the Borax?
Why are you trying to raise the pH and TA so high? With that amount of chems you are targeting the high end of a pool chlorinated with pucks, use this Recommended Levels.
In the ABCs of pool math, it says a ph of 7.7 - 7.8 is ideal, and the instructions that came with the test kit say TA should be between 100 and 120. So I was targeting a PH of 7.7 and a TA of 110. The numbers on that link are lower, obviously. So using the lower numbers, it's 30 oz of Borax, and 106 oz of baking soda. I just want to make sure I get this right, now that the water is clear... Don't want to wreck it in other ways!
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Here are better pics of the plumbing.
View attachment 53864
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That is going to take some looking! I will work on it when I get home! Maybe take a shoot from head on as well as well as from other side to make sure we can see everything!
Spa draining does sound like check valve not working. Will work on that next.
Here are better pics of the plumbing.
View attachment 53864
A TA of 110 is ideal if you are using pucks for chlorine as they are acidic. When using bleach for chlorine you want to keep the TA lower so the pH will be more stable.
I can't tell from the photos if there is a check valve as I don't see one, but I can't see all the pics at work. If there is a check valve there is a good chance that it is causing the spa to drain.
I can't tell from the photos if there is a check valve as I don't see one, but I can't see all the pics at work. If there is a check valve there is a good chance that it is causing the spa to drain.
I see two pumps right? Do both of them work?
I see where you have "returns" marked. How many returns do you have?
Pool (in yellow) does that mean coming from the pool as in skimmers? How many skimmers do you have? Do you have a main drain?
Spa jets-how are they connected to the pump/filter?
Yes, you see two pumps, but the one on the left apparently doesn't work, and has been bypassed. There are three jets (what I call returns) in the pool. You can correct me if I'm using the wrong terminology there... The "Pool" in yellow is simply what someone previously wrote on the PVC (same with the yellow "Spa" on the left side of the pic). If I had to guess, I would think that one of those pipes coming out of the ground is for the skimmer, while the other one is for the main drain. I have one skimmer. I would guess that the 3rd pipe coming out of the ground (bottom right) is from the spa drain.
The spa appears to have 2 different kinds of jets in it. Some look just like the jets in the pool, while there are a couple of others that have a larger opening (hole), that I would guess are intended to do the "massaging".
The spa appears to have 2 different kinds of jets in it. Some look just like the jets in the pool, while there are a couple of others that have a larger opening (hole), that I would guess are intended to do the "massaging".
I am calling in back up. I know what I think but am not sure enough to say anything. I don't want to more harm than good for you.
Hold on to your hat and get ready for more questions while they work through it.
Hold on to your hat and get ready for more questions while they work through it.
Your guesses sound correct. Have you operated the valves to verify the assumptions?
I have verified some of them. I guess I could turn the ones I assume to be the drains in the pool and spa on and off, and get in the water to see if I can feel the suction, to confirm those. Same with the different spa jets. There is not check valve on the left most return pipe, which has spa written on the PVC, and I don't have that off, so that could be my draining problem. I will confirm that that is for the massaging jets, and if so, try turning those off and see if the spa still drains. I have no idea what the tall pipe with the 90 degree turn valve is for. When looking at the head on pic in post 25, it's towards the left side, and is taller than everything else. It comes up out of the ground, makes a 90 and passes through the valve, then makes another 90 and goes back into the ground.
You may not feel suction on the bottom drains, they are designed to have low suction to avoid entrapment. But, the once you ID the skimmer then the other one is the drain and the single one will be the spa by default. A check valve isn't needed if you close the suction and return valves to the spa.
That pipe out of the ground and back in to the ground has me stumped too.
In cases where one return on a circuit has low flow there is often debris in the pipe behind the return. Unscrewing the return should allow the debris to blow out.
That pipe out of the ground and back in to the ground has me stumped too.
In cases where one return on a circuit has low flow there is often debris in the pipe behind the return. Unscrewing the return should allow the debris to blow out.
Thank you, I will give that a try, once this tropical storm gets far enough away that I can go mess with pool related stuff! In the meantime, I just keep having to drain water out of it to keep it from overflowing! Anything I should be thinking about pool chemistry-wise, given that I am collecting a mass quantity of rain water in my pool and subsequently having to lower the level?
Just ride it out like I am......Have some bleach ready to throw in when the worst of this is over. You can use a straw broom to help you mix it in or you can brush the pool real good or even get in and swim it in LOL Just hoping we do not lose power for too long.
So it looks like my pump has failed. It hums, but doesn't engage, if that makes sense. It's not bound, I am able to turn the impeller. When I put a meter on the capacitor, it appears to charge. Any ideas? Or am I headed for a VS? They are so expensive installed. Feel like I could do it myself, but I wouldn't want to lose the warranty. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I do appreciate it! (Pump has been down since Thursday).
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So heartbreaking... My pool was nice and clear, even with my pump not working, due to the things I have learned on this site. In fact, my 6 year old daughter was swimming in it earlier today, helping to mix the chlorine in. Then the rains came again.... We have had so much rain that the ground can't absorb it, and I am unable to drain any water out of my pool. End result is the water level rising above the deck and dirt washing into the pool. Ugh. Anything I need to do different until my pump is replaced? Scheduled for this Saturday. Everybody is way behind schedule, as the rain has delayed jobs.
You are going to hsve to get a sub pump to keep on hand for this kind of thing. Harbor Freight has them for cheap.
It is SLAM time for you again I am sorry to say. After all of your hard work
It is SLAM time for you again I am sorry to say. After all of your hard work
SLAM time even though I don't think I have any algea in there? As the water level rose above deck level, you could watch a super dark cloud forming in the corner of the pool, then slowly spread throughout the whole thing. I guess with this much dirt we have concerns about living micro-organisms? Should I just elevate my FC level now, as I wait for my new pump on Saturday? To Harbor Freight after work today, and I'll get some of the water out of there, but I believe that we are supposed to dry out here for the rest of the week.
kimkats, I hope you weathered the storm okay up there in Tallahassee!
On last thing, I currently have Leslie's scheduled to install a Jacuzzi VS pump. I really like the fact that it has a 5 year warranty. I'm looking for opinions as to whether I am making a mistake going with a Jacuzzi. I know it's not one of the top names, but a full 5 year warranty seems pretty solid to me. I am fully capable of doing the install myself, but don't like the short (typically 60 day) warranty that they stick you with for the DIY. Even getting an extended warranty on Amazon, with purchase, won't take it anywhere near 5 years. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/input!
kimkats, I hope you weathered the storm okay up there in Tallahassee!
On last thing, I currently have Leslie's scheduled to install a Jacuzzi VS pump. I really like the fact that it has a 5 year warranty. I'm looking for opinions as to whether I am making a mistake going with a Jacuzzi. I know it's not one of the top names, but a full 5 year warranty seems pretty solid to me. I am fully capable of doing the install myself, but don't like the short (typically 60 day) warranty that they stick you with for the DIY. Even getting an extended warranty on Amazon, with purchase, won't take it anywhere near 5 years. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/input!
I JUST got internet! I got power yesterday afternoon. It was less than fun 
too hard to type much on a phone so coming back to you know.
SLAM may not be needed but I would push your FC up to close to that level. There is no telling what came to visit!
Have we talked about OCLT? If not here is the link to it:
Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)
This will help you see if anything is trying to start up BUT we have seen a pool with some visible algae pass an OCLT so keep an eye on it to make sure nothing is going on.
My weak area is equipment Try doing a search for that pump in the search box at the top of this page. See what others have to say. 5 years warranty is quite a pull for sure!
I am hoping that stuff is just dirt. If so it might just settle down to the bottom of the pool and wait to be vacuumed up when you get your pump running.
too hard to type much on a phone so coming back to you know.SLAM may not be needed but I would push your FC up to close to that level. There is no telling what came to visit!
Have we talked about OCLT? If not here is the link to it:
Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)
This will help you see if anything is trying to start up BUT we have seen a pool with some visible algae pass an OCLT so keep an eye on it to make sure nothing is going on.
My weak area is equipment
Try doing a search for that pump in the search box at the top of this page. See what others have to say. 5 years warranty is quite a pull for sure! I am hoping that stuff is just dirt. If so it might just settle down to the bottom of the pool and wait to be vacuumed up when you get your pump running.