Every year upon opening my pool, I usually have to add around 200 pounds of salt and 52 ounces of CYA. I am assuming I am loosing this all due to dilution over the winter months as we get plenty of rain year around here. My question is how can I only loose 52 ounces of CYA, when I am loosing 200 pounds of salt over winter… how does that work?

Sorry thought I had posted this in start up and closing

Which tests are adversely affected by very cold water (45 degrees?) I will not be opening my pool for at least another month, but I just want to see how my chems survived the winter. I suppose I could just let my Solo cup of pool water sit until it warms to room temp, but that would show patience... Don't want to damage my reputation!

Thanks!

I have a 13,500 gallon pol with 500 gallon spa, SWG since it was new over 32 years ago. Last fall when I did the fall service the salt level was 3600. I have a whole house water softener using regular salt that also fill the pool Is the salt content of the soft water enough to raise the salt level that much?

Hi there.

Question - is the ice melt product good enough for the pool? This 10lb is a lot cheaper than 4lb Calcium Hardness at Walmart

CAS# Sodium Chloride 007647-14-5
CAS# Calcium Chloride 010043-52-4
CAS# Magnesium Chloride 007791-18-6-52-4

If this one is not perfect, which HD\Lowe's brand should I get?
Thanks!

I recently swapped out a failing T-15 cell on my Hayward Goldline Aqua Plus SWG with a T-3. My pool is 7500 gallons so the T-3 is appropriate. I changed the settings in Configuration to reflect the change. After installing, I’m getting the message in Diagnostic Menu “Chlorinator Off Percentage Met”. Incrementally I increase the percentage but message repeats, even when set to 100%. Also, testing doesn’t indicate chlorine is being produced or enough anyway, unless I run Super Chlorinate for 6 hours, therefore I do know the T-3 is functioning.
Can anyone offer and advise. I shouldn’t have to run in Super mode all the time.

Last year at startup, I had some difficulty with my IC-40 telling me the salt level was low and/or the water was too cold. I measured the SALT and it was 3200 (I have the TFT Salt Measurement Kit, very handy....)....At the time, I assumed the flow switch was going bad. Ultimately, the unit did produce CL all year long with SALT = 3600 and of course temps in the 75+ range. , so no replacement was attempted.....and at closing last fall I did a very light 20% acid/80% water cleaning before stowing the IC-40 for the winter.

Yesterday I installed my IC-40 and it ran seemingly OK for about one hour, during which time it reported the salt level was HIGH (Blinking GREEN SALT indicator), then ALL lights went off except for the COLD WATER RED indicator, which stayed solid RED. I ran the spa heater for an hour and the water went from +64F to +80F....RED COLD light stayed on. Having looked at similar issue threads on the TFP site, I purchased an aftermarket "flow sensor", which I believe should solve the problem. But it won't be here for a week. Very easy to replace.

In the meantime...I read some threads indicating that if you eliminate the connection to the 10K thermistor on the Flow Switch, it will "trick" the unit into thinking the Cold Water problem is solved....here is one that is most concise:
IC40 cold water light on but water is 86 degrees

So, I interpret this thread to tell me that: if I just disconnect (cut) the Green /White wires coming from the flow switch, this will disable the COLD water sensor and at least allow my unit to operate until the flow switch is replaced..... YES?

This thread also mentions IC-40 Version 3.1 for indicating Water Temp by pressing/holding the MORE button....my unit must be pre-3.1 as it will not go into the secondary measurement mode indicating the measured water temperature.

I was surprised at the variance in prices from $15 to more than $150 for this little flow sensor. That seems crazy....I assume and hope the aftermarket replacement unit will work the same as the expensive one.

What size PVC pipe do I use if I have 1"x 1/2" ....need to connect flow switch

I was "gifted" one of these from my neighbor who didn't want to mess with it anymore. He said it needed a new power supply, but I diagnosed the cable as being bad at the swivel. I thought cleaning the contacts would fix it, but there is something wrong inside the connector. I lose continuity in one wire when I wiggle the cord where it goes into the swivel connector with the brass strips. Does anyone have experience with the knock off 2 prong cords on Amazon? I saw some for 80-150ish. OEM is about half what this thing is worth. I am going to do a waterproof splice to make sure the robot runs before even spending that much on it.

I am not sure what happened, but over the last week of so my pool heat temp got set to 104 and I can’t change it. I am the only one who has ever used the control panel and I never set it past 85. I thought the panel might be locked, but the LOc doesn’t show when trying to change the temp. In fact the panel doesn’t respond to any input except it switches from current temp to set temp (104) when pressing the temp buttons. I switched off the breaker for a few hours but that didn’t help.

My back yard is blocked almost all the way around by a wall and fencing. It’s off the beaten path and the only people who go back there are the gardeners. Maybe someone messed with it, but I highly doubt it.

The odd thing is it does show the current temp and the low flow occasionally when the pump is set to low. But it works ok, in that the fan comes on followed by the compressor and it tries to reach 104. How water is coming out into the pool.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

We think this liner was around 5-7 years old when we bought the house 3 years ago - so this is probably around season 8-10 or so for it. I decided to open the pool myself this year, and I found a very unpleasant surprise. There's a 24" wide tear just below where the liner meets the coping.

I have seen a few other threads prescribing a large patch with scrap liner which may be an option for me. What do you fine folks think? Is it time to replace? The liner has otherwise been fine aside from some mild discoloring. I'm just trying to decide if I patch and fill to complete opening or start getting quotes on a new liner.



Thanks in advance for any insights.

Have replaced my trusty Jandy pool lights 2.5 times in 10-years and I now have to replace half of them (four lights). Right now, every light is a JLU4C6W100 (6 watt). The pool looks great but I definitely have some dark spots. Since I have to replace some of the lights I want to consider 12W and 24W in a few spots. Can anyone quantify the difference in brightness from 6W to 12w to 24w? Any feedback or recommendations would be great. Thanks!

I’m getting down to finally getting my equipment installed. However I am concerned about the Intelliconnect wiring. Do I need to power the Line In? I saw this guy on you tube making jumpers. I thought that’s part of what the relays on unit does, power it! See this guys jumpers;

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appreciate any assistance. Installation does say anything about jumpers.

Hello!

My brother referred me to this site. He has a pool but I just a spa

Have I destroyed my booster pump? Polaris 280 is my cleaner. I inadvertently closed the water valve to my booster, but the Polaris was powered on. When discovered(within a day) water was coming out of the pump housing, like a leak, not gushing, but the motor was still running. After stopping the motor, I reopened the valve to allow water to flow like it should. The motor started up, but no pressure of water was causing the Polaris to move. (Side question: how was water coming out of the pump housing with the flow of water cut off?) What to do ?

Looking for expert advise on what caused my Pentair pump shaft to break. I've read a couple of other posts where this has happened, but those breaks were clean - almost looking as if they were cut on a lathe. That's not the case with mine. This pump is almost exactly 10 years old and ran 24 x 7 x 365 with the exception of servicing the pool. This last year, there would be air in the volute strainer but the pump was still pushing water. Turning the RPMs up on the pump would resolve this issue - at least temporarily. Because it was still moving water, even at the lower RPMs I wasn't concerned with the air in the strainer. That may have been a mistake.

Additionally, when I disassembled the pump side of things, I discovered I was missing the screws which hold the diffuser to the seal plate. The metal inserts in the seal plate were not there either. These parts were not found. No idea where they are. Having never been inside one of these pumps before, it wasn't until I was watching a video on replacing the seal that I realized these were missing.

I intend to rebuild this unit and have already purchased a well used motor with a nice shiny shaft. I found it on ebay and picked it up for $90 including shipping. I was planning to rebuild the pump side and had already purchased seals, diffuser, impeller along with bearings for the motor. I'll need a new seal plate, diffuser screws and the black piece of rubber that goes up against the motor on the shaft (not sure what this is called or of the part number). The last picture, shows an additional part needed, but that piece of metal that goes on the shaft up against the impeller. My intention is to disassemble the the motor I purchased, pull the rotor / shaft, replace the bearings and install into my motor housing.

As I stated when I started the post, I'm wanting to understand what caused this problem so I can prevent it in the future.

Thanks,

Tripp

I have an in-ground pool with an attached concrete spa, 4 jets, that is 27+ years old. It uses venturi air without a blower. Recently I started the spa and no air whatsoever comes out of the jets. My pool guy said their might be water in the air lines, so I lowered the level below the jets, hooked up a shop vac in reverse to pump air into the pvc inlet by the pool filter. This blew all the water out, but when I refilled it, still no air from the jets. I hooked up the shop vac again and started the spa, but when I did that, all the air, and a lot of it, comes out of a single jet. I even tried reducing the air pressure, and no matter what I do it only comes out of that one jet. If I remove the air pressure altogether, water starts flowing out of the air snorkel at the pool filter and there is no air at any jet.

I'm wondering if one or more of my air check vales are broken and the air lines are filled with water. Does that sound like what might be happening? And if so, is there any way to replace those check valves, or is my spa forever broken? Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

Pool was installed June 2024 and was only used for 3 months before taking all the lines, pump, sand filter in the garage for the winter months. There are no leaks anywhere once they were all put back together, but we did notice a leak on the front of the pump. Could this be my problem? The photos show the entire pump and then the other shows like a gap where you can see a screw… the front is loose there which I don’t remember it being loose like this last year.

I realize states and counties have different regulations for draining pools, but is there a standard plumbing for pool builders? I'm asking because I need to drain my pool, but I don't believe it's tied into our sewer system, which I believe my county requires. The only outlet I know of runs to an underground pipe that terminates at my curb into the gutter which flows into the storm drain. This is what I use to backwash, I've never drained or replaced all of my pool water. I can't imagine running 24,000 gallons down the gutter.

I removed the zeosand from the filter. The Air bleeder tube was just lying in ther sand and is broken on the end which was connected. I can feel a hole on the bottom of the lateral assembly is there where it plugs in? The top part was completely clogged and probably hasn't been operational.

I need to make a main drain valve repair. Pool water level is 8” below skimmer a return. I have air in the main drain . Can I place a 5 gal bucket over the main drain to make the valve repair?

Hey all - i just moved into a home with old jandy equipment that was dying and replaced it with new pentair stuff. I got the intelliflo3 pump with relay control board. Does that mean i can just buy the IC40 itself and it gets wired directly to the relay board on my pump for control. So i dont need to buy a load center to power it or anyting else to control it? I'm seeing somewhat contradicting info about how that works.

Thanks all !

Does anyone have the link for leveling the ground for an above ground steel pool. Is it any different than a vinyl pool? I can’t seem to find what I need, it would be helpful if there was a video. Does that exist on TFP or do I need to look elsewhere? Thank you ALL for your expertise! Have a fantastic Sunday!

I’ve had a sand filter for 10 years with 2 vinyl pools but purchasing a 2 y/o 21’x 52” Marina steel side and feel like now is the time to change over. I’m wanting to research HOW to do this with 100% confidence, and the only place I’ve ever known to get accurate information is here!
I know that I will need a chlorinator, but is there a place to go to tell me how to set it up, what other equipment will I need, do I still use sand in my filter, what chemicals will I be needing, is it going to be easier to maintain, is it going to be cheaper to maintain? Do I need a different testing kit?
I would truly appreciate ANY and ALL assistance with my questions, and thank you so much in advance for your expertise and advice!

Sincerely, the 66 y/o Nana that’s just trying to keep her grandkids happy!

Is there a minimum height above ground for an outdoor pool sub panel? Also, can the sub panel be a disconnect for both the pool pump and the heat pump (using the two circuit breakers) or will they need separate disconnects in addition to the sub panel? Thx

Hello
I have a 15000 gal saltwater pool. It had been covered, not in use for 3 years. Removed the leaves, raised cya to upper 20s, started shocking, and added algecide. Flocked twice, didnt make much difference. This was before I found pool school, pool math app. Started a slam since March 30th. Cya in the 20s says my target is 10 ppm chlorine. I have maintained this pretty well with the exception of all the rain we have been getting. Lowest fc was 6 which I brought back up right away. I have been using 65% cal hypo granules, brushing, and vacuuming almost daily. Water is still cloudy, dark but I can see about 3 ft down. Went to leslies today, just to see how my chemistry looked. Will post results below. I am using the taylor fas dpd test kit for chlorine tests. Anything is should do differently? Seems like clarity progress has stopped.
Fc 6.69 brought up to 11.5 now
Tc 7.87
Ph 7.87
Ta 102
Ch 126
Cya 24
Iron 0
Copper .3
Pho 196
Salt 2616

Appreciate all the early advice on here as I made the transition from new pool startup to saltwater at the 28-day mark following plaster. Happy to report that pool is looking great and everything is largely in balance.

One question: I read in Hayward’s Aquarite manual that with older systems you could input a correction factor so that the SWCG would display the correct saltwater ppm value. I’m using a Hayward OmniLogic-based system with the newer Turbocell S3 (40,000-gal). Have found the chlorination page but seems you can only reset the cell’s lifetime counter or change polarity on the cell…don’t see a way to apply a correction value for saltwater sensing calibration.

In this case, my TFPro-Salt kit is routinely showing 3,000ppm salt but SWCG estimating it at 3,400ppm. Not a huge deal and recognize that TFPro kit is giving me the most accurate result. Just wondering if I can calibrate to bring the new S3 cell inline with test results.

Have to love clean straight lines with a vacuum after opening.
This was the cleanest my pool has ever been opening it after winter. No green algea l, just dirt and sand and some leaves and worms

Hi all,

Spring time and loads of pollen on the surface of my water. Even with my pump turned up to cleaning mode/high speed, the skimmer just doesn't get the tiny bits of pollen off the surface. I read in the forums that a possible solution would be to adjust the valves so that my skimmer is doing more of the work than the floor drains. But I'm not sure which valve does that. Hoping that someone can help shed some light with the attached photos. Let me know if you need a better angle.

Thanks!
Matt

Never used those before, looking to do 0.5 ppm for our 18k gallon pool (see signature), NO MORE than that. Do those come in different forms (solid, liquid), or is it relatively straightforward? Any brands to avoid, any brands you would recommend?

So I have never had an issue like this on my previous pool that had pavers. My brand new build, and my levels keep rising. I have had it tested at a store, using reputable test strips, and my SWG level indicator. They are all withing 3% of each other. I went from 2800 2 mos. ago, to 4600 at its peak 1 week ago, prior to a big rain producing 4 inches of rain. That brought it back down to 3400, but its slowly creeping back up. Wondering if it could be caused by the brand new Kool decking? Its still "shedding" small tiny particles into the pool. They are fine pieces coming off, and you can see them in the pool. My buddy had same issue with the "shedding" its 1st season, then it stopped. Could it be from the Kool deck??? I dont see what else could be causing the increase. Any thoughts?