• Located in McKinney, Texas
• Pool built in 2005 (18 years ago) and is 13,000 gallon chlorine in-ground
• All equipment is original with exception of pump which was replaced several years ago
• Walked out front door of house and heard water running, and upon inspection saw that it was flowing from a pipe in the landscaping bed that has a double elbow and dumps into a larger PVC pipe that I believe leads into the water sewage. Went into house and checked all sinks, toilets, showers, etc and nothing was running. Only water item running was the pool pump. Later in the day when the pump shut down I walked out front and the water had stopped flowing in the pipes. Same happened this morning, no water flow and then when the pump kicked in, the water started flowing.
• I went to the equipment pad and noticed that the little clear glass bubble on the backwash pipe was showing movement, which was odd as the valve is set to filtration. Also my fountains were running at normal strength into the pool so I assumed the valve was set to filter as I didn't think the fountains run when the water is backwashing into the exit
• I did backwash this weekend, and returned the valve to filtration position when I was done.
• Wondering if the valve is broken and water is running both through the filter and backwash???
• Any suggestions? I don't know the life expectancy of these valves.
• If it needs to be replaced, wondering if anyone knows of a reputable repair person in the McKinney/Frisco/Allen/Plano suburbs of Dallas.
• Also, with it being 100+ degrees, I can't risk not running the pump, but worried I'm going to have a heck of a water bill this month.

Thanks.

I noted small, elevated areas on the bottom of my abg pool 2 summers ago. At that time I couldn't figure out what was happening. Two years later, these have grown further into the pool and I figured out these must be tree roots. I have not noticed any leakage or lowing of the water level but think it is just a matter of time before the friction of brushing the pool and normal use from family playing in the pool will wear down the vinyl immediately above these roots. Other than cutting down the trees, which unfortunately are not on my property or digging around the perimeter of the pool to sever the roots, any suggestions to avoid the inevitable of needing to replace the liner, at which time the roots could be removed, but I assume will return. I have not seen this issue addressed before. Thank you in advance for any help.

Deal all, could anyone provide some advice on my issues? Would be much appreciated. When pump is off my water level in spa drops to the jets/ slightly below pool level. Pool does not seem to leak, but when I turn on the pump it needs to add a lot of water to compensate for the water slot in spa.

Bucket test on pool did not show anything, so it must be spa or pump side.

Please help.

I replaced a 1.5hp 2 speed Haywood after the bearings went out for the third time. I installed (DIY) a Pentair Superflo (342001) and it is now running. However, I have a pressure side Polaris 360 cleaner and it seems that the pump is not powering it adequately at the highest default speed of 3000. When I pick the Polaris out of the water it is obvious that the water flow from the rear nozzel is much less than with the Haywood. It does seem to do better at the Pentair's 'self priming' speed of 3450. The Haywood had no problem moving the Polaris around on its high setting. Anyway, I am wondering if I can set one of the variable speeds higher than 3000 - the speeds and timing of each speed is customizable - or if there would be issues with doing that. The manual does not address setting it above the highest default speed- the default speeds are 3000, 2200 and 1400).

OR, will this pump work better with a suction side cleaner. I have had the Polaris for 20+ years and with all the new parts and rebuilds it is sort of like new but a cleaner is so essential that I am willing to change if it makes sense. BTW: pool size is 36 L x 18 W by 4' at each end sloping to the middle at about 5 feet plus. Anyway. . . otherwise, pump seems fine and easy to manage the controls, but I am wondering about this issue, and over all power for filter and cleaner. (Filter is a quad 60 sq foot cartridge unit).

Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Ron

1) Sounds like I want to close and open the pool when water temp is below 60
2) pH should be 7.4-7.6
3) I will check my TA and CA to make sure they are ok
4) I think my cover is security mesh-not sure though-I do know it was @ $3000
5) Do not need to add Polyquat?
6) Question: should I shut down the pump and drain lines-or just let it keep circulating? If I do shut it down do I have to blow the lines? They didn't when they closed it the first time after installation.
7) And if I do shut it down should I be covering pump and everything with insulation blankets as I read someone advised?
8) I saw some references to a timer, etc-not sure what all that means.
9) And finally, sounds like I need to get chlorine level to where the chart tells me for my CYA level. Shock level? Will this be all I add?

As always thank you for your help-my first year pool has been beautiful all summer-and we are still swimming!

Hi! First, I just want to say that this forum/website is amazing-- I've learned so much from it, and am constantly impressed by the care and civility in all the discussions.

I was wondering if people could offer some advice on whether it is worth keeping old pool. We recently bought a house in Berkshire County, MA. It has a 30 year old pool, 39,000 gallon in-ground pool that was traditionally used during about 3 months of the year. We've had it looked at, and it would require about $5000 in plaster and stone repair to be functional. (The previous owners were somewhat negligent, didn't balance calcium, etc.) It would also need a heater, new pump, some above-ground pipe repair, and a new cover, all of which adds cost, which we might be willing to do. But my big concern is that it is not worth putting this kind of money into such an old pool, as I've been told that a broken pipe below ground or leak would be far more expensive (it is also really, really hard to find pool experts around here). So my question is whether people think it is worth it to get a 30 year old pool up and running. Or am I just going to spend $20K only to find myself facing much bigger problems in a few years.

I realize this may be more of a philosophical than practical question, but appreciate any responses. Thank you!

I’m sure this isn’t a common issue, but for ones with sons at home? May be more common than I realize, so figured I would post here.

This summer, I took over care of my SWG pool from former pool service co. For past couple years, would see a few dime sized brown spots at bottom, around edges of the pool. I assumed they were from pool guys dumping in chemicals and not brushing around after. I was wrong- sorry for blaming you for them, pool guys! (However, have found many other issues that were missteps on their part… fixed w the info here. But, I digress)

But I as continuing to find new additional brown spots- searched here for what it was and what to do.

Got Vit C tablets, cut in half and placed on some of the spots- took them right off… *then* while pushing tablets into place w my foot, standing in my spa? Hmmm? Are those little rocks down there? Nope! BBs. From our Red Ryder BB gun

Misfires/bad aiming by my older son while in the back yard- sank to the bottom and made the rust/iron spots (guessing also that “copper” BBs aren’t really copper since Vit C removed them)

But, for anyone w boys w a BB gun, seeing spots? May need to investigate as it could be the same for you, too!

Hi Everyone,

I’ve asked already about the general idea of renovating for rip out + new pool. The overwhelming feedback was to renovate which I can understand the logic here. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, in this don’t case rip it out.

However, I am having trouble coming to terms with the relative cost of both projects which makes me keep coming back to wanting a new pool.

The renovation project is nearly 6 figures while the new pool (not including rip out) is $25000 more.

Both projects would share all the new pool stuff - marble dusting, tile, coping, plumbing, all new equipment (no heater I have already, no automation either)

The renovation- has the added work of removing old plaster, tile - moving skimmers and returns, fixing main drain. We have an attached raised overflow spa that we are removing so this wall needs to be rebuilt. (Demo cost of spa separate).

Would you think the spread here is only 25000? Part of me thinks renovations are harder and a premium gets charged and there is better value in just letting them do a new pool.

Thoughts?

Hi,
I replaced my Hayward turbo T-cell 15. Recalibrated as directed. However, when the pool pump turns of the the T-cell stays on and never goes to off or no flow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My 3900 is 4 years old. I have already replaced the booster pump with a non-Polaris model and it worked fine the last few months but now my pressure valve is gushing water and cleaner is barely moving. I picked it up while it was on and Jets were coming out just fine. The wheels are not turning though. Any advice on what can cause the pressure valve and the wheels not turning? I have checked the in line filter and replaced the pressure valve. Also confirmed the blue restrictor disk is in place. Thanks in advance

Hello folks,

I have a pool that constantly needs some Muriatic Acid to maintain the right PH. I hear that is common with new plaster pools, so not too worried about that. It also has a waterfall that likely blows off some CO2. I generally check the PH twice a week and find it floats to 8.0+ every 3 days. When I add the acid the next day my PH is on the money at 7.6 - 7.8. So I think I have the quantity dialed in pretty well (Thank you, Pool Math!). I do worry that I am getting some fluctuation in PH as I do that, keeping it more constant would be better for my OCD, but I don't quite have it so bad as to add a little acid every day.

I would be happy to check less often and wondered about automating the system. I saw a thread from back in 2019, but couldn't find anything newer. The gurus at the time thought that constant automation was not quite ready for primetime, but a simple automated acid dispenser is often a better option. I am happy to invest in a more pricey automated system, but need it to be reliable so I can more or less forget about it and check things on a weekly basis.

So...Automated pump based system controlled by me vs. fully intelligent system with real time feedback, vs keep doing what I am doing?

I've noticed this summer that my poor roboto will try and run over the bottom pool filter grate and sometimes gets stuck.

For next season, can I switch it out for something that isn't as tall?

This is similar to what I have;

This is the 3rd year i can't seem to get the sand out of my pool. We tried repairing what we thought was a crack in our sand filter, and then this year, we replaced the whole filter. STILL have sand in the pool. We have removed all the sand by vacuuming out to the sewer so it didn't go back through the system, and it keeps showing up. At this point, I may just want to convert to a cartridge. Does anyone know what the issue could be?

I have lost suction from my pool skimmer when I vacuum my pool. I suspect a leak in the return pipe from the skimmer. I have two openings in the bottom of the skimmer. This is the first time in 12 years I have been unable to get enough suction to vacuum. If you have any ideas as to how to isolate the leak please let me know. I might call the local leak detector company, Leak Seekers of Savannah, GA.

thanks,

ed marshall.

Hello,
I recently purchased a new salt cell because I thought that mine was going bad due to the low salt readings on my aqua plus system. It was reading high amps and low salt of 1900, and the pool store told me I had a 3700ppm, which is close to what I had a week ago when it was working properly. I have attached a picture of the readings and based on my searches around this site it seems I have a loose solder on my k1 relay since the new salt cell did not fix my problem. I have previously soldered this relay as I had no Power so I went to check everything and it all looked OK. I added some solder and tried it again anyway. Still the same issue. I then went to take the board off found the yellow wires that hook into the board were melted. They still had their connections but the outer cover of the wire was brittle. I cut the wire down a little to make a better connection, but it didn't help anything. Any reason why the yellow wires might have melted(picture attached)? Could it have anything to do with my issue?

Walking outside this evening, my jaw dropped when I saw the pool level. At some point between last night and this afternoon, this hose came off the pump, leading to the filter.

Has anyone had this happen before? If so, was there any damage to the pool from having so much water drain right next to it? I'm very annoyed, because I could've blocked off the skimmer so easily had I noticed the issue sooner.

Any opinions on whether I should just winterize it now, in Wisconsin? I recently installed a skimmer plate cover that should allow the water to not be drained as much during winter (super ironic).

Pictures attached for reference. Thanks!

@JoyfulNoise

Been grabbing MA from Leslie's and it's pale yellow and can see small fume clouds.

Tried another pool store closer to my house and it's the HASA stuff, clear liquid which had me searching the forums!

Are you still using the HASA brand clear MA? How do you like it? I was expecting fumes when pouring as I get from Leslie's yellow colored MA, but none showed up.

I am wondering if it's as good/strong as Leslie's MA.

I have added an 522035 Intellicenter Indoor Control Panel to my system and I am having a problem with it. For example if I turn on the spa from the main intellicenter control panel I will see the spa is turned on in the 522035 control panel. Now if I turn off the spa from the 522035 control panel it will turn off on the screen, the main intellicenter control panel will not get the change and the spa will not turn be turned off. After a couple of seconds the 522035 control panel will revert back to showing the spa is on. I have updated both control panels firmware to use the save version. Any idea what could be going on?

Thanks.

I have the TFPro and just got the smartstir as it was on backorder. Question about using this - My chlorine test tube says "Chlorine only". Those with smartstir, do you do your chlorine test in it or in the original tube? I do like this addition for sure. Makes it so much easier

I currently have a PDA system and am just interested in a Wi-Fi antenna to turn a few things on and off (for now). I feel like I am getting conflicting info on how/if I can set this up….
I may have gotten overzealous when I found a IQ-30a for $200 on eBay. My current set up is as pictured. Can I connect a IQ-30a to this system? Does the antenna replace the current PDA antenna or is it added in addition?

Hi

My old Pentair WF-28 pump died this week and after doing some research, have landed on replacing it with a Pentair IntelliFlo3 (011075). I found this on Amazon, but it almost looks too good to be true, at $1095. Most other retailers are asking c.$1500.

Is that just a really good deal or am I missing something?

Delivery is not until September 11, so that’s not ideal as my pool is already turning green.

I have the exact same issue as this user with my Hayward Aqua Plus system throwing a Communication Error. Ironically, I live in the same area as the original poster and my pool pump setup is identical (where my 220v pump outlet is controlled by a paddle switch and a double 20A breaker). I will need to bypass the relay on the Hayward Aqua Plus so it doesn’t continue to short cycle my single speed pump. Per the earlier detail in the post, I will connect the one set of wires (terminals 2 & 4) together with a wire nut and the second set of wires (terminals 6 & 8) together with a second wire nut. Do I have that correct?

Thought I would be a pro this year. I guess not. Noticed the dreaded brown dust collecting on the seams, the steps and a couple dime size spots elsewhere yesterday morning. That evening there was more. TF100 testing shows my CYA was 60. Pool store showed 70. I brought it up to TF100 70 earlier this month. Since then I have been running 5-6 FC checking in the evenings with the occasional dip to 4 after having people over to swim. Never below 4. I run the salt cell at 40% for 11 hours during the day.

Decided yesterday afternoon to do a half slam and brought FC to 14 (28 would be SLAM level) for the evening. Did a OCLT last night. First test showed a 2 PPM loss and second showed a 1 PPM loss. Little to no CC. Brought FC back up to 14 before leaving for work. Just getting home at 5 and FC held all day at 14 but there was still the dust on the floor but not near as much. Has rained 2" from last night to today as well.

- Should I hold half slam and do another OCLT test tonight and see what happens
- Going on from here what should I maintain my FC at if 5PPM let this happen?
-Could pool store CYA be more accurate than my eyes on the TF100 test and could my CYA now be 80?
(Feel free to check my logs)

Thanks!

Hey guys, my water parameters are all looking pretty solid except I'm wondering about calcium:

FC: 5
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 70
CH: 300 or 325 depending on how accurate I'm being (I think)
CYA: 70
Salt: 3400
CSI: -.32


I was thinking of adding enough calcium chloride to get to 425 because pool math tells me my ideal levels are 350-550. That would also bring my CSI closer to 0.

My tap water comes out at 200-225 CH.

With evaporation etc I figure my ch levels are going to trend upward. I'm in southern California so I add quite a bit of water over the year.

What do you guys think?

Over the last couple of years, I've noticed fairly small amounts of what I assumed were filter sound accumulating below the return ports of my in-ground, part tiled/part concrete lined pool. The sand in the filter needed changing and sure enough one of the spreaders had cracked, so I replaced it.

Cement surround to skimmer access port had also crumbled away, leaving water to bath and dissolve surrounding concrete. This has now been replaced and covered so no exposed concrete.

New pump recently fitted (more powerful) and within a week - round a 'dump' about cup full) of what I thought was sand in the pump basket, but on closer inspection, I think this is concrete (photo attached) as it's too course. Have just had another cup-full today and tend to find about an eggcup full every time I empty the pump basket (maybe every 2 weeks). I'm unsure whether this is just 'legacy concrete' from the skimmer which the newer, more powerful pump is pulling through the system, or whether it's new and represents a horrible/expensive problem lurking somewhere in the circuit. I don't think the water level is noticeably dropping (pool runs approx 8hrs/day), but not sure if this is reassuring or not...

Anyone know if there is a way of working out if this is something to be worried about? My current problem is just to watch and wait and hope the concrete accumulation clears and keep an eye on the pool level...

Thanks in advance...

Hello...looking for any tips on how to evaluate proposals. Liners being proposed are GFI or Latham and based on my research both are good.
Most companies want 50% order liner now for spring installation. One is asking me to store the liner over the winter. Is that the norm? I guess if something happens over the winter it is on my dime if at my home ...anything else about this? Any tips would be welcome. First time doing this and not a small investment. Thank you in advance. Glad to have found this forum.

Good day everyone,

Planning on installing a safety cover over my inground pool. The dog ripped our vinyl cover in the spring. I chose the safety cover so that he wouldn’t rip apart another new vinyl snap in cover. He couldn’t resist the water that had melted and pooled over the vinyl cover. Once he reached the steps (with wooden cover) he probably had a challenge getting out due to the vinyl cover lowering from the weight of the snow and water.

I have pavers over a gravel and HPB bedding. Not sure what length aluminum tubes with anchors I should be installing. The options I have found are 10” or 18” with brass anchors. Is there a particular length that would be better. I’m worried that I will have trouble hammering in the longer ones.

Also, the pool cover that I will order is not custom. My pool is 15 x 29. Rectangular with angled corners. Steps in the Centre at one end. If I get a rectangular pool cover that is 18x32 it will cover two ends with more overlap. I’ll space it out so that the overhang is even on all sides. Will the longer overhang be an issue?

Appreciate any feedback. Nervous about this install. Doing it myself will keep it on a reasonable budget.

jeqwerty1969 said:

I used salinity to calculate mine as it is one thing that is a fairly stable measurement and you can find digital meters to read it

Click to expand...

Teach me sense - I’m adding salt to my pool this week. Perfect window to figure out exactly how many gallons I’m working with

My pool builder installed 9x9inch flagstone skimmer covers with like a 1 inch hole in the center. They are about one inch thick. One of my covers broke has anyone here ever cut their own out for a replacement? My question is how did you cut out the hole for your finger to lift the skimmer cover? What type of hole saw did you use? I have spider hole saw bits but I'm afraid those won't cut through flagstone. Thanks

Wanted to post our experience with hooking up our new IntelliCenter via the new "high power wireless link kit," (not EnGenius) as we had some issues and failed to find answers when we searched.

First, we upgraded our EasyTouch 8 panel using the Intellicenter upgrade kit. We did this so that we could install the IntelliChem system to monitor and deploy muriatic acid on an as-needed basis.

We also wanted to be able to monitor things remotely. Pentair apparently no longer supports the ScreenLogic app (plus it sounds like it never worked well on android), and we understand there are issues connecting ScreenLogic to a Google mesh network.

So we decided to upgrade our panel to the IntelliCenter. The upgrade went smoothly and the IntelliChem system seems to be working great so far.

We did have some connectivity and setup issues with our new IntelliCenter though.

The system comes with an outside antenna that is connected to the IntelliCenter control board via an ethernet cable. This antenna communicates wirelessly to a receiver that plugs directly into our router (we use T-mobile high-speed internet). Once these units were powered (and the Enable Web & Mobile Interface setting on the IntelliCenter was set to ON), the IntelliCenter came online with its own IP.

We then tried to create a new account but kept running into problems. We were able to input all information for a new account, but kept getting an error when it tried to create the account. The error was "Unable to connect to WIFI device. Please check the WIFI device is powered, fully booted and the network cable is connected to the ethernet port on the back of the IntelliCenter main board (TCP_ERR)."

We tried to connect to our local network via the Network & Wifi Setup, but the IntelliCenter would search and search for networks but never find any. Simultaneously, we had an IP address and the IntelliCenter was clearly connected to the internet already. So it appeared to need a connection to the local network in order to complete the account setup, but since the new link essentially bypasses the local network, we could not create the account. Catch-22.

Anyway, we ended up bringing our router outside and connected an ethernet cable directly from the router to the IntelliCenter board itself, skipping both the antenna and the receiver. This allowed us to create a new account online. After that, we were able to log in via our mobile devices. After that, we returned the router back inside, reconnected the receiver and the antenna, confirmed that once again the IntelliCenter had an IP address, and everything worked great.

Moral of the story: If you have an existing account to log into, you'll probably be fine. But if you have to create a new one, you may need to hard-wire it in order to get that account set up.

I hope this helps someone!

####