I have a spotted lantern fly problem and they are causing a mold to cover the cement patio next to my pool. I noticed my 30 second outdoor cleaner is 5% hypochlorite. Could I dilute my 12% pool bleach and use it on the painted cement patio like I have with done the cleaner? The rest of the ingredients on the cleaner reads 1.2% proprietary ingredient and 93.8 inert ingredient, (soap and water I suppose). Would I add 1 part water to 1 part bleach to achieve a 6% solution, or should I dilute it to 95% water and then 5% bleach? Thanks.

I'm following this with interest after trying and returning a robot. Coming from a Kreeply Classic K70405.

First try, a $100 Vingli from Amazon, isn't terrible but is missing spots and getting stuck at stairs.

@nuke_twidget What did you wind up doing?

@Dirk On the Rebel v2, did you get the hose kit or just the head? What about the short hose connector and float thing? Wondering if I need to replace my aftermarket hose if I get a Rebel.

Interesting discussion of leaf traps. I never used that with the Kreepy Classic--my hose goes directly through the Pentair Vac Plate (K12068) so all large debris lands in the skimmer. I only have one skimmer and I believe the one drain at the bottom of the deep end is actually plugged (at the skimmer), so the pump's full suction is through the skimmer. Any reason to change that setup?

How good is the Rebel v2 on walls? Will it knock off any algae starting to form? To me that's half the point of any cleaner--to not have to brush. The other half is picking up debris.

Moved from here.

Hi all, this summer was going too smoothly I guess something had to go wrong.

got home from the store today and saw the pool wasn’t running.

Checked it and electrical was fine but no sound.

Pump basket was full of Crud from rain last night and it was very hot. So I’m assuming it overheated.

I put a bag of ice on it. Cleaned the basket out. Opened up the back and then the power kicked on and it was humming. Spun the impeller and it moves freely. Closed it up again and it turned on so I shut it. Put the screws back in and the. Turned it on again and it only hummed?

Let it cool a bit more did same process. Turned it on again and only hums then smoke started coming out. So I shut it.

I’m gonna let it cool for a while. But now afraid to turn it on.

I bought it last year so it’s not even one full season. Should I check warranty? Not sure if it’s toast or not .

I'm meeting a builder to start finalizing plans next Wednesday and curious of things I hadn't considered, and should put into our discussions of design/pricing? I've told them my high level wants, walked the property, but I want to make sure I walk into the conversation with a pretty flushed out idea. Also would love some design ideas - We decided to do benches instead of stools since he told me ~1500 for bench, 4500+ per stool - Here is the rough idea I am thinking size wise.

Some common questions we've already discussed:

• Do we need an exit/entrance on 'deep side'?
  • I plan to have an embedded cover in that side so I assume no ladder
• How many steps from tanning ledge into pool?
• Should hottub be even with the steps?
  • He was explaining to me about the pump having a 'pool' and 'spa' mode and how spa mode would isolate the spa from the pool water; how does this work? It surely can't level the water that much without wasting?
• How many lights?
• Can benches have lights (without it being a PITA)
• How many jets/returns should I have?
• Is 6.5' deep enough?
  • I originally said 8 but that was an arbritrary number - I don't want a diving board. Pros/cons?
• I would like a water feature - maybe a wall on the deep end; is this a problem with the embedded cover (I dunno if it's called something else)
  • Will ALL water features attract bees/bugs or just ones with standing water (Rocks/etc) ? Those who followed my drama know I frequently have a bee infestation.

Also attaching the sitting/cooking area just in case any of you 'paradise havers' wanna chime in

My IC40 is leaking at one of the unions, right at the "seam" where the two plastic halves of the nut come together. It looks like it was manufactured that way. Water is bubbling up at the seam and dripping onto the equipment pad. I can pinch the 2 sides of the nut together and the leak completely stops.

Is there an easy way to fix this, ideally without cutting the PVC? Would some sort of plastic weld/superglue be enough to stop it from leaking?

Recently converted to a SWG pool. Had a Jandy TruClear salt cell installed so that it could communicate with my Jandy automation.
No problem until I turned on the Spa and it began leaking around the lid. Removed lid, took off the O-ring, inspected and re-lubed. Put it back together and no leaking. No theory on why it leaked, but the removing-lubing of O-ring was an easy fix.
Anyone else experience this situation? Is the Jandy Truclear salt cell an okay system, or did I error because of my Jandy automation?
Also, can I continue to use the granular shock I have been using prior to conversion, or is there a recommended granular shock to use?
Have been off the site for awhile, but with the new SWG system, I knew this was the place to go to get re-educated. Much appreciated.

First, thanks to everyone here for always being so quick and helpful with responses! I just moved into a new home and am working on bringing a neglected pool back to life.

I just learned that there is a pool return that goes to the spa that is separate from the spa returns. So it appears that short of capping that return, there is no way to not have the spa spillover into to the pool.

Why would it have been plumbed this way? Is that common? Is there any concern with capping or plugging that return so when I turn off the spa return, all the return water goes only to the pool?

Thanks!

I accidentally got the salt level to 3500 - 3600. It is for a t-15 Hayward. Can I leave it there or must I lower the water level to get it below 3400?

And early today I added a 40 lb bag of salt. When adding small amounts like that it is recommended to turn off SWG for the next 24 hours? That 40 lbs is what put me over - I had read 3000 and 40 lb should have only raised the level to about 3300.

8,000 gallon above ground pool with dome
Baquacil
Sand filter
Just inherited maintenance from my mom (74)
Pool unchanged since ~1983, same liner, walls, everything original except pump and filter, and dome.
New England location

I’ve got a brand new pool, but am on my third builder now and am piecing stuff together. When the electrician wired my pump, it works and turns on but doesn’t work through the automation. It appears as though I need to move the wiring from the filter spot to the J4/J5, issue is I don’t seem to have a green/yellow wire anywhere. Is that something separate or something I need to buy? Assume it was probably in the box and got thrown away.

Just trying to make everything work, guy who finished the pool is a legit worker, but old school so all the automation stuff makes him scratch his head and his son who was supposed to set it up has been slow at best.

Hi all, I have run into an interesting problem with Pentair Easytouch. I have set up two schedules for the VS 3.0 Pump. One is called "Pool" and the other is called "High Speed". High Speed is a feature. I am trying to run the pool at 1500 rpm for 6 hours (Pool rpm) and 3 hours at 2700 rpm (high speed). What I see happening is that in the "pool" schedule, the pump relay kicks on, SWG gets power and it runs. In the high speed schedule, for whatever reason, the "pool pump" relay is not activated and SWG does not get power and does not run - but the pump is running at high speed. Is this a wiring issue or expected behavior? I was hoping that ad t "high speed", the pump relay is activated and SWG can run during both schedules.

Hi, I am a brand new pool owner and this is a brand new pool. Pool is about 45 days new and we put salt in about 2 weeks ago. I don't know if the SWG has ever worked correctly but now my chlorine drop test readings are less than 1.0 ppm.

Also, I am unable to monitor or track the salinity in the mobile app, not sure why. everything else seems to be usable in the app.

Where do I start for troubleshooting? I can call my pool builder but I'm doubtful I'll get a reply anytime soon.

thx

Hi everyone, wanted to get some thoughts from people who have heaters for the pool.

Did some searching on the forum and from what I've read Raypak is getting the most reccomendations from most of you on here.

I went to their site and found the pool sizer calculation page to estimate what type of heater I would need.

http://roxwebdev01.pixelgate.net/gas_sizing/Raypak.php?appid=1

On that page given my input.

Heating the pool May through October to a temp of 82 degrees.

Milwaukee Wisconsin area

Solar Cover on 20hrs per day.

Its calculating that I would consume about $266 in electric costs. $461 in natural gas, and some un-godly amount using propane.

I was planning on Gas or Electric but never having a pool heater before thought I would ask for some advice before digging any further.

So I stopped using my Apera PH60 tester for pH readings because the readings were crappy compared to my Taylor kit reading. I realized today, it's user error. I had been following the Quick Start/Use laminated card that comes with the unit, but I also noticed that that laminated quick guide doesn't say ANYTHING about proper storage and well, I was not properly storing it . I found out that the probe should be stored damp/wet with the cover/cap fully closed to keep the tip from drying out. I was not doing that and my unit seemed to get less responsive over time, even calibrating it didn't help.

The good news was, I foiund that cleaning the probe in the 3M KCL Storage Solution for a couple of hours, and then recalibrating the probe (7.0, 4.0 and then 10.0) totally fixed all my issues. Not only does it read correctly now with both the Taylor and TF-PRO pH blocks (yes, I have to use both, cause I need to double-check things being color blind) but the PH60 also reads SUPER fast now.

I bought this on Amazon to get me a proper cleaning and calibration and couldn't be happier: Amazon.com

Now I know to store the probe tip with some moisture on it and in its protective cap/cover to keep the tip from drying out. Passing this along for others who might struggle with their Apera PH60 meter.

(I use mine because I'm color blind and color based pH reading tests have been a real struggle for me in the past, though I think I've managed to train my eye properly and have gotten way better).

HTH someone else.

New DPD powder from TFP store bought in Spring 23. Just opened it yesterday and used it and it turned my test sample murky. Same thing today.

The powder is white and fluffy like my others have been. Over 4 years, this has never happened.

Testing is in line but the cloudy thing is weird.

Any ideas?

Would homemade Solar rings be nearly as effective as a Solar blanket at night to retain heat? I’m struggling with the Solar blanket. I was told I must remove it daily or CO2 will build up and increase acidity causing damage to the pump etc.
Reels are too expensive and unreliable for above ground pools.
I was thinking of triangular shapes to minimize gaps.

I have been battling scaling in my SWG. I've been careful about keeping my CSI slightly negative, but still lots of calcium buildup. Granted my CH is getting really high and I'll need to drain soon, I still just don't understand why I'm getting so much scaling even though I believe my pool chemistry is where it needs to be according to pool math. How far in the negative do I need to be to ensure I don't get any scaling?

I have an old Hayward Starclear filter housing. I noticed recently the dome lid was cockeyed when I went to clean the filter. It wasn’t leaking but it definitely wasn’t flush on one side. I chided myself and cleaned the filter, put the lid on and tightened til it stopped. Dome flush. Kicked the pump back on and it did the same thing. Read some stuff. Replaced the knob. Screwed it down flush. Same dang thing. Took some vice grips to the tie rod and it’s in there very tight. I am remiss to try to tighten it further, but I can’t think of any other piece of the geometry here that lets the lid not be flush. All I can think is that over time I loosened that rod a bit here and there with a crusty old star knob grabbing it a little too hard. Any advice appreciated. It’s not leaking, and the gap on the high side is > 1/4”. But I can’t think this is desired behavior. Also, are the tie rod lower threads standard or reverse? Seems they should be standard but I’m so confused here anything is possible.

Thanks!
Chris

Hello,

I recently bought a house that has no drainage area at this section of the pool in the picture. The other side of pool has deck o drain but in this section of the deck there is no drain solution and it just puddles up there. Today it rained excessively and with no where water to go, all the dirt and debris went in to pool.

Does anyone have suggestions on improving drainage for this problem? The deepest area is where the deck column is.

The pool pump under the deck to left side marked with an red X and I believe a drainage pipe runs under the landscape trees marked in a blue line as I can see outlet of the pipe past the stucco wall.

When I roll up my solar cover some leaves stay stuck on the cover and get rolled up, but some debris and many leaves just dump into the pool at the last turn of the reel. I see that Poolmaster sells a leaf catch that is weighted down on the pool deck. You sweep or hose the leaves and pine needles onto that before you roll up the end of the solar cover. Has anyone tried that and does it work for you? Does anyone have a DIY prevention of this leaf dump?

May 22nd After a 4 week delay we should start excavation and install on our Summit 35. Leisure pools would not deliver. Quality control found a "defect" and would not deliver. I see very few posts on fiberglass level tolerances. Any one have any any thoughts on what I should look for as PB moves forward? Level, equipment install settling? Going with a cool deck layer on pool deck any one have any advice on keeping it clean? Concrete installer will not form and install for 28 days after backfill and mentionined settling. How soon can we swim after equipment is running?

Hi guys, thanks to your help, I setup an intex 14x48 ultra frame agp this year, on level ground too! :-D
I'm thinking it's about that time to take it down though, as temps at night are closer to 50 than 70. Anyone have any tips for the take-down or storage of the pool for the winter?
Thanks again everyone! I dont know where i'd be in the pool world without you guys

My local Ocean State Job Lot (great place in the NE to get really well priced pool chemicals)
has closing kits for about $20 for the 20k gallon kit. But what exactly is Winterizing Powder and Liquid Winterizer?
I've seen these kits around by a few different manufacturers. Anyone know which two chemical types are actually in this? Doesn't say on the box.

Back in May, my Hayward TCELL-15 stopped working. (At least 4 years since I last replaced it) I found that the replacement cells had jumped up to over $899 in price. (For reference, in 2013, I paid $429 for a new one)
I was on a cheap fit and decided to try a cheaper off-brand cell. (First mistake) I went with an interesting cell that was partially see through. The website said it has a 5 year warranty and it was only $369! Wow! (second mistake!)

Product arrived with no issues. Installed and we were running fine for 3 months. Last weekend, my Aquarite panel started showing a "Hot" error which is one I have never seen before. Turns out this seems to indicate the cell's on-board thermistor has gone bad. I used my multimeter and confirmed the resistance was only 2k ohms instead of the 8-10k ohms it should be. Naively thinking I am well within my 5 years, I contact the website via email. No replies. They have a live chat feature on the site, so I talk to the first person... and as soon as I mention I need a warranty replacement, the chat session is terminated on their end. (Not a good sign). I try again and get a different person (in name at least) and this time I simply ask about the warranty and what the process is. They point me to a dedicated web page on their site for warranty claims. It is a simple form. Put in my info, give them the order number, date of order, picture of the error, and copy of the latest pool report showing low chlorine level. I put all of that information in place and submitted. Seems to have gone through.

I am currently waiting for their feedback. I am not holding my breath. But in the meantime, I have purchased the OEM Hayward cell like I should have in the first place. PM me if you have any questions...

I also saw a Youtube video where you can cut into the cell's cable and simply cut the thermistor wires and connect a resistor that is set to 10K ohms to trick the panel into thinking the cell's thermistor is working... I know that is probably a bad idea since the panel does need to know the actual water temperature. I also saw another person who physically put a thermistor into a hole they cut in one of the PVC pipes and wired that to the control panel.

Here is my Aquarite panel diagnostics:
Temp: 154
Cell voltage: 32.7
Cell current: 0.00
Output% 8SP
Salinity 0
Product name: AL-3
Software rev: r1.59

Recently our 8050 has stopped running after about 1 minute. The cleaner is cleaned out; put into the pool and goes to the bottom as it should. I press the start/stop button to begin the cycle. It runs about a minute before turning off; the cleaner error indicator begins to flash once every second. Usually this means the cable isn't connected correctly, so I checked that. After so many attempts, I simply unplugged the entire unit from the wall and unplugged the cable over night. Today it turns on, but doesn't even run at all, it immediately shuts off and begins the one second flash.

Any suggestions as to what the issue might be?

Thank you.

Hi all,

Last year, I integrated my solar pool heater into my home automation system so I could see temperatures and pool heating state. See How I added a Hayward solar pool control to HA via ESPhome

Now, my next project is to add an actuator to the valve to my pool waterfall that I want to control through automation.

This is the valve I intend to buy: actuator and I've seen on youtube how to set it to turn 90°, so I'm one step forward.

I also understood from a bunch of internet searches that I will need a 2 channel relay to make the valve turn in either direction - something like this: 2 channel relay board

That's about as far as I got with this...

How would the 3 wires (from the valve) connect into this board?
I'll then also have to figure out the ESPHome configuration

Anybody have any hints / suggestions?

Thanks a ton in advance,
Bernard.

Good morning TFP. New here and looking for help diagnosing and removing buildup around my spa return feature. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, I have an 18 foot diameter above ground pool with a Raypak 156a heater which worked fine most of the summer but now when it ignites I can’t hear the fire like I used to. I can see a blue flame through the little window inside the heater but the flame looks weak and no heat can be felt on the outside of the heater. The heater thinks it is working fine, display says spark and then heating like normal. I’ve cleaned all filters, chemistry is good. Any thoughts on why it would do this? Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi! I’ve been lurking the threads for weeks now looking for the perfect tile for my spillway and this is my first time posting! We’re currently under construction and I need to submit my tile choices tomorrow and have been going back and forth for the spillway glass tile. My spa is going to be very large and the focal point, I’m doing the exterior with the Carrara grigio gray porcelain veneer and want to add an extremely iridescent pinky, purple, turquoise, unicorn like glass tile 1x2 for the spillway. I want to make sure the tile matches the waterline tile but can’t decide what would look best. I’m between aquabella sh1291, lightwaves (can’t decide between blue or aquamarine) Aquabella constellations Aquarius and aquabella crystal. I’ve heard @kimkats the bling queen so any advice for the tile choice and grout is welcome and very much appreciated! Thank you all

I bought a solar cover two years ago and it is already falling apart. I started seeing plastic in the pool a couple days ago. I looked at the site and the cover is warranted for 10 years however it seems to be basically worthless. The first two years they will replace it but after that, the warranty is a discount off a new cover and the discount isn't all that great. Plus, it appears I've voided the warranty because I did not cover the cover (to keep direct sunlight off it) but seriously - who does that? Anyway, my questions is whether or not I should just replace the cover with a cheaper one. If they're only going to last two years, I could save almost $100 by buying the cheaper one. I can't see me covering the cover when it's out of the pool. That's just not realistic.

Opinions on a solar cover would be appreciated. Thanks.