Have a safe and wonderful day. Don't forget to watch those favorite T-Day movies.

I had some foam cut to fit all my testing supplies. Overkill? Yes. Convenient? Yes. Necessary? No.

Just wanted to let everyone know that if they’re considering the better test kits, to go for it.
I was buying some chemicals today and I thought I would have the pool store test my water. They tested my chlorine at 5 PPM. I said could you test it again. Then it was 7.5 PPM. My test kit (TF pro salt) read 20 PPM. I just replaced my IC40 so I know I have to adjust it.

I’ve had my Quattro for a year and a half and just wanted to provide some feedback for those looking. The Quattro does a good job cleaning the pool and not having to deal with the bag used on the three wheel cleaners is nice. It also has a double integrated basket. One for big stuff and one for sand and silt.
A couple watch outs. The first 18 months it has not been nearly as reliable as my Polaris 3900 Sport was.
The feed hose connectors are a weak point and I’m on my third. I’m very careful when removing the unit but this joint will eventually stress and break. You may get lucky with the feed hose connector but this is now a known issue at the pool shops.
I’m also on my second gear box and now the front roller gears are stripped out.
My pool store said they had heard Polaris was aware of some of the week points and may try to strengthen them.
I am still under warranty and will take the unit back to have the roller gears replaced.
Just wanted to share.

Hi Everyone!

I made the call to cancel my pool service and am going all in on taking care of it myself. I went ahead and got some supplies (liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, borax, baking soda, CYA, calcium harness increaser), TF Pro test kit, and the pool math app.

I tested my pool water today and got:

FC: 18
CYA: 80
PH: 7.8
TA: 80
CH: 250

The last treatment from the pool company was this past Monday and they told me they chlorinate to 7 and also use pucks, but we did have overcast weather most of this week.

I think I’m in a decent spot and don’t plan to make any change to chemical, just monitor for another week. I’m going to let the sun burn the FC levels and just keep watching.

Anyone have any thoughts? What level should I keep my FC levels?

Thanks for the help!

A lot of us who are actually in the pool industry saw this coming, but man, this new Bloomberg report certainly doesn't pull any punches.

"Industry experts expect construction of new pools in the US to drop as much as 30% from last year, and remodels to fall 25%. A similar drop is expected in Europe. Inflation and record-high interest rates are largely to blame."

• Industry sees new pool builds dropping as much as 30% in US
• Higher financing costs double monthly payments in some cases

Wonder how all this will shake out for Joe & Jill Pool Buyer out there. Prices typically go down in a down market but financing is becoming increasingly tougher to come by.

Only $101 for the LG APCP-1700 today, in case anybody needs one. (Was $131 yesterday.)

I’m so conflicted as to what I should go with. Of course cost savings over time is mainly what I’m considering. I know gas heaters heat up MUCH quicker than heat pumps but I believe it will drive up my gas usage majorly during the summer. To be honest my bill during summer months is around $40-45 bucks a month. So I’m just worried how a gas heater will effect that. Hoping some people with gas heaters can share their bills after heater

Now for the electric heat pump I do have solar on my house, (13.75 KW system) but I know it takes much longer to heat the pool up with a heat pump, and my pool Guy was saying they aren’t authorized to fix, or replace anything inside a heat pump because of refrigerant as well so that was also something I was thinking about.

Was hoping a few can chime in and give opinions and thoughts on this. Also consider reliability on both systems

Thanks again!!

Just wanted to give anyone some reference if they are looking for reef by Latham. I am So happy with this choice, i absolutely love it so much i feel Like I’m in Turks and Caicos. Everything is still under construction but here is my pool during the day and at night with led lights!

I am working on redoing a 8' Cedar Picket fence at a rent house.. I needed to make one metal post longer..

They sell an extension kit that is about 3' long but I only needed about a 16", so the pipe had to be cut.

I used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. Cutting the pipe makes a nice 4th of July effect...

I did not realize where the sparks were going until it burned right through my glove. Took about 1/2 a second..

The good news is I got the pipe cut and it did not really do any serious damage to my hand.

Still makes me say Duh!!!!

My normal go to saying is... "If I'm not bleeding, I'm not working."




Thanks,

Jim R.

Indoor High use pools tend to be difficult to manage.

What is the best way to manage an indoor high use pool?

What is Carbon dioxide consumption reduction chemical balance?

Does it hurt to leave the power on to a SWG in winter even though it may not be producing all the time due to cold water. Set it around 20% or so.

Please PM me if you are interested in helping with a review of a new Spa robot cleaner.

Thanks,

Jim R.

At least one SWCG manufacturer is including an instruction on their saltwater chlorinator cells: "ACID CLEAN EVERY 3 MONTHS"

Doing so will significantly reduce the life of your saltwater chlorinator cell. For pool water that is kept well-balanced using TFPC, acid cleaning is seldom necessary.

Look inside to see if there's any scale. It will appear as a light beige to nearly white accumulation between the plates. You may be able to spray it out or gently pick it out with a soft wood or plastic tool. Do not scrape with a metal tool of any kind. Some SWCG cells have clear bodies for the purpose of seeing scale early in its development.

If you're accumulating scale in your cell, revisit your water chemistry approach and consider keeping the calcite saturation index (CSI) slightly below zero to prevent scale. Where you can see minor amounts of scale in your saltwater chlorinator cell, this will be dissolved very, very slowly in slightly negative CSI water (e.g. across a few months swimming season).

If money is no object, have at it, and do it safely.

My Polaris 380 was working great (rpms/pressure/backup valve/etc) except that each morning the wheels would get stuck (not move). I could pull it out the water, give it a turn and it would get going. Every article on wheels that wouldn’t turn had me making sure the wheels all turn together to check for a broken belt. They all turned together so I never opened it up! This morning I couldn’t nudge them. They were frozen. Took it apart and found that the belts were frayed with loose threads that were getting caught up in the pulleys. Old belts that were not 100% plastic (some sort of fabric backing).

Followed this YouTube video and replaced the belts and the 380 wheels are spinning.
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Variation on the video: I could not get the wheel carriage off of the Polaris base (could not shimmy up and off the leaf bag “tube”). I just completed the rest of the steps anyway. Went just fine and there were fewer steps to put it back together.

Closed the pool for the winter and now it's time to hit some trails. I built this last year, then got into the pool build and these are the are about the only rocks I've climbed so far.... We haven't really even been anywhere with it yet, where's your favorite offroad place to go?

1. On the first of each month, a contest "theme" will be announced (i.e. water clarity, family fun, decking, custom features, lighting, scenery, etc)
2. Members have 10 days to UPLOAD ONE image for consideration; Photo must be related to the thread titled theme for that month.
3. Per general TFP rules, nothing profane, political, or insulting.
4. The first 10 days is the submission period. Posts are limited to ONE image ONLY. No discussion posts yet. This will make viewing much easier for all.
5. Days 11 - 15 the thread will be locked and is for voting only. No more uploads. Viewers now have a final opportunity to vote (or modify their selection) for their favorite upload.
6. Members are encouraged to use an emotion icon ("Like" or "Love") to vote for their favorite upload; it will be tough, but select only one favorite.
7. On day 16, emotion Likes/Loves will be tallied for a winner. In the event of a tie, we will create a poll on the thread to make a final selection.
8. Once a winner is announced, the thread will be unlocked and comments/discussions are welcomed. Winner and nominees can tell us all about their pool/photo/event.
9. A member can only be selected as winner once per calendar year.
10. Winner will receive a $50 gift certificate from tstestkits.net! Oh, and maybe some bragging rights.

Let's see those lighting effects in/around your pool. Have fun and good luck to those who apply!

I received word that the EVO cleaners now have the ability to run from a weekly scheduler in the app.

This was one of the main things that I did not like about the EVO.

I updated my app and it seems to work fine.. Not sure yet if it is all EVOs or just the 614 iQ????

Thanks,

Jim R.

This has sorta been discussed before…
Is there a way to make certain articles show up at the top of the results when the internal search is used for common terms? & maybe lock them in place?
For instance, when searching “closing above ground pool” the article doesn’t show up until the bottom of page 4. “Winterize above ground pool” is even worse- it never appears.
Many of us avid users are able to still find & identify the articles we are looking for but I imagine that’s not the case for newer visitors who come looking for info. This is a recently recurrent problem with many commonly referenced/needed articles that wasn’t like that for years before. I know it’s not something that is completely controllable but hopefully there’s some solution for the more common articles.

Ironically when on google & those terms are searched with tfp behind them the articles pop right up.

I received this from Leslie's technical support. These are terrible and explain the wildly erratic results from AccuBlue Home and their in-store tests.

Enjoy!

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A SWG will require a little space on a wall or post, electrical supply and approximately 12" of pipe run after the heater. It needs to be the last thing before water returns to the pool. Like Lee said, test drive the chlorine first and see if you like it before investing in an SWG. You can add salt for the feel without having an SWG and it won't mess anything up, chemistry wise.

I am so grateful for this site and all the information provided. You have saved me from turning the pool into a basketball court. I have used baquacil for almost 10 years (no CDX). For the first 5 years everything was great, but over the last few years it’s been increasingly difficult to maintain. Last year was the worst with white mold. I decided at the end of last summer that I would switch to chlorine and therefore I did not put any baquacil in the pool when I closed.

Fast forward to now. Following your instructions and using the Pool Math app, I got the pH to 7.2 by adding 10oz of soda ash. Moving forward I think I’ll use Borax instead. I have been testing and adding liquid chlorine 12.5% hourly to maintain the FC at 15. Once I hit midway I have only been doing it in the morning and evening. My pool is in direct sunlight all day. There was a few days of color change, some baqua goo that settled on the floor but by day 4 the pool was crystal clear. I have been vacuuming daily (sometimes twice daily) and brushing the walls daily. I did have to backwash the filter on day 2 and added more DE because it was so clogged up.

This morning my FC was 12.5. I think I’m getting close. It is still crystal clear. I don’t see any goo deposits on the floor. My plan today is to get the ladders and stairs in. I usually power wash them with just water, but should I use diluted chlorine instead? I don’t want to introduce anything into the water that might cause a setback.

Also, I have only been testing the FC and nothing else (other than the pH) at this point. Am I correct in just running that test for now until I pass the OCLT? Thank you all for your expertise! I never would have felt confident in doing this conversion if not for this site- Danielle.

You will need to use more than just the standard Oxidizer and Sanitizer / Algistat. I've added both a product called Ahhsome (once a month) and also Aqua Finesse tablets. Frequent addition of Oxidizer is needed also.

If you have decided to convert to chlorine, there is a great article in Pool School on Converting Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine.

Okay, I'm having a very difficult time believing that pouring bleach into a vinyl lined pool will not fade the liner. I've read that many of you are using this BBB system and I mentioned it to many veteran pool owners I know, and ALL of them said I "would fade my liner....chlorine is for Pools and bleach is for laundry". I mentioned that chlorine bleach is for laundry and there is no difference. It is mainly a "Scam" by Pool Supply houses to make more money.

Bottom line; Is chlorine and bleach identical? I believe the answer is yes. (See link http://science.howstuffworks.com/question189.htm ) But what about fading the vinyl liner? I have seen and been in many vinyl lined pools that have faded liners. Is this due to liquid chlorine (aka bleach)? Why wouldn't the pucks or sticks be a safer bet?

Sorry but this June will be the grand opening of my new & first pool. Doing all this research is making me dizzy. Everyone has an opinion and it almost always contradicts the last one! As the great Charlie Brown once said Arrghh! :x

My skimmer is 10+ years old and the plastic is getting brittle, so I have to be extra careful when trying to remove it, but knowing where those tabs are might help someone else from breaking their faceplate by pulling from the wrong area.

Whenever I have to remove the faceplate from the skimmer, it takes me forever because I forget exactly where it's attached to the skimmer opening. This time I decided to show a couple pics of my skimmer as a reference. I believe my skimmer is a Waterway, but others may be similar. There are two tabs that face inward at the top and bottom of the skimmer faceplate. Those tabs slip into small rectangular grooves at the top and bottom (underneath) of the skimmer frame opening.

Look closely and you should see four tiny tabs facing inward, two from the top and two from the bottom of the faceplate.


The corresponding holes for the tabs, partially covered by the new silicone I just applied, are highlighted by the square areas shown. That is where the top tabs go. The bottom holes are directly underneath.

We had our pool installed in August of this year. One of the skimmers pulls harder than the other and looking at the plumbing it doesn’t look like I can have both of them fully open at the same time, is this normal?

I recently was away from home for 11 days (visiting my daughter then a 7 day bike trip down the california coastline). This was the longest I have been away from home since having our pool built so there was some trepidation about coming home to a swamp. With everything I've learned from here I bumped the swg up a bit (35%) and got it running @Newdude hot in the low teens. Came home to a perfectly clear pool (even with the fact that my wife had invited friends with "peepee kids" to partake in pool fun in my absence)
So a big thanks to all who contribute here!