jfmorris said:

I've started my pump plenty of times with the valve only open to main drain. My old pump was a Sta-rite with that big split housing for the impeller, and the new(er) one is a Hayward VS. If you look at it from a plumbing perspective, the water level in the skimmer pipe AND the main drain pipe will be at the same level when the pump is off. I say this as I am currently reworking my pool pluming, and BOTH lines that I have dug up and cut have water up to the same level - underground, but level with the water in the pool itself.

I would love to know why it makes a difference if pulling from the drain line versus the skimmer line at pump startup? The head to get the pump primed should be the same in both cases, in my engineering mind...

I need to consider ways to keep the pool filled when we are out of town, but its not usually been an issue before, as I've never been gone more than a week during summer, and if its anything like the past few summers, I won't lose much water with the solar cover on...

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With the pump off, the main drain line and the skimmer line are equal.
The difference in pulling from the bottom of a pool vs. from the top is the difference. Your pump is having to lift water from the depth of the pool (6-8'?), not off the surface where it can fall into the bottom of the skimmer. It takes more work.
Some pumps, because the filter is dirty, because the pump basket is dirty (there's no basket on a main drain), because the impeller gets clogged from pulling water off the more-open main drain, won't lift the water that far at all times.
Then the pump runs dry, then the seal and possibly the impeller and sealplate gets damaged, then the bearings get damaged, then you try to get the bearings replaced or end up getting a new motor or even a new pump.
Having to had to do all those repairs for many, many customers because their pump was unattended and ran dry, tells me that trying to use the main drain exclusively for a few weeks may not be the best. Had one customer that did that almost every year until I talked her into an auto-fill.
Why not overfill the pool to begin with and then keep using the skimmer as the pump's water source?
Or, get one of these for use when you won't be there and remove it when you get back:

Newdude said:

Cannot be unseen. THANKS ALOT.

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What? What did my rubber ducky ever do to you?

From the schematic, if you want to follow up on the possibility of the rectifiers being shorted:

• Unplug the cell
• Unplug the 2 yellow transformer wires from lugs on the board.
• Replace the fuse (again).
• Measure resistance (ohms) between the two lugs on the board that the yellow wires were plugged into.
• Swap the meter leads and measure again.

Very high or "infinite" resistance in both readings means the rectifiers aren't shorted and probably good. If you get something low - maybe 1.2 ohms or less would blow the fuse - either way, then the rectifiers are bad, shorted. For an electronic tech of any skill, replacing them is an easy job. The parts are probably $10 at most and labor less than an hour.

You can next short the cell wires with a jumper (power still off) and measure again. This time you should get continuity (low readings) in both directions if the rectifiers are not failed open.

If you do get very high resistance at the lug s on the first test, then there's a short almost certainly toward the cell. Either the wiring or the cell itself. You can follow up on that with the meter in resistance/continuity mode, just as you would for car wiring. The cell when passing water should also have a resistance well above the 1.2 ohms that would blow the fuse.

1poolman1 said:

Those motors were made by Century (Regal Beloit) for Jandy to their specifications. They are no longer made, as is Jandy's custom.

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Argh, but thank you! Jandy / Hawyard is a PIA. I struggle with their outrageous light pricing for junk lights and now this "one of a kind" pump motor.

proavia said:

In the pic with the plug and brass fitting.... post a pic from a little further away.
It looks like that is an in-deck leaf canister. If so, have a look at this link and the doc downloads available there:

https://www.jandy.com/en/products/in-floor/cleaning-valves/leaf-b-gone

All 5 plugs need to be removed from the water valve base and also the one in the white connector pipe. Check to see if there is a filter screen in the top of the water valve where the black and white pieces connect and if there, be sure it's clean.

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Hey thanks for taking a look, it is an in-deck leaf canister, and I did find that doc and it helped a lot, though my system is slightly different. I removed the plugs you mentioned and got the system running. The plug with the brass fitting will not budge however, and the space is very small. So nothing is being sucked into the main drain. Their documentation doesn't have much detail on the plugs.

Mdragger88 said:

Ditto on everything phonedave said You will also need a timer for the swcg & pump so you can ensure the swcg doesn’t run when the pump is off.
I use a simple torx 120v plug in timer and plug both swcg & pump into it.
There are other more expensive hardwired options available if you like.
Intermatic timers are popular.
You want the pump & swcg to be on the same circuit so that if the breaker or gfci trips they both shut off.

Here’s some helpful links as you go about your journey:

How to level above ground pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Just Filled Your Pool with Water? Here's What To Do Next - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Sand Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Electrical Bonding - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Let us know more about your project - also we love pictures !

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Thank you so much for sharing this great info! Yes, I've learned about needing a timer to make sure the swg isn't running if the pump is off.

phonedave said:

Read and understand how to prep the ground for a pool. This is extremely important. You are going to need a new liner for your new-to-you pool. Liners do not do well once they have been in water and then are removed from water (they no longer stretch, they rip).

Is this a round or an oval pool. If it is oval, look up the instructions on line and make sure you install it correctly using whatever buttresses, ties, or whatever method they use to keep it from blowing apart.

You will need electric - and electric (and bonding) that is properly installed to run your pool. How will you be doing that.

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Thank you so much. Yes, we will definitely purchase a new liner for our oval pool and we took it apart ourselves and also have instructions for how to put it back together. My husband has done all of the electric work on our property so he'll be doing it for us!

HermanTX said:

Welcome to TFP.
Please read
Pool Care Basics

The RJ 30 plus will be fine for your pool.
Once you get set up, show some pictures.

Maybe @Mdragger88 has more to add.

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Thank you! I'll definitely share pics once we get it up and build our deck

PoolStored said:

Trick is new batteries...and they must be alkaline.
I don't know how many times members said, "I put in new batteries" when they were not new...or not alkaline. Happens all the time.

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I just put in brand new batteries and no dice. I did find an old email from 2 years ago when I had this issue and they said to leave batteries out overnight and then try new batteries next day. Maybe that’s all I did back then. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow if it magically starts working!

Same bloom or new bloom ? Either way, your way doesnt seem to be working for you.

michaelwoosley said:

Good morning everyone. We're getting ready to open our pool. We want to introduce DE into our routine this year, especially after last years terrible loss of time in the pool due to poor water balances. I'm looking for both; some literature on the topic and friendly advice from the community on how to approach my opening and ongoing maintenance. From the little I've read so far, introducing DE into our program will be a great step towards making our water that much better!

Thank you.

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How old is your sand filter? It is not unusual after about 5 years to need to add a bag of sand to make up for what is lost during backwash. That alone can solve clarity issues if the chems are good. You can use DE regularly, but it will make a mess on backwash.

Great idea, nothing there in PM today. I'll put it in my notes.

Don't forget to update your signature now that the pool is in.

I think you are on the right track. But what have you got to lose? Replace the U13.

The U13 chip will cut off the 5-volt supply to the TP14 post whenever the voltage reading at TP13 drops below the min threshold level of 4 volts. Make sure you have a constant 5vdc supply at TP13 for as long as AC power is applied to the mainboard.

Another way to test for a bad U13 is to completely remove it from the board. The mainboard and the disp bd should power up normally without the U13 chip in place. But there's a high risk of losing the EEPROM data when the bd enters the shutdown mode like turning off the AC power. Not recommended, unless you are capable of reflashing the EEPROM.

dxn1261 said:

hello im new here and this is my first post! I have a 8300 gallon pebbletec type pool with a Hayward turbo cell (t-cell-5) and in floor pop up cleaners. my question is what should my pool pump settings be on?

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Which pump do you have? A VSP?
Virtually all pools are "custom" pools so the settings for your pool also have to be considered "custom."
With in-floor cleaning you will need to find a speed that allows them to work for as long as it takes to clean, then run a long, slow, filtration cycle that can give enough flow to the SWG to keep it on. You find a speed that does that, add another 100-200 RPM to allow for a dirty filter, and you should be good. The cleaning speed will also allow the pool to skim, so it is good.

Thank you! I just printed it and will use it. First suggestion, if there was a web-based version attached to pool math, I can definitely see that being handy as well. Maybe there already is on the paid version?

Mdragger88 said:

Just keep track of the amount of cya you have used and consider it to be there. Chlorinate accordingly.

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Yup! I already have a notebook for tracking, will be sure to share once and a while! I'm not going to bother checking that again till next week tbh, the water was 68 last night and i'm sure the overcast and 58 degree ambient temp today won't make that any better. I did however already buy a bottle of cya regeant lol

My in ground seems to average a bit more than 12 years. No idea what it might be for an above ground.

Cal Hypo in the amount to treat for mustard will drive both your CH and Salt higher, and be a LOT more expensive.

Your cell can go up to 4500 for salt, so you can tolerate up to 140 gallons of liquid.

What makes you think you have mustard algae, rather than regular? Did a SLAM fail, even though you guarantee you passed all three criteria? Or perhaps did the SLAM not quite get fully complete due to impatience?