pb4uswim said:

That’s basically what I’m going to do as well. Once there’s no chance of freezing and the ice is melted (I peeked last weekend and it’s about 3 inches thick), I’ll get the water pumping and hit it with some chlorine but keep the cover on until May.

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I am realizing that I am the opposite lol. But I’ve always been an early opener. If our cover wasn’t about to get blown all the way to Canada this weekend (it is in BAD shape….rough winter + pool pillow deflating), I’d keep the cover on until opening day, which is whenever the freezing temps are pretty much over (any time between mid-March and April). After finally pumping almost all the water off the cover yesterday, I said IT IS COMING OFF after seeing all the rain coming plus over 45 mph winds. I don’t know what the FC is but I messed up at closing and added double what I was supposed to lol so I think it is safe until next weekend.

Homebrewale said:

We have 5 seasons here - spring, summer, fall, winter and then pollen season. Pine pollen season will be starting soon. It's bad here. You could wash your car and then come back 5 minutes later and it won't look like you washed it. The cover stays on until the pine pollen subsides. Otherwise I would need to backflush daily. Then the maple trees drop their twirly helicopter seeds and the sweetgums drop their pollen heads. The cover stays on to try to keep the pool clean.

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Pollen season is BRUTAL!!!! I don’t know if you use skimmer socks or not, but they are a lifesaver! Yes, a lot of it will still get through the socks and the filter, but I am always amazed when I go outside daily to change the skimmer sock. It collects a huge amount of pollen and other junk that would otherwise make its way into the filter. I have a cartridge filter, though. My first filtration system was sand. Kept my pool beautiful but it wasn’t as good with pollen. Your answer totally makes sense!

The black one is your heater drain plug, providing you have a heater.

Newdude said:

I work outside so no matter the time of year, my body parts you can see have some pigment. My legs are glow in the dark right now having not switched back to shorts yet, but they're covered and nobody knows.

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UNTIL NOW!!!!! Your secret is out!

thefloatqueen said:

IF DONE RIGHT. @Newdude can keep his spray tan schedule and I’ll get my tan by floating in the poo

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I work outside so no matter the time of year, my body parts you can see have some pigment. My legs are glow in the dark right now having not switched back to shorts yet, but they're covered and nobody knows.

Oh, and y'all can peep my Golden Retriever, Teddy (he’s been bad lately….little escape artist! ) and my 5 lb Pomeranian, Craig, in the background of the first pic! I call them my “Blonde Squad”.

Mdragger88 said:

Cuz every body knows fat looks better tan
That was literally the line of a local tanning salon commercial here

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This I will admit!! A tan makes most people look thinner and more flattering — IF DONE RIGHT. @Newdude can keep his spray tan schedule and I’ll get my tan by floating in the pool, minding my business.

Temperature = 84 + (65-84)e^(-0.0441Time).

X = Time in Hours.
Y = Temperature.

Y = 84 + (65-84)e^(-0.0441X).

X = -22.6757 ln((Y - 84)/-19)

You can use this formula to calculate the time to reach a temperature or the temperature at a specific time.

For example, to get to 82 degrees will take about 51 hours.

To get to 83.5224 degrees, it will take 83.5224 hours.

To get to 83.9885 degrees will take 1 week (168 hours).

thefloatqueen said:

so the pool is NOT officially “open”

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Oh, I most certainly disagree. It's officially open.

But not running.

thefloatqueen said:

Opening was better than I thought it would be

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I'd take like the above pics any year.

Gotta love TFP !! You're pulling the cover after months off and looking better than the other people do on their good days.

SteveOL said:

Spray tans are a complete mystery to me. Why are they even a thing?

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Because in my teenage dirtbag years (middle and high school), tanning beds were all the rage. Obviously, strong UV rays are bad for you (shocking, right), so many people do spray tans instead. I’m half Greek and have a natural base tan, so I just stay a lil “pasty” in the winter and get tan by floating and swimming in the pool (with SPF!!) in the summer. I had a spray tan ONCE, and looked like RFK Jr.

It was TERRIBLE and there was nothing I could do to get it off without it looking splotchy. I’ll skip the spray tanning and self tanner and stick to the sun (with spf….especially face) and a lil Botox here n there to keep me still looking like a 25 yr old float queen — 12 years later.

chanvsmith said:

I will probably do the full drain along with a filter clean to give me the best possible start on my first summer with this pool

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I would want a fresh start. I've seen too many stories here about inheriting the last guys chemical stew. I myself inherited a high 300s CYA and the top of the sand in the filter was no longer sand, it was rubber mulch.

chanvsmith said:

Likely to need all the help I can get.

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We got you. Ask anytime.

I would rather you over ask than under ask. If you do anything you are the least bit unsure of, we may have multiple things to fix.

Rest assured, we still got you and we'll help fix that too, but it's far better for all parties to have only one task at hand.

S,

Not sure why there are three of them, but I would suspect they go into the lower side of the pump basket area.. (From the outside..)

Thanks,

Jim R.

CF,

Show us several pics of your equipment pad and maybe we can spot something..

Thanks,

Jim R.

**** MY OFFICIAL 2025 COVER REMOVAL AND REVEAL!! ****

Okay, so the pool is NOT officially “open” yet, but we removed the solid cover yesterday because it’s pretty beat up and we will be getting 45-50 mph winds today and tomorrow, so I’d rather just take it off than it inevitably blow off into my neighbors yard or something. BUT I did not scoop out a single thing (not much to scoop) until after taking these photos. Did not run the robot since it would be pointless with the weather we have coming our way. If you’re wondering why we don’t just go ahead and “open”, we have a couple things on their way for the equipment (cartridge refill and some new parts for the filter/pump). I also messed up and double dosed the FC at closing and the water is cold still. ANYWAYS…. Let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? The wind was blowing HARD, but I did the best I could.









I know they’re a lil disappointing due to the overcast and the wind. Opening was better than I thought it would be after the beating the cover took all winter. Lots of dirt speckled all over the floor that isn’t visible, but there were about 100 worms less than last season. Now time for some free water from all this rain before setting the equipment up next week and getting it rolling!

Also, new found appreciation for pool pillows! Ours didn’t make it so I had to pump water without one unlike all of my other pool owner winters. I got as much as I could and my husband and I removed the cover together and were able to keep MOST of the brown, dirty water that was leftover on the cover out of the water. Some still made its way in there. Even after that, it is still crystal clear. I wanna see it in the sunlight!!! I’ll take pics when the sun comes out early next week lol!


NEW! Yesterday, I was bored and decided to test the water before the big storms. These were my results after swirling and brushing the water around real good before collecting my pool water sample. Water was so cold! Only tested FC, CC, and TA. I do not know how accurate these numbers are.

Welcome to TFP.

Why was an obsolete EasyTouch system installed in a new pool instead of a modern IntelliCenter?

The IntelliCenter network connectivity was greatly improved.

Pentair announced the following in April 2023:

Pentair is discontinuing the IntelliTouch, EasyTouch, and EasyTouch PL4/PSL4 Pool Control Systems. These products will no longer be available to order starting:

• July 31, 2023 for all IntelliTouch Systems
• September 29, 2023 for all EasyTouch Systems

We recognize these products have been in high demand for many years. However, given advancements in Pentair innovation and evolving industry demands, we are transitioning focus to the latest technology standards included with the IntelliCenter Pool Control System.

Pentair FAQ:

What control system should I order? The recently updated IntelliCenter and IntelliCenter Lite Control Systems are the flagship automation products at Pentair, with both systems offering best-in-class technology and the most versatile control for most pool types.

Will warranties still be honored for my customers’ existing control system? Warranty and replacement parts will be honored as available per our standard warranty policy. For more information, please review the EasyTouch and IntelliTouch FAQs.

Will obsolete products continue to be supported? Products moved to obsolete status will continue to be supported under warranty. Pentair will replace legacy systems under warranty with comparable equipment while parts are available. If replacement parts are unavailable for existing systems under warranty, the IntelliCenter Upgrade Kit for EasyTouch, EasyTouch PL4/PSL4, and IntelliTouch systems may be required.