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Deep End Bench a goner? Big cracks

ajw22
oakridge said:
The water level is lowered below the first step and above the bench. The pool is also level and doesn't appear to be sinking on any given side. So it seems maintenance isn't the issue and if the crack has stopped expanding after 3 years, can I patch as suggested?

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You can try but I think you will have adherence issues with another layer of pebble plaster.

Those cracks do not look bad.

It will look worse if your patch begins delaminating.
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Another DE Filter Thread... Startup Clogging

C
Hi All,

After reading many posts on this forum I figured I should probably join and help contribute to the community through some of my own experiences. I bought my first home 5 years ago that included an IG 20x40 vinyl lined pool sporting the trusty Hayward EC65 DE filter coupled with a Hayward 1.5HP pump. Having not owned a pool prior and only watching family members in the past operate and maintain their own pools, there was much to learn. After getting over the learning curve of the DE filter, chemistry and winterization, I have to say that besides the maintenance, it really does leave a crystal clear pool throughout the year.

This year was a bit of a curveball. In an attempt to get ahead of the warm spell we had early last year that had me fighting algae blooms - we decided to open up at the end of April this year. Water clarity was much better, however our metals were way off according to the local pool store where we have water samples tested at the begging of the season. (I test weekly thereafter to make any necessary chemistry tweaks.) After adding chemicals, our water turned cloudy and won't clear. My trusty filter has been becoming clogged after a few hours, and even after bumping, has required backwashing and even two disassembly's already in the past few weeks to remove anything that could be clogging things up. I have gone through over 25 lbs of DE ALREADY this season due to high filter pressures... that's nuts.

A few things of note:
  • Prior to starting the filtration system, I ran my pool robot a few times through to capture large particulate/debris off the bottom as to not overtax the filter.
  • Filter is cleaned at the beginning of each season with a 10% muriatic acid soak overnight, and thoroughly washed thereafter.
  • Filter is not ran without DE in the system
  • 6lbs of DE for initial coating, 4 lbs added after for refill following backwash procedure.
I am losing my mind this season (and my fiancé losing hers too) with having to bump and backwash constantly. Are there any other helpful tips that I am missing?

I am an engineer by trade and this year's experience has me thinking about designing a type of "prefilter" I can plumb into the system for future seasons to aid in removal of larger particulates prior to hitting the DE filter itself... Anyone had any luck with something like that?

Thanks in advance folks.
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Old guy learning more and better!

DomoFL
Salt water pool with SWG - had Cl and pH balanced, also CYA was good, Alkalinity was high all tested with strips from Home Depot... All was looking okay, clear and sparkly, but couldn't get hardness down and some tests weren't on the strips I had.

Took a sample to the local pool store, who waved magic wands while asking if I ever shocked my pool (that answer is actually "Yes" 'cause I might skip the bathing suit at midnight) - however, I really said, "No, never shocked it." Of course, the answer was that I HAD TO SHOCK every three or four weeks! AND, my phosphate levels were 3500 ppm! (Even though my home reading was about 500.) Since then, I've learned to pretty much ignore Phosphates...

Yup... I went home with a gallon of juice and the understanding that my 7000 gallon pool would need 3/4 of the gallon...

It's day three in the blazing Florida sunshine and my Cl is still off the charts.

And, I'll admit I feel the fool as I know car salesmen seek to make a sale. I am going to buy some Cl reducer and treat the pool to get it to where I can use it. I'll be gentle and read this forum like a bible...

I've already learned a lot and thank you.

I will be getting a more advance test kit as recommended on TFP and will post some results and welcome comments to get me into the flock or eazy-peazy pool maintenance.

D
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What's the best way to fix this leak?

J
ajw22 said:
What is this connecting?

Post a wider picture so we can see what is going on.

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Here you go - it used to connect to the heater, but a tree fell on that last month and killed it. They came out and temporarily re-routed the lines while a new heater is on order (it was leaking substantially), but now this leaking has become an issue.
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Opening pool - which order to remove plugs?

Newdude
TimMolina said:
but I do have smaller rubbler plugs that fit into the two other return jets that i'm concerned about.
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So do those last and open everything upstream, including any relevant valves on that leg. (y)


I got my plugs out, but it was 30 intense minutes with a shop vac. Equal prayers and adult words were said throughout. Loudly.
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Raypak whistling help

PoolStored
@ajw22 @JamesW or anyone else.

New Raypak 336 digital heater last June (P-336A-EN-X)...you have seen all my other threads to maximize longevity of this heater (chemicals, flow etc.). Harwil flow switch in parallel with pressure switch. Bypass is 100% to heater.

2200 RPM gives me 39 GPM, 14.3 temp rise, 2400 RPM gives me 45 GPM, 12.5 temp rise.

Started heater yesterday at 2200 RPM, same as last year. No whistling, water temp 64 F. After 24 hours heating, I went back out and the heater is whistling, water temp 84 F. Raised RPM to 2400 and whistling decreased by 80%.

Filter is clean, I can't believe there is any sediment in the heat exchanger. Burner orifices look like new. Pipe is 1.3" OD from meter, and 1" OD from behind the heater to heater. Total length is maybe 10' from meter to heater. There is no regulator on the line...straight from meter to heater.

What is the next step?

Something up with the unitherm? Why would it go bad in a year? Replace? Output water does not exceed 97 degrees, so unitherm never kick in, unless it is bad and allowing bypass.

Should I check gas pressure? How do I do that on the heater gas valve? Heater gas valve PN is 003900F

Thanks

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PoolStored
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Opening pool - which order to remove plugs?

T
Newdude said:
It doesnt matter how you flood the system, all the plugs need to come out. (And equipment drain plugs in if removed).

If you have any expanding rubber plugs, open all threaded plugs and valves first. It may be under negative pressure and I had one get sucked into the pipe once because it was a bit small and fit. The threaded plugs such as the gizmo do not have that concern. Lol.
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Thanks for the reply. I only have one threaded return jet (shortest run from the pump) that was the booster pump port at one time. I decided not to use the gizmo's this year in the skimmers but I have the large wedge type rubber plugs that still stick far enough out so i'm not worried about them, but I do have smaller rubbler plugs that fit into the two other return jets that i'm concerned about. Thanks for the advice.
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Just overwhelmed

S
Can’t believe I have been doing my own pool for 9 months or so now!

I have been keeping my TA in the 60 -80 range, and my PH was always rising. I hadn’t checked my TA in a while, figured it was fine. My PH hasn’t been rising at all either, stable between 7.8 -8. Just checked my TA and it was at 100, which is high according to TFP. My initial reaction was to lower it to TPF range, but, should I? PH has been more stable with TA higher.

Is there anything wrong keeping the TA at around 100?

Also….i think I have a leak somewhere. I might need a new post for that. Bubbles come out of the returns, and have been for a while. It’s really bad when the pump has been running at a low speed or was off overnight and then moves to a higher speed/turns on. Lots and lots of startup bubbles there, but the water is full in the pump. Changed the pump o ring, and that didn’t help.
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the Great Gas Heater versus Heat Pump Debate?

Buggs
We like our pool at 86ºF. Even in cool weather, with one day's notice, I can fire up the heater and have the pool up to temp the next morning.

I closed my pool last fall on Nov 10, which atypically late for us, but thanks to a mild fall we greatly extended our swimming season. We opened the pool on April 25th. By the 26th, the pool was at temp and ready for swimming. I wouldn't have a pool without a heater. For me, it's gas all the way.
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Another Dolphin S200 on its last legs

JoyfulNoise
coastie said:
I'm bringing a few of these threads back from the dead. New guy here and I've been having similiar issues across multiple threads here. The bot powers on, attempts a self test (goes in reverse), then powers off. I did have hairs tangled on the fan impeller, cleaned those off, flipped upside down to run a self test, self test worked. It cleaned properly for about a week, then same issue came back. I disassembled the fan motor and found the bearing slightly seized. I bought replacement bearings for under $3, replaced, reassembled and voila, works perfect. Check the fan motor bearings!
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Chances are the bearing seized because water leaked through the shaft seal. The shaft seals on the impeller and drive motors fail and they are not rebuildable.

Glad you got it up and running but you’re working on borrowed time now. Good time to start saving up cash for a new robot.
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Jandy JXI 260P High Flue Temp

S
My spa was working fine one evening, the next is would not heat. I checked and the display showed Fault High Flue Temp and does not turn on at all. I've removed the cover to inspect and do not see any indications of leaking around or on the heat exchanger combustion chamber. I also removed the ignitor and inserted a borescope to inspect. Did notice some light scaling but no significant build up (compared to what I've seen in other post online) and no water appeared to be in the tub. (not the best still picture)
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I'm not seeing any water leaking at manifold either. I plan on replacing the Flue Sensor but do plan on performing a couple of items prior to doing so.
  1. Remove Exhaust Elbow Assembly in an attempt to gain better visibility and possibly vacuum out what I can from the combustion chamber/tub.
  2. Inspect/clean Exhaust Elbow Assembly.
I do have a couple of questions.
  1. If I wanted to fully inspect and clean the combustion chamber, is it as simple as
    1. Turning off gas and power
    2. Disconnecting gas line (coupler)
    3. Remove lid by unscrewing band clamp (or if needed removing Exhaust Elbow Assembly, Ignitor and Blower Assembly/burner) and then have access to chamber/tub?
If all else fails and this does not fix the issue, my other option (outside of full heater replacement) would be to replace the Jandy Heat Exchanger and Header Assembly R0805803.

TIA for any thoughts/suggestions/feedback?
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Has anyone ran this pool skimming robot ?

Buggs
I have a Surfer M1. Others to consider in that price range include the Betta SE Plus, Wybot F1 and Smonet SR5, though I am unaware of the availability and cost in Canada. The Betta in particular is quite popular and well-regarded on TFP.

I’ve been happy with the M1. It did have an early failure after three weeks, Aiper Customer Service took good care of me. I documented my experience here and here. The unit has worked well since then.

The Surfer M1 and S1 are identical except for color and the distribution channels through which they are sold.

The Surfers have some interesting features:
  • In addition to charging via the solar panel, they include an A/C charging adapter. A/C charging was a requirement for me.
  • The 5L basket is accessed from the top of the skimmer (instead of sliding out the ends) and has a 200um mesh. The basket is fully enclosed - as opposed to an open top or side - so debris won’t fall out when the skimmer reverses in the pool or when you’re carrying the basket to dump the contents.
  • It has an App which is used to communicate with the skimmer, which shows:
    • the connection status (Bluetooth & WiFi),
    • Surfer Status (e.g., moving, stuck on something, etc),
    • battery charge (in 1% increments) and
    • displays the current water & (approximate) air temperatures.
  • The App has a Remote Control to manually maneuver the skimmer. The Remote Control works, but has a 2-3 second response lag. Still, it's kind of fun leisurely playing with it and directing it to floating debris. Most importantly, it entertains the grandkids!
  • You can remotely put the Surfer into Standby mode. The Standby mode is useful to conserve battery life when active skimming isn't needed - as with calm winds overnight or on cloudy days. Then when needed, you can reactivate the Cleaning mode.
  • The app works from anywhere you have internet access.
Hope this helps!
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