The threaded stud doesn't turn so you will need to cut this apart. I would cut the spring that is jammed in there and you might be able to salvage the band, IF you can get the replacement spring by itself. I assume you still have the nut and washers to use if you can get a new spring.

Keep the CSI as close to 0.0 as possible.

Low CSI can cause plaster to dissolve and this will cause the pH, TA and calcium levels to rise.

If the calcium hardness and TA both rise equally with nothing added, then you might have plaster dissolving.

This can happen with bad plaster, new plaster, old plaster or plaster that was recently acid washed.

Typically, this is accompanied by seeing plaster aggregate on the floor or in cleaner bags.

My old sand filter did me wrong for decades. Actually a way undersized choice for my other equipment and pool. So I'm biased. I switched up to a cartridge filter. Cleaning is a bit messy, buy if you go big, it can be only once a year (!) It does a far, far better job of capturing "stuff". (But many others do love their sand). Cartridges can last several/many years. Install is no different than the sand you are looking at, and there is no "multiport" selector that can be a maintenance item. Since you are in the land of winter, you should add in a 3-way diverter valve just before the filter, so you can discharge to waste - only needed for lowering your water in the fall, if you do that. Or the very rare time when there is a fantastic amount of junk in the pool you'd rather not send to the filter.
The PVC plumbing would be virtually the same amount of work with either choice. It is actually a pretty quick/easy DIY job.

Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:

Your TA is too low and is likely causing the pH swings. Increase TA to 60 ppm. This level will still help to control pH rise.

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Increasing the TA will not help.

It will only increase the amount of carbon dioxide and that will increase pH rise.

Basically, stop adding acid unless the CSI is over 0.2 or if the pH is over 8.3.

If you add acid, only add enough to get the pH to about 8.1 or the CSI to about 0.0.

Uhhello said:

Whats the arrangement for you taking care of the rental house pool? I've always wondered how that works. Does he pay you in discounted rent or was it part of the lease agreement?

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Part of the lease agreement. I know some people get a discount, or the owner pays for the pool to be maintained professionally. Every agreement is different I’m sure.

lapswim said:

Is the pump sized well?

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Upsize to a 2.7 or 3 HP VSP.

lapswim said:

It's a cartridge setup, but wondering if Sand is better?

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I would suggest a large cartridge filter. Sand would be fine though.

lapswim said:

I've been considering an electric heat pump/chiller type option so we can use the lap pool for a longer season

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I have this and it works well. The chill function is fantastic during our hot summers. Make sure you have a bypass installed regardless of gas heater or HP.

lapswim said:

Houston, TX

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Update your profile to show this.

Other suggestions:
-Go with 4' as the shallowest depth for your pool. 3.5' is just a little too shallow. I have a 4'-5'-4' pool and it's excellent.
-Make sure all the lights point away from the house or main seating area. I wouldn't have a light at the end of the swim lane since you'd be staring at the glare while lap swimming.
-Delete the tab feeder and get a SWCG rated for at least twice the volume of the pool
-Main drain is optional
-What kind of cleaner are you planning on? I'd suggest a robot.

Get PoolMath and track CSI.

If the CSI is good, you can probably leave the pH and TA alone.

Don't let the pH go over 8.3.

Show your pH test as I suspect that you are probably reading it higher than actual.

Maybe get a pH meter to be sure.

Some variations of the kit call for two scoops. But one or two, if you have almost no Free Chlorine, it still won't turn pink.

Don't feel bad - I was an almost 30 yr guy fighting all the problems and pouring TONS of $$ into the pool store. Many, many hours each week dealing with the pool. Even though I knew about TFP prior, I didn't go full on with the program until a bit over 3 years ago. Many weeks now I just stare at the continuing perfect pool, wondering how to fill the time and how to spend the extra money - and stifling my regrets.

haxorcize said:

my pH is rising super fast.

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What specific test kit are you using?

haxorcize said:

I suspect my TA levels are not good

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Assuming you're using a recommended test kit, are you continuing to add drops until there's no additional color change? It typically takes ~3 more drops after the initial color change.

haxorcize said:

already ordered bags of baking soda

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Under normal circumstances, a non-trichlor pool should never need baking soda.

haxorcize said:

I've seen posts saying TA being too low will drag pH down

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Having TA on the low end will slow down pH rise, which is usually the desired result. TA of 50 or above is perfectly fine.

Where are you in Texas? What's the TA of your fill water?

How do you have the RJ wired to the pump? Two wires from the relay obviously go straight to the rj, but the two other wires to the relay, do they feed from the pump power few inches over? Do they feed from the same circuit breaker as the pump? Do they feed from a completely separate circuit? I'm getting ready to do mine probably tomorrow.

Current plan is to have the hot come into the pump power area, into a pigtail, and from the pigtail go to the pump, relay one, and relay two. And then I have the other hot coming into a second pigtail and then from that pigtail going to the second screw on the pump, relay one, and relay 2

Adding 332,000 BTU of heat to 1132 pounds of air will raise the temperature by approximately 1221.5°F.

So, the exhaust temperature will be about 1,300°F before it hits the heat exchanger.

The exhaust temperature past the heat exchanger is about 300°F, which is about 1,000°F drop.

The exhaust that makes contact with the copper might be about 150 degrees Fahrenheit and the exhaust that does not make contact might be at 450 degrees.

However, for a really cold heat exchanger, the exhaust temperature might drop below 132 Fahrenheit and then condensation can occur.

Past the heat exchanger, the air is mixing and homogenizing.

The temperature sensor will read an average temperature.

There are hundreds of tiny short channels that the exhaust moves through, so the exhaust is separated into hundreds of parts each with a temperature gradient from coldest to hottest.

By the time that the exhaust has exited the heater, the temperature difference between the hottest and coldest molecules might be pretty low.

If you have a super high resolution FLIR Camera, you can zoom in and see the temperature difference between the molecules of air.

@PoolStored made a good catch, that I missed, about that Dollar Store bleach. If you've already put it in, repercussions will probably be very little, but no more in the future, ever.

No, don't put the whole 10 gallons in at once!

Use PoolMath and from the Overview screen, tap on the Free Chlorine.

• Make sure your pool volume is correct
• Enter your current FC reading - test just before you do this. (I used 11 from the reporting above)
• Make sure the CYA amount is the same as your last test. (I used 60 that was mentioned above)
• For target Level, check the little circle that says "SLAM"
• Pick the correct Sanitizer Type, and the Percent on the new jugs you just bought. (I used Liquid and 12%)

It will tell you how much to add. In my example, it would be 2 gallons and 3 quarts.

After 2 hours, retest FC, and use this number as the new "Current Free Chlorine" amount, and repeat.

Understandable if every 2 hrs can't be done (nighttime, work, etc.) The more often you can keep repeating, the sooner the pool will clear. As time goes by, the amount you have to add will get less and less, as will the time between tests.
During all of this, turn your SWCG off, and pump running so it keeps mixing what you add. While waiting, brush, vac, and check your filter - it will likely need a lot of repeat cleanings as it gets the stuff you are killing. Take a picture once or twice a day, so you can review and see that it is actually getting better.

So a follow up for the sake of future searches: I had a very short lifetime on the flow valve assembly I recently installed, apparently. It turns out the flow valve power element (replaced a year ago) was already corroded in slightly open position--coincidentally with my blower motor swap out initially. I hadn't let myself consider a recent replacement would have been a dud.

Generally, this heater would do the job to bring spa to temp in 45 minutes, but to heat the whole pool (split body), it would overheat and cut out a few times over the course of a few hours. so the clues were that it would stay lit until too hot to touch, that it worked better on colder days, that it seemed to behave better with a second fan pointed at the blower fan as well. After the initial 45 minutes to an hour or so, it would generally be too hot and wouldn't self-ignite again until it had cooled down significantly.

when it tells you to add a scoop of powder if it turns brown or doesn't turn pink can you only do that once? in other words one more scoop

Whats the arrangement for you taking care of the rental house pool? I've always wondered how that works. Does he pay you in discounted rent or was it part of the lease agreement?

HermanTX said:

Yes. Since the crack seems to be on the plastic. Try that first.
The alternative is a repair product for fiberglass. I am not familiar with that so you may have better insight to that.

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I’m not sure if theres a crack in the pool Shell or if it’s just worn out gaskets

Right!

PoolStored said:

The RJ-60+ in your pool will make 5ppm in 8 hours running 100%. This might or might not work. Depends on sun and swimmer load in summer.
It may be that you need to run a bit longer.
Also, running 100% is one of the quickest ways to kill a cell.

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thanks, let me calculated proper flow rates for my pump and power consumption to find the sweet spot. appreciate the help. But testing this right now, pump is running at 1200RPM's and ~200W. So about 45$ a month. this is actually not bad. Compared to ~65$ a month, if running 8 hours at night at 2500 RPMS and 830W. This is quite a nice saving

Rob Plummer said:

The free chlorine - this was hard I could barely see the pink and it disappeared after 1 drop so .5?

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Yep, it’s that simple. If it doesn’t turn pink, no chlorine is in the drink!

PoolStored said:

I thought the air over the heat exchanger was 300F?

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That's average air temperature.

Not all exhaust air makes contact with the copper metal.

The air that makes direct contact will lose more heat than the air not making contact.

Think of the air moving through the channels as a fluid moving through a pipe.

The air making contact with the pipe/channel walls will have direct conduction and then the heat moves by conduction and convection through the air .

The smaller the diameter, the greater the ratio of circumference to area or total direct surface area contact to total volume.

This is why they try to make the channels as small as possible without restricting the flow of air too much.

Diameter = 1 mm.

Circumference/Area = 4.

Surface Area/Volume = 4 (Length cancels).

Diameter = 10 mm.

Circumference/Area = 0.4.

Surface Area/Volume = 0.4 (Length cancels).

The exhaust moves through the channels between the fins.

A 1 mm channel has 10 times more surface area contact than a 10 mm channel, but the resistance to airflow is also increased.

Was a membrane placed between the top of the bond beam and the coping ?