Hello from Indiana! This is our first pool and I am so incredibly thankful for this resource. I have been reading and searching the the forum the past few weeks and have learned so so much!!

Hi. Here in the North East, at the end of the summer, I take the solar cover off the reel, fold and store it. I used to also take the reel apart in order to fit it into the pool house. However, as most know, over time that disassembly and reassembly causes it to weaken and sag. This year I am considering hanging it in the garage assembled (without the cover). It's about 19' long. Any ideas on how to suspend it or hang on a side wall. ?? Looking for solutions that others may have come up with. Please not that this solar reel (Seen in picture) does have gears on the end. It is an automatic reel. (Not that it makes a difference .. other than maybe not wanting to store it outside).

Thanks
Rich

This was an area in the shotcrete that was weeping from ground water. The PB put some hydraulic cement and water proofing over it but as you can see it still weeped. Will this be an issue once the pebble aggregate is installed?

Thanks in advance for the help.

On Sunday morning, I tested my water and there was zero chlorine. I used the Taylor FAS-DPD test kit (no pink). I usually have my pump on 24/7 around 1,500 RPMs unless we are using the pool and the salt cell is set to 25%, so there is no way it should be zero. I turned on the BOOST setting Sunday AM and then tested again Sunday night and still zero chlorine. I powered everything off, checked the salt cell (no buildup at all), checked the electrical connections, and turned it back on. I tested the salt in the water and it was 3,400ppm. I kept the BOOST setting on overnight and when I tested Monday AM there was still zero chlorine. Just to make sure my test kits were good, I shocked the pool Monday AM. Monday evening, the test showed 2.5-3PPM of chlorine, about what I would expect from the shock. I did a hard power off again and then ran the SWG at 100% overnight. This morning the chlorine level was still 2.5-3PPM, where it should have been closer to 6PPM. There have been no error messages on the SWG the entire time. Not sure what to do next.

have a jandy lxi. Run on propane. it started by giving me a check ignition control error after it would fire up and start to heat. Then it would kick off and show check ignition control. Had a pool guy out and he suggested to replace the control power interface board. Well that worked! But now it will start, will run again, fires up and starts to help and then shows check ignition steps. I have ordered a new hot surface ignitor for it as well but it came broken. Any other ideas?
Thanks

First I just want to say that it's been about two-three weeks since I got my first robot, Active 30, from Marina and I love it.

My question... is there any reason I shouldn't be able to run it at low RPMs (under 1000) or pump off?

Hello again, fellow TFP'ers!

So my SWG bit the dust and I'm waiting on Pentair to send someone out (my 3 year warranty is up next month, talk about timing!).
I've been adding liquid chlorine every day....seems my pool eats about 3-4ppm daily. While I dont mind continuing to add liquid chlorine till the SWG gets replaced, we leave on vacation in a couple of days for 1 week.

So my question is, about how many tabs would be required to maintain my FC in the 7-9 range for a pool my size (>30kgall)?
Currently it's at 9 with 0 CC and I've been trying to maintain it within that range since my CYA is 50-60. I previously added stabilizer to raise it but with the SWG not working I decided against adding more since I'll need to rely on tabs while we're gone and that will help increase CYA a bit.

I have one floater that I can add 3 jumbo tabs but I'm nervous that will not be enough to get us through the whole week without dropping to lower FC levels. I can get another floater and double the tabs but not sure if that's overkill?

What is the best position to have my Jandy valve in, to get most of the debris floating on the pool surface to go into the skimmer?

I grabbed out my pump filter to replace it and when I went to replace it I saw a frog swimming where the filter goes so I stuck my hand in towards the frog and it swam down and got sucked in now the pump is making a weird noise and the water pressure coming out of the pump is very little WHAT DO I DO ?

Brand new to pool ownership and have learned so much from you all already! I have a couple of questions I hope it’s ok if I put them in 1 post.

1. I had Leslie’s test my water yesterday to see how their results measures against mine and a confusing difference was the salt level which I was not expecting at all. I know I need to add salt, but I’m not sure which results to go by. We have an AquaPure 1400 and that says the salinity is 2.6 gpl (I looked up a gpl to ppm conversion and it said that is 2603ppm). I got 2200 with the Taylor test, and Leslie’s got 1748?? I was really surprised by the difference.

2. I also need to lower our TA some more. Can I add Muriatic Acid and salt at the same time?

3. Calcium Hardness - I learned from Leslie’s test that we have .8 ppm copper levels. I saw the pool guy with algaecide so after everything I’ve read here that didn’t surprise me. My CH test turns purple and per Taylor’s instructions I added 6 drops of the hardness reagent before adding the other drops. My test still turned purple so do I add more of the hardness reagent before the 20 drops of calcium buffer? After it turned purple I kept going to see what would happen and after 35 total drops (including ones before) it was turning blue. Leslie’s CH results were 87. Oh, also, I read a lot on here about the CH test and the Taylor Speed Stir was suggested a lot so I bought and have been using that.

I know in a lot of posts I’ve read you are to trust your results more than the pool store, but I don’t have that confidence in myself yet..I really wanted our results to match! I was proud though that I didn’t stress when they handed me an extensive list of products they said I needed to buy!

Levels from this morning’s test:
FC 3.5
CC 0
TA 100
PH 7.6
CYA 70
Salt 2200
CSI .02

Hi! We have a Hayward multiport and Hayward S310S sand filter. We are having multiple problems:

1) The bottom bulkhead is leaking profusely (5 gallons in a couple hours). We have tried to clean and tighten the bottom bulkhead (which is relatively new and does not appear cracked) but it does not seem to want to tighten enough because the inside elbow assembly is notched on top and bottom and when we thread it from the outside, we can only tighten it so much in order to make the notches line up (if that makes any sense).

2) When we put cyanuric acid granules in the skimmer basket without a sock (we have learned to use a sock) they spit back into the pool through the returns in about a minute.
We opened the multiport and do not believe there are any issues with the valve or the spider gasket. We have emptied the sand filter and did not see any tunneling or damaged laterals. We can not figure out how the granules are getting through.

3) The water chemistry is good (according to the local pool store) but the pool is green

Thanks in advance!

My Hayward DE 4800 backwash valve needs replacing. From searching the net I believe Hayward SP0410X502S is the part # for this filter. There are quite a few negative reviews on this valve, mostly stating the steel slide in the valve fails due to substandard material for the environment(rusts within a few months then begins leaking). The valve with the slide is about $120 or the slide alone is $90, makes sense to get the complete unit. Is there an alternative, does anyone have experience(good or bad) with this valve? thanks, Brian

Hi,
I did an acid wash on my salt cell, exactly per the pentair manual with a 4:1 water:acid solution since i had a bit of scaling on the plates. After that, I now have the issue that the salt detection doesn't work maybe 7 out of 10 times. If I turn everything off, turn it back on, the salt reading might all of a sudden work, or not. Some days it never works, next day it could work three times in a row. This makes salt production pretty unpredictable.

I read the various posts on here regarding the flow switch, but doing the diagnostics it looks like the temp sensor is rock solid.

You can watch the 30 sec video here going through the diagnostic features when salt was properly detected

And here a 30 sec video when the salt reading is 0 and the cell is not producing. The temp reading remains the same, so I doubt replacing the flow switch would solve this issue? Or might it still?

Since the cell still has 6000 hours of remaining life, I would hate to just toss it. Any ideas on how to fix this or further troubleshoot?
And yes, I learned my lesson and will next time try a less harsh solution first ...

Thanks,

Robert

Howdy everyone,

I'm new to TFP and I have to say I wish I had found out about y'all much earlier. We built a 30' round above ground pool last September so didn't get much time to use it before closing.

And by closing, I mean I stopped looking at the pool until April of this year and left the pump off.

So of course, came back to the pool this year, dark green, big mess. I spent a lot of money, bought a lot of unnecessary things, just wasted time in general.

Eventually I got the pool mostly clean, or so I thought. Although the pool looked clean and clear, there was some left over algae that was and is growing back. I'm using 10% liquid chlorine for the SLAM process. So I'm currently in my third day of SLAMing. Here are my numbers as of this morning:

FC: 11
CC: 1
PH: Not checking during SLAM
TA: 130
CH: 260
CYA: 30

I've added the suggested amount of chlorine to get back to 12 since this check but haven't checked again, going to do so again shortly. Last night, my FC was 15 and my CC was 0.5.

Couple things about CYA, I was originally testing at Leslie's before I bought the TF-PRO. Don't shoot me. But my original reading from them was 9. So I added 4 pounds of Pool Mate 1-2604B Swimming Pool Stabilizer and Conditioner, added that to a sock, soaked it in the skimmer for 30 minutes, then released it on recirculate through the pump. Was still super low, below the 30ppm reading, so I added 1 gallon of Liquid Stabilizer, was reading around 30, then another gallon of Liquid Stabilizer, and I'm still reading around 30. I followed the directions which for the liquid stabilizer, says that 1 gallon should treat 32ppm for 10k gallons. For my size pool, 2 gallons should raise it roughly 30ppm but it's still really low. Am I doing something wrong here or what am I missing?

In regards to PH, once I'm done SLAMing, should I use muriatic acid to bring the PH back down, or will it come down naturally once I get my FC to 4?

Also, my TA is 130, is that acceptable? If I do use muriatic acid after the SLAM, that should bring my TA down too so that seems like the correct route.

All that being said, my pool has never looked better. There always seemed to be a dullness on the top layer of the water that's been removed and it really does sparkle now. My wife can't wait to get in the pool but I told her that her skin may melt off if she gets in during the SLAM so that's definitely helped keep it closed the last few days. Appreciate the help! I think I have a couple other questions but the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

2.2 inches in less than two hours. Got pretty nuts last night here in Vail, AZ. Lost power for a few hours.

After a lot of pressure testing, dye testing, etc., I found that I've got water flowing into the electrical conduit in the back of one of my light niche's (wet niche, Pentair Intellibright LED light fixture).
There is a bonding (ground) wire and the light cable running into the conduit from the pool back to the pad. The conduit is also designed as "wet"... but somewhere between the pool and the equipment pad, there must be a leak in the conduit as dye is drawn into it.

The question is: what do I do about it?

The diameter is too small to use typical leak locators designed for PVC piping (like the leaktronics pipe mic). So, finding out exactly where the leas is along the conduit might be a problem. Adding to that is the fact that I've got a pool cover well behind this wall of the pool, so the conduit is underneath that.

I'm thinking I can just seal it off at the niche and be done? Silicone caulk? I'd probably have to drain to below the conduit to get it dry before applying caulk but any reason to think this is not going to work? (Somethign tells me that if it would work, they would have just done it when installing the pool - so... ) I don't want to apply epoxy or something that can't be removed because I may need to replace the light and have to pull the wire through the conduit in the future...

Anyone with experience or ideas in this area?

Also, I'm curious about this "wet conduit" design -- this can't be winterized (I live in WI) and the light niche is only about 24" below the pool deck... isn't that in the "freeze zone"?

Since opening in May, the chlorine pool has remained clear and mostly a TFP thanks to the advice from this group, use of Taylor K-2006C and poolmath.
The chemical requirements have been mostly +2gal Liquid Chlorine about every week, with pH/Alkalinity/Hardness moving in and out of range when it rains, or having to add 500gallons of city water to counter evaporation (have a flow meter attached to hose), so I am letting them fluctuate instead of actively treating it with chemicals to reach a target level. I also add 3 tricolor tablets to the floater about every 2 weeks.

I often get the water tested at Leslies pool to have a read on Copper (0.5), Phosphates (116) and TDC (1400) (7/18/2023 values), however I follow the Taylor K-2006 and pool math app for any action.

Why this post? While the pool remains clear, I have noticed a slow increase in Phosphates and TDS and seeking advice if there is any indicated action to take.

Additional observations:
a) Prior owners did a poor job painting the gunite pool white, as the paint keeps flacking off every time the Dolphin Explorer E70 robot cleaner is used
b) Overnight test shows no Chlorine loss
c) The submerged walls, while no visible off-color, feel slick to touch, so I have began to brush the sides and floor with a pole/brush. Occasionally I noticed white clouds being formed when brushing the floor, suggesting some sort of floor deposit. (LIKELY THE SOURCE OF INCREASED TDS)
d) Backwashing every 2-3 weeks does not show much visible cloudiness
e) New variable speed pump running 2,900rpm 24/7 (have not tested variable speeds yet)

Its me again- more advice needed. Can you please recommend the best pool steps to purchase for a 16x32 rectangle n ground pool? the steps will go in the shallow end which is a few feet deep- waist high on an adult.

We want steps that look nice, are sturdy and dont require much assembly. Please share your ideas. Not sure if we should buy steps on Amazon or through a pool company? Thanks all!

Small Saltwater Pool, are my numbers looking good? I was a little concerned about the pH. Should I be? My numbers are mostly the same 98% of the time.
FC 9
CC 0
TC 9
TA 70
pH 7.8
Salt 2400
Calcium 50 - I normally don't check this, did it for fun today
CYA 70
Temp 88

Hi Guys. My old Hayward Northstar single speed pump (2006 vintage) died and I have purchased a new Hayward Tristar SP3202VSP to replace. Pool uses an Aqualogic AQL-P-4 controller (see picture). I need help with wiring the new VS pump with my older Aqualogic AQL-P-4. I tried contacting Hayward, but they only offered to connect me with local Hayward authorized service providers. Any thoughts or available wiring diagrams ?

So had an algae bloom and tried to clean pool, used lots of shock, and then used green to blue. I have vacuumed it twice to waste but pool is still cloudy not sure if all the floc is gone or not. How can I counteract the floc so I can turn my filter back on?
12X24 above ground pool with a sand filter pump currently readings are
Free chlorine and CYA are low all other levels are within normal range

Hello TFP!

We are looking for some general advice and an overall sanity check (pricing / contract review) before moving forward with our project. We've gotten quotes from 5 PB's between last summer and now. Four were in the same general range (~$85K), and one was $20K less (not going with them). We are close to getting started with one (of the final 4) that some friends used (along with other references in the area).

Here's what we have to work with --






Here's the design we've currently settled on --











> Spreadsheet PDF attached with PB spec's and cost details (recreated from PB's form), along with PB's standard contract terms.

> I can update the post with the details in text format if that's preferred. I was hoping the actual spreadsheet could be attached.

*Note: The landscaping in the last rendering is not included. Just artistic conception of what could be done in that back area (utility easement).

We'd appreciate any input / suggestions on --

• General layout given the space and existing patio
  • Note that we have an additional 20' x 30' grass area on the right side of the house (will remain as-is).
• Equipment as spec'd by PB
• Tanning ledge (seems like a nice idea, but have noticed a fair number of folks here saying they'd nix it if they had a do-over)
• Decking
  • Initially stamped concrete
  • Now opting for travertine pavers with polymeric sand base (add $4,800)
    • Have read that the sand can be problematic (shifting, requires annual cleaning / refresh??)
    • May start with the stamped concrete, and add pavers on top of that in 1-2 years?
• Integrated spa vs standalone (and if standalone, best location?)
  • Spa was originally pushed back closer to the house.
  • We chose to move it forward into the pool area, to keep the rectangular perimeter.
  • Looks a bit odd with the wall going into the tanning ledge / stairs
    • ... but prefer not to shrink the 7.5' x 7.5' usable space
• Sport pool layout
  • Considering 2 steps from tanning ledge down to 3.5 or 4' ... slope to 6' ... back up to 4.5'
  • The dip in the middle is supposedly good for volleyball, though not sure we understand the rationalization?
  • May want to have consistent depth of 4.5 to 5'
  • We have 1 teenage son. (5' should be sufficient for cannonballs?)
  • No real need for a "deep end", which is typically only 7' per PB's. (Still not deep enough for diving, per the Red Cross recommendation of 9'.)
• Chiller recommended?
  • Will be in direct sunlight all day. Will likely add 1-2 sail coverings. PB says running water features at night is helpful and may negate the benefit of a chiller. (I've seen various threads here that seem to confirm that.) Regardless, will leave space on the equipment pad.
• Turf on left side of patio, between deck and fence
  • This is a recent consideration (+ $3K), to avoid having a single strip of grass (roughly 9' x 45') on that side
  • Would be a thinner, cooler turf that is used for putting greens, with holes added where we'd like
  • Turf to the corner of the house (22' x 9'), then gravel for the rest of that ~25' run along the side of the house
    • Could turf the entire run, but it's costly and likely wouldn't be used.

As for general costs, we understand that pricing has increased significantly over the past ~5 years, esp. with COVID, supply chain issues, and inflation -- and of course overall demand.

We found an older thread (2016 - 2018) that had various costs related to different layouts, sizes, and locations. This one (from 2020) would be somewhat similar to ours, but was roughly ~$25K less. And yet another (from 2020) that is similar and $5-10K more than what we're currently looking at. Obviously, there are many factors and considerations; it seems that our pricing is in the right ballpark and reasonable (although it's more than we anticipated spending).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

-STP2023

Have a Mastertemp 250 that I don't have a lot of history on (came with the house we moved into last August, wasn't hooked up). Heater was setup for propane and we finally got a large propane tank setup last week. Went to fire it for the first time yesterday and the heater kicks in fine, runs for a few seconds (maybe a minute), and then as soon as the fuel ignites a high pitched squeal/whine begins. The noise is pretty disorienting so it's a little hard to pinpoint where but it seems like the exhaust or gas valve as best as I can tell. The water does heat noticeably, I can feel the outlet lines getting warm and my wife said she could feel the warm water in the pool.

Things I've tried so far:
1. Remove thermal regulator - no change in sound.

2. Adjusted flow on the pump, up and down - no change in sound

3. Checked the pressure on the front side, where the propane comes in - getting static 10 inches WC which is, as I understand, within range. Expected to and still got the noise while testing. I don't have access to a differential manometer at the moment to check backside but I'm working on it.

4. Removed the union where the orifice lies and double checked the orifice was seated correctly and is smaller than the NG orifice. Check and check but still squealing on next fire.

At this point, the ONLY way that I've been able to even dampen the noise a little is by placing my hand over top of the intake. I don't fully block the intake, only cover it enough to reduce the air flow into the system and then the scream/whine disappears.

I'm guessing this is an issue with pressure in the gas valve but I'm wondering if anyone has experienced something similar or if anyone has any idea of other debugging tools to try. Thanks in advance!

This is crazy being so far downwind. It smells like it's a few houses over.

So I had a half used old bag of DE I took out of the storage bin yesterday to charge the filter and just as I cleared the bin the bottom of the sack let go. I had probably 25 lbs of DE on the ground in a pile so I scooped up what I needed for the filter, leaving quite a good pile still on the ground. So what's the best way to get rid of it? Scoop up some more to use, or discard, and then just wash the rest into the yard? I don't know if there are toxicity issues here. Thanks....on my way to the store to buy a plastic bin for the next bag.

Can the internals of these three way valves be changed? I am masking because the way this is set up currently I can not isolate the water feature at the sun deck and just send the return to the pool return jets. I would like to isolate the water feature so I can get more flow at the jets where I have spray nozzles installed to cool the pool. Thank you for the help. I am just finding out about this site and really appreciate all the available info. Really wish I would have found the site a long time ago.

Hi! My pool heater started leaking underneath. I hired a local pro from yelp to install a bypass valve for my heater I'm not prepared to buy a new heater right now and he say it "wasn't worth" fixing. Instead, without asking, he cut out all the plumbing to my heater and took it with him in his truck when I wasn't looking, flexed apart the remaining short pipes and glued in two plastic connectors (see before and after photos). Is this done correctly? Now I can't install a new heater because he took my plumbing. He said he cut out my plumbing because my pipes are "warped" so his connectors don't fit. He said I need all new plumbing from my salt cell and to my filter due to "warped pipes" so he can install a connector to bypass the heater. I can't run my filter. Thoughts?

I have a customer with a Pentair 920 Prowler. It is about 6 years old. It does not work (powers on, moves a few feet, shuts off) Where can this unit be shipped for repairs?

I live in Connecticut and have a 24ft round agp that is entirely (except for like 1 foot for about 1/3rd of it) above ground. Not buried more than the minimum required for most of the circumference.

Is it reasonable/practical to heat it, or would i just be heating the outdoor air around the pool?

If it isn't a losing battle to heat it, what are folks' opinions on electric heat pumps? I'm thinking of getting one to take advantage of the solar panels I'm looking to put in (and want to account for it in our solar plans).

Thanks!

I installed a peristaltic pump and the injection bill/check valve (Stenner) into my return plumbing. It is a cheaper pump and it is temporally attached to a 12v transformer plugged into a 120 type a outlet attached to my panel. I will make it more permanent and probably move up from a $15 pump down the road a bit as well as add it to a relay in the Easytouch (or just hardware the existing timer)

Currently I'm running full strength, 31.45 MA at a low flow rate of 30ml/m @ 17 minutes to get me to 18 oz I want per day trying to maintain a 7.8 PH. That's based on my average daily additions lately (doing well after some minor volume tweaks). Question - I have read in a few threads of people diluting the acid (I've seen 50/50, and 4:1) and running the pump longer to get the appropriate dose. Is there any benefit to diluting or reason to change from full strength, other than maybe a weaker solution being a bit easier on the tubing and the diluted off-gassing? I realize a dose is a dose as long as it is getting into the pool.

I haven't quite worked out the final design for storage yet but have a few ideas. right now, I've got a hole drilled in the 1gal jug with the tub stuffed in there. The injection Tee is currently after the SWCG but when I put in my last diverter valve next, I will move it to just before the unit to let that MA clean the plates. until then this is more POC