Effects of Adding.... tap water.

[Tcadwall0]

I did do a quick search and saw this question asked, but the thread twisted before an actual response.

So, was thinking that many of us have tested our tap water, and have a general idea what to expect when we have to top off some water or fill a pool. But, though complicated, would it be outside the range of a potential future upgrade to add this capability? Even on a Beta version?

I would imagine that tap water samples would change over time - even at the same location, so to use it, one would need to test a fresh sample, and enter the numbers. But if their pool size is correct, and they use a hose flow-meter to add water, they could potentially guess at 800gal needed right now, and kinda be able to predict what that might do to their water chemistry. This might be very complex.... but just a thought.

My current tap water sample:
FC 0
CC 1
pH 8.2 - *probably higher
TA 30
CH 25

So I might expect that adding 800gal to my 12,900 pool might raise my pH (current 7.5) to maybe 7.8 or the like. It would also lower my TA, CH, FC, and Salt while a negligible effect to CC.

 

[Donldson]

This might be very complex

Incredibly complex to factor in multiple related variables (for instance, that low TA will almost completely offset the high pH). As well I can't imagine most people use meters on their hoses.

I guess the question I have is: why not just test your water after topping off? It seems that to do this you'd have to do more testing and data input and that would just be to calculate what your levels should be. Testing the water 30+ minutes after filling will tell you what you levels are.

 

[Tcadwall0]

I guess the question I have is: why not just test your water after topping off?

That is what I do - as mostly all of us should. Just like if it rains a lot, and especially if one has to drain after a rain.

I am not trying to downplay the complexity. There are quite a few guesses that people make, and there are people that probably have autofill's that are baffling them when their chemistry goes whack, etc.

I can think of several applications where this might come in handy. For instance people trying to figure out whether to use softened or un-softened water, when topping off or re-filling etc.

You can buy digital flow meters for your garden hose anywhere from $15 - $40 with expected quality issues on the cheaper ones, it isn't that far-fetched of an idea that it could be quite handy. Generally the reviews for even the cheaper products seem to agree that the accuracy of the devices when tested with known volume is very high, it is the longevity that seems to plague the cheaper ones.

Let's say someone had a CYA of 140. How many times do we see these threads? Drain 1/3 of your water, then re-fill.... If you could know how many gallons to replace, you could place a flowmeter on a hose coming from a small sump, remove that amount of water, and then replace it (provided you don't over drain for your pool type - vinyl/FG, etc).

For some people, it seems water is extremely expensive, so a guestimate might be more expensive than a water flow meter.

So there would be limited use of just finding the "affects of adding tap water" to target one factor at a time - but that still could be useful. This could be agile development, and start simple and grow... May be CYA or SALT today, CH later... etc.

I think it may have more value than expected.

 

[Tcadwall0]

Bump - I don't know chemistry, but I do know software.

So a little unrelated, but I would be willing to assist with future updates, fixes, beta testing.

 

[Homebrewale]

To throw a kink into the equation, what about changes in chlorination methods during the year by your water utility? My utility uses chloramines to treat tap water for 11 months of the year and switches for one month to chlorine.