Recent content by autoxer

Anyone ever use something like this: http://secure.sciencecompany.com/HM-Digital-Waterproof-pH-Meter-PH-200-P16347C679.aspx for testing their water? Appears simple, fast and accurate, but wondering if the scientist/geek side of me is coming out too much when considering something like that...

Smaller tank meaning less recovery time is a good point I hadn't really thought about and you're right. When I just let er blow for a bit to see what happened it recovered in probably less than a minute while still blowing air out of the returns :-D However, for someone sizing a compressor...

We have a heat pump in line with our returns, after our filter. When I closed recently of course I blew the return lines out, and I assumed that plus opening the drain plug should have taken care of the heat pump as well. Well, the drain plug on the heater is a sort of springy, retained drain...

I tried to blow my lines with our shop-vac this year and failed to get that to work. Next step was to try a compressor. I'd been wanting an upgrade to my dinky little $50 compressor for other reasons anyway, but didn't want a behemoth, so ideally I wanted something that would work for the...

Wow, great information. Thanks so much for the info on all those other options and the demise of the ray-vac. Our Ray-vac is somewhat an elongated diamond shape. Our biggest issue is that it gets "stuck" in the same corner a LOT (it backs up periodically, but goes right back into the same...

We've had our (first) pool for 2 seasons now. It came with a "Ray-Vac" cleaner that I guess gets the job done, but we aren't exactly thrilled with either. We haven't done too much research yet, but some quick looks revealed these things aren't cheap! That led me to wonder... Does anyone know...

So, I tried using a 5hp/12gal (RIDGID) "shop vac" to blow the lines and it isn't cutting it. Based on lots of reading here I was expecting to possibly have trouble with the MDs, but I can't seem to clear much of anything!?? So I wanted to check here and make sure I'm not being stooopid...

We definitely get ice / snow / freezes here in MD, but we've never had anyone closing our pool in the past remove the gauge, and I wasn't planning to this time... If it matters, ours is mounted vertically on top of the filter canister and doesn't seem likely that more than a few drops of water...

Just a quick update on this one... It actually warmed up here for a bit so we didn't close a couple weeks ago when I originally planned. I did re-run the test, and still finding CYA to be excessively high. I was a bit surprised with the most recent tests, but it isn't like it was overnight...

I have 3 "normal" returns (just straight pipe through the plaster) and another "return" for the automatic vac./cleaner. I have rubber plugs that fit the 3, but the vac return has a twist lock type connection to it, and doesn't appear that it would accept any of the plugs I have. Do I treat it...

Ditto - We get at least 1-2 mice a week, plus frogs, worms, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, even the occasional snake.

Just curious what everyone does with their completed tests - I mean, these reagents have all kinds of hazard warnings and so on, so how do you dispose of yours?

First, a little background: I'm in my 2nd full season of owning a pool, and, until very recently, was not using BBB. To maintain a clear/clean pool, I was using pucks for chlorine, MA for lowering ph (never needed to raise), and Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate to increase TA (never needed to lower)...

Pool / RV antifreeze. Are they (pool/RV AF that is) all Propylene Glycol BTW? If not, any preferences? Also, any reason to use / not use concentrated anti-freeze (typically finding it in qts) instead of the standard diluted stuff typically found in gals? The logic in me says pour the...

Anyone know if anti-freeze goes "bad", opened and/or factory sealed?