Recent content by brettl

I'm hoping folks can share how they discharge water when backwashing, vacuuming to waste or when closing a pool. We keep hearing from a neighbor, whose property grade is lower than ours, whenever we or a pool company discharge water. It's not like this is happening all the time, but at least a...

I want to thank you both and offer an update. After receiving four estimates, I am pretty sure that we are going with the small guy. Besides the best value, he provided the clearest and most-detailed estimate. I definitely feel confident that he can do the job after talking at length, and I...

Several large tree limbs ripped through our cover and in-ground vinyl liner during a bad winter storm. The liner was shredded and needs to be replaced. The good news is that insurance will cover all of the work minus our deductible. I'm getting several estimates, but don't really know what I...

JohnT and Jason, Problem solved. You were correct. Thanks.

Thanks. I'll try getting a new gauge in the morning and will update you on the results.

Just opened my my in-ground pool today. Probably the easiest opening in the four years we have been in this house. The good news is that I'm getting the best pressure I have ever had on the returns. Everything seems to be working correctly, BUT the pressure is super high -- around 50 psi, and...

Gary, Thanks for the tips. How do you determine if I'm running 115v or 230v on the existing pump? By the threaded couplings, I assume you are referring to the threats on the pump itself and not the PVC.

My new SuperPump is enroute and should be here in a couple days. How hard is this to self-install? I'm not the most handy, but that's usually because I'm afraid of screwing something up and not because I actually do. It seems like all I need to do is shut off the breaker, cut the existing...

At CGT Pool Liners (http://www.cgtpoolliners.com/cgt-techni ... r-care.htm), I saw this advice: I'm not looking to waste money. But I am seeing conflicting advice here. And this one came from a manufacturer, not the guys looking to sell me product.

I was at the pool store returning some over-priced parts and had them test the water. Calcium hardness was 130 and they recommended adding 28 pounds of Hardness Plus. Based on what I've read here, it was my impression that I didn't need to worry about the calcium hardness level since I have a...

I have a dedicated vacuum line, but no main drain or I would sweep most of it near the drain and then dump some water. The particles have generally been too small, so if I vacuum with the regular filter settings they would just get returned to the pool. Instead I've been been vacuuming to waste...

This is a bit off topic, but I've been vacuuming to waste -- and wasting a lot of water -- to get rid of a lot of dead algae and fine particles on the bottom. Do you think this method work as well to catch that or would it get through? Seems like it would do the job.

After finally getting a stubborn algae problem under control (I think) my pool is finally in good shape. As many other new members have learned, I underestimated how much bleach I would need and how much I would have to stay on top of the problem. Here's my new dilemma: The water looks great...

I was at Leslie's in Vienna, Va. today and the salesperson was trying to talk me out of the liquid chlorine. A big part of it was their price -- $20 for four one gallon jugs. He wasn't sure the concentrations. I've been getting the three-packs of the 182 oz. Clorox at Costco for $6.59. Haven't...

The good news is that the levels were the same overnight. The bad is that the green color actually looks thicker. I'm hoping after adding more bleach and then brushing again that I just stirred things up.