Recent content by Curmudgeon10

Thanks. I ordered the hew filter basket and the O rings you suggested, and will take this on probably Tuesday 16 May.

In a separate thread, and also with advice from local pool store expert, it appears the low pressure I observe on my Pentair 60 DE Filter is due to clogged or impaired impellers in the pump housing. I found a piece missing from the bottom of the filter basket just ahead of the pump intake which...

Sorry for delayed response. I felt what I thought was good pressure from the returns, although I'm not an expert as I rarely use the pool, just maintain it for wife and grandkids. I did order a new gauge, and will install tomorrow. Hopefully that fixes the problem.

My filter pump (Challenger) is three years old; replaced a unit that lasted for 13 years. The Pentair FNS 60 DE Filter received all new filter elements last year. When I fired up the equipment this year, charging the filter with DE, the pressure read 10 PSI. This is what it ALWAYS reads in my...

Thanks very much. I was up to speed/in compliance with almost all of this until I got to the last part, the one about the degreasing/descaling: "To chemically clean the grids/ nest: 1) Have a bucket/container large enough to hold the entire assembly - A large plastic garbage can works well. 2)...

I've never descaled and degreased. Perhaps that is the problem. The filter is now 13 years old. I do completely disassemble and hose down everything. What's involved in descaling and degreasing?

My in ground, plaster/gunite pool really takes a beating over the winter here in Northern Virginia. It is bordered on two sides by tall trees, and all that stuff falls on it, of course. I always have it covered, but the cover is permeable, and it has less than a perfect fit, so when I open in...

For 12 years, I've been closing my Northern Virginia pool exactly as the pool company instructed: insure chemistry is correct and algae free, draw water down below returns (while backwashing DE filter), drain equipment, install plugs, cover pool with my fitted (but porous) pool cover, throw...

Well, I need to replaster in the next year or so, and that liner is looking awfully attractive. My current plaster is largely intact --- a few voids have developed --- but I am looking at $8K -$10K to replaster. I certainly like the LOOK of a plaster pool and ours is now about 10 years old ---...

Anyone know anything about putting a vinyl liner over an old gunite pool? I saw this on a Mike Holme's show and was intrigued. I can't seem to locate any info on the process or trade name for it, or any dealers in my Northern Virginia location.

Thanks for the answers. Based on the topology of my site, I can do the evening test at least an hour before sundown, and there won't be any sunlight of any kind --- direct or indirect --- to distort results.

The Pool School says to perform first at night, 30 minutes after sundown. Is the point to perform the test when there's been no direct sunlight on the pool for 30 minutes? I have a tree line that puts my pool in shade about 4 PM. Could I not do the evening side of the OCLT at 4:30PM??

Even though I've had the pool for 10 years, I just discovered this site and decided to go beyond my simple Ph/Chlorine test kit, pool store tests, and advice to "shock weekly." It's taken a little study to understand the relationship between CYA and FC, the difference between stabilized and...

We built our in ground gunite pool 11 years ago. There were a number of design iterations, and I recall the size started out at 15,000 gallons (a stock design for this company) but as the county messed with our site plan, I recall seeing a piece of paper that showed the modifications reduced...