Recent content by jsternberg

The SWG appears to be fine. I haven't heard it alarm out, but I still have to raise the CYA even more than I presently have so I know the salt level is going to climb more.

Hi, I recently started maintaining a pool with an SWG. The plaster recently finished curing for the first 30 days so the pool builder added the salt so that the salt cell could be turned on. I've been using a test kit to manage the pool and knew based on the recommendations here that I would...

Ah, thanks for clarifying. So it's just a weird quirk of pool builders in Texas. It sounds to me like there's a good chance I'll never end up using the device. It seems to me that even if I tried to use it for gradually raising the CYA while I was away, I'd end up creating more work for myself...

I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the context for this. I'm eager to learn. What does this mean? Is it common to combine an auto chlorinator with an SWCG in Texas or is this sarcasm regarding Texas pool builders or something else? Thank you.

Hi, I'm currently in construction of a pool. We will be using a salt-water chlorine generator and we had communicated this to our builder. I had been under the impression that because we were using an SWCG that we would not need an automatic chlorinator (trichlor dispenser). A few days ago when...

We will be building a pool soon and have decided to go with an SWG. I tested the calcium hardness and TA of water coming out of the outside faucet and got: CH 200 ppm TA 120 ppm I saw that in the Water Balance for SWGs that I should aim for a TA of 60-80 ppm. My fill water is obviously higher...

Hi, I just ordered my first test kit and I'm attempting to learn how to test my water in preparation for owning a pool. I saw this warning in the test kit: When it comes to staining everything, is this only before it is mixed with the water or should I watch out when pouring the solution down...

I think this might be the one. It's the version in his equipment catalog and seems to match with what he was referencing at approximately 140k BTUs. So which do you think would end up being more energy efficient for daily use? Getting the HP and just leaving it on the entire time at a set...

Also, when it comes to price, the heat pump/chiller in around the same price as the gas heater since we have to install the gas line too. The price difference was about $800 more for the heater/chiller.

Yes. I mean a heat pump heater/chiller combo. I am getting automation. The PB offers to set up AquaLink and it seemed to me like it would make managing the pool much easier. The primary purpose of the pool is to extend the season so the pool can be used for daily exercise. The exercise would...

I have another question if anybody has any experience with these. The PB quoted us for a gas heater (400,000 BTU) and an electric heater/chiller combination that was a smaller BTU. I don't have the number for that. We wanted to get a heater for the pool because, being in Texas, it means we can...

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Yes. My understanding is that the salt water pool will use the same amount of chlorine as a standard pool, but I won't have to manually replace the chlorine unless I need to SLAM for some reason. If I need to SLAM, then I will need to use liquid chlorine...

Hi, I've been using the forums to help me learn about pool maintenance and chemistry before my wife and I build a new pool in a house we bought recently. We've never owned a pool before so this process has been a lot of firsts for the both of us. I had a few questions about pool equipment so...