Recent content by volcano

By connecting rods do you mean the black plastic ones on the ground? That's the case when ours is mostly empty, too, but as the pool fills the sides bow out and the liner will pull up and off of those rods-- it's only about 2/3-full in this pic, but you can see it's already lifted off the rods.

I didn't keep super-close notes last year (just used the Poolmath app to calculate how much was needed but didn't always record the addition), but my recollection is that it varied quite a lot based on how much the pool was uncovered and used. I'll keep better notes over the next few weeks! And...

pretty darn high, probably! I'm about 30 miles from your location, sitting on glacial till and rocks full of calcium carbonate. I'm not concerned about them pouring bleach, I'm just concerned about having to guess at the quantity. I thought perhaps the slow burn of pucks would reduce that...

I've used TFP methods from day one so I've never used pucks-- but we're leaving town for a week next month and since I'm just getting the pool opened now, I've got the option to undershoot slightly on the initial CYA concentration and let pucks handle the chlorinating while we're gone. In the...

Yes, those are the right panels-- looks like we're both approximating around the same number! I just measured-- the operative area of each panel, once filled with water, is roughly 37"x39". I guess the actual surface area will be slightly higher since it's not flat, but definitely not the 47"...

True, I know I'm not maximizing the thermodynamics here! Just taking advantage of parts I have on hand (e.g., a spare Intex pump and this is the flow rate it can achieve with this set-up). The geometry of attaching the panels in parallel (rather than in series) means I'd have longer runs of hose...

pulling the water from the bottom of the pool definitely seems to help, since the water is being forced out by the overlying water pressure. Your post motivated me to make some measurements, though! Flow rate = 3 gal/min, so ~180 GPH. Current water temp INTO the solar heaters = 68˚F Current...

Sharing this set-up here in case it's useful to others (or in case others have cautionary tales to share!) Last year we added three solar mats to our Intex 9x18-- the effect was subtle, but definitely added a few degrees of comfort (especially since our pool gets filled with ~45˚F well water)...

Twice now* I’ve measured CC = 0, which really surprises me— is that plausible if all of the algae is now dead (but obviously still present)? *The first time was when FC = 5 ppm (had dropped over the two days while the pool was unattended), and the second time was after I brought FC back up...

Thanks! They are threaded. Next thing-we-didn’t-realize-we’re-missing: weir doors!

Are eyeballs always used on the return jets? It is possible they weren't used for this pool, or is more likely that we just haven't found them yet (and/or they went missing in the ensuing 7 years)? (Regardless, we'll buy some! Just curious if they're likely around here somewhere).