When away...

cowboycasey said:

You can do a couple things..

What is your CYA at?

1. Pay a teenager off from school to come every day and pour 1/2 gallon (or whatever your pool requires) into the pool..
2. Have someone come by 1 time a week and add pucks into a floater. This option would be dependent on what your CYA is at and how much 15 pucks will add to your pool..
3. Install a salt water generator.. I love this option as that is exactly what I did.. I can leave for 3 weeks no problem.. The longest I went is 1.5 months and had no issues at all.. came back to a nice clear pool with 7 FC in it...

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derekm said:

I bump up the chlorine to the high range, put my 2-speed pump on low, leave the timer on 12 hours a day, put on the solar "bubble" cover (those down south may not know what this is) to reduce evaporation and chemical use, top up the water to near the top of the skimmer, and fill the erosion puck feeder to the top. When I get back after 2-3 weeks, the chlorine is always a bit high, but the pool is swimmable and algae-free. I used to leave some test strips and bleach in the skimmer well and have someone stop by once a week, but I stopped when I realized the chlorine level has always kept up.
If you don't have a puck feeder and a cover of some sort, now may be the time to get them.

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Tcadwall0 said:

Watching this one closely, as I am about to start my annual beach camping trip. - Not trying to hi-jack the thread, but maybe others will benefit as well...

Is there any rule of thumb that SWG owners follow regarding pump time when they are leaving the pool with a solar cover for more than a few days? I have the blue bubble cover that I expect will not over-heat the water like the clear.

For instance, since I don't regularly cover it with current weather (Charlotte, NC) I run 3 - 1hr higher speed cycles per day, to skim, but otherwise I am running from 7am until 9pm at low.

Given the above, I wont need the high speed cycles while it is covered, I am about to cancel those and let the pump SWG run. But for the same duration as normal (14hrs)? or with the cover will that be overkill for chlorine? First year with this pool, so I haven't had time to experiment with that yet.

What do you SWG peeps do? cut back a little? let it go and just have some high FC / possibly high pH when you get back? (I recently started using borates, so pH hasnt been creeping on me yet)

Thanks, oh - and my current numbers.
FC: 4
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA:70
CYA: 70
SALT: 3600
CH: 350
BOR: 50 (haven't tested yet, but just added borax / MA last week)

CSI: -0.21

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proavia said:

You aren't going to want to use a solar bubble cover in the Phoenix area in the summer time - unless you want the water to exceed 100 degrees.

If your only choice is to use tablets, you could use multiple floaters in addition to your inline chlorinator. That certainly isn't the best option and will surely cause your CYA to rise. It would be best to find a trusted friend or neighbor to add liquid chlorine every 2 days during your absense. You may wish to consider a pool service for a month - again, not the best idea.

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cowboycasey said:

Yep, with a CYA of 80 and going through 4 pucks a week for 3 weeks will kick your CYA up..

This is 1 puck
View attachment 351371

AT the end of the 3 weeks using 4 pucks a week

View attachment 351372

CYA will be about 110.. This is manageable but not really what you want.. it will fall back down to 80 by the end of summer..

You could also drain some when you get back and be back down to 80 fast.. This will also drop your CH, I am sure that is also high for your pool..

View attachment 351373

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derekm said:

Yes my puck feeder is similar-- a Rainbow 320. I bump the chlorine a bit, maybe to 8. The cover floats on the water but is held there by surface tension, and isn't bothered by wind. I have a reel to roll it up when I am using the pool (see picture). Floaters really can't move with the cover, so you'd be better off plumbing in a puck feeder or putting pucks in the skimmer, unless you want to cut a hole in the cover for the floater. I agree with others that you likely don't want to use a solar cover in AZ. It's great for reducing evaporation by 90%, and slowing down chlorine use when it's on, but it would likely keep the pool too hot to swim in, and would therefore be useful only when away. Spending the $$$ on a SWG would be better in the long term.

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DorsalSpine said:

My only comment would be that you should never assume the wind can't pick a solar cover off the surface of a pool. It probably won't but retrieving a 18' x 38' solar cover from my neighbors cornfield is not something I plan to do twice. When high wind was in the forecast my floating safety rope went over the cover instead of under the cover. Not the first time I've found the leading edge of the cover flipped over the rope due to the wind.

My case is probably not typical. I'm in a windy area and it blows right down the length of the pool. Your mileage may vary and all that.

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cowboycasey said:

That is the question you have to answer for your pool... How much chlorine do you go through a day > week.. will 4 pucks be enough? will 2 pucks and taking it to SLAM level be enough for your pool

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