Pool maintenance

Poolpartay · Feb 9, 2023

Hi everyone. It is still a few months away here in Chicago, but we already got the estimate from the pool company for opening, maintaining and closing the pool. We bought our house last year and continued the maintenance from the pool building company for the remainder of the season. Opening and closing this year will be about $3K, 26 weeks of weekly maintenance will be another $3K. Now opening and closing seems worth it, they took a few hours last year to close the pool with 6 guys and a bunch of equipment I don't even have.
I was thinking about outsourcing the maintenance for another year and give myself a chance to learn more about the pool this year. But for $3K I can probably get a pretty nice pool robot, test kit and other equipment and still come out ahead (if I don't mess it up myself of course). Now it seems you guys are great with getting the chemicals right and I am not too worried about that, but I don't know anything about pumps, heaters, automated pool covers etc. and I am afraid I am not equipped for that. Any advice that can help me make an informed decision would be very welcome.

Few questions:

Since I have a SWG, should I get a TF salt test kit, or take the regular one and add some strips (I read on the pool school strips should be fine, but then why do they have the specific salt kit?)
Would a pool robot indeed be a good purchase? I don't mind spending some time on it, but of course also want to make my life as easy as possible
Any other equipment I should look at? We have a brush and a leaf skimmer, not sure what else I would need

I think my profile is pretty complete, although I know I have the right brands, I could not find the specific type for my SWG for instance.

Thanks everyone, and looking forward to our first full season as pool owners!

Newdude · Feb 9, 2023

Poolpartay said:
Opening and closing this year will be about $3K,

Oh my. Opening the pool is easy and we walk several through every year. I dunno how much you make, but you'd have to make over $500 an hour for the 3 hours it takes to open your first time. Your second opening will take 45 mins. The same goes for closing. Buy a $300 cyclone blower and we'll walk you through a $1500 savings. A few hours the first time and less from then on.

Poolpartay said:
26 weeks of weekly maintenance will be another $3K.

Oh MY. With a VS pump and SWG, I spent about a half hour testing the pool the entire season and I stayed open well into Nov. We will guide you and it's stupid easy. I spent an hour a week manually vacuuming and a $850 robot will do that chore for you.

Poolpartay said:
Since I have a SWG, should I get a TF salt test kit,

You want the TF-pro-salt. The salt version adds the k1766 kit as a $20 bundle upgrade instead of the $30 it costs on its own. The TFpro salt comes in a nice case and includes a $44 stirring device which similarly priced K-2006c doesn't. It's a no brainer.

Poolpartay said:
Would a pool robot indeed be a good purchase?

Many think so. The people with longer seasons go through them quicker, but yours would likely last a good life.

PoolStored · Feb 9, 2023

Poolpartay said:
I think my profile is pretty complete

Profile is complete...but it is better to do your signature with all your equipment...

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Poolpartay said:
Since I have a SWG, should I get a TF salt test kit, or take the regular one and add some strips (I read on the pool school strips should be fine, but then why do they have the specific salt kit?)

TF-PRO Salt. Best buy.

Poolpartay said:
Would a pool robot indeed be a good purchase? I don't mind spending some time on it, but of course also want to make my life as easy as possible

Yes, reduces my maintenance by high double digit hours every year. Take mine and I fill in the pool (@Newdude no re-use of the defend the robot allowed)

Poolpartay said:
Any other equipment I should look at? We have a brush and a leaf skimmer, not sure what else I would need

I would get a good sump pump. I use it all the time to adjust pool levels. I'm same latitude as you just 300 miles east. With our rains, you will need one. You don't want to risk burning up your pool pump to drain some water.

+1000 on the Cyclone. My pool close is less than an hour, except for the safety cover. If you are the least bit mechanical, it is super easy to do.

Mdragger88 · Feb 10, 2023

I am reeling over the $3k for opening & closing wowzers! Then the $115 a week to dump a skimmer basket & vac real quick, do a 1 minute test, & maybe add a little acid

if it takes 30 minutes (which is very normal,sometimes less) that’s $230/hr & the kid doing it probably makes $15/hr. Goodness, you got this! Tfpro salt & a robot saves you literally thousands of dollars here

& there’s no rando dude coming in your backyard.
If I had to spend $6k a year to operate my pool I wouldn’t ever have one.

Newdude · Feb 10, 2023

PoolStored said:
I would get a good sump pump

+1. I got this beefy 1HP for $66. I will eventually get a 1.5 inch hose to drain even faster but the 1 inch hose I had laying around does plenty fine for now.

https://www.amazon.com/PROSTORMER-Stainless-3700GPH-Submersible-Switch/dp/B092279JXQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=3G3TQ3BHSA8FO&keywords=1+hp+submersible+pump&qid=1676028391&sprefix=1+hp+submersible+%2Caps%2C951&sr=8-8

Poolpartay · Feb 10, 2023

Thanks for all the responses. Yeah it is very pricy, we are lucky to make good money, but I'd rather spend it on something else. Think I will go for the maintenance myself this year and see about opening and closing later. Will definitely go for the recommended salt kit

Newdude · Feb 10, 2023

Poolpartay said:
but I'd rather spend it on something else

#Preach. We want you to spend it on something you enjoy too. It will be our honor to save you $6k.

The first open or close is a bit overwhelming because you doubt yourself, but we'll be on call all day for you. Rodeo #2 and up is a joke.

Casey · Feb 11, 2023

Poolpartay said:
Thanks for all the responses. Yeah it is very pricy, we are lucky to make good money, but I'd rather spend it on something else. Think I will go for the maintenance myself this year and see about opening and closing later. Will definitely go for the recommended salt kit

Take your family on a Hawaiian vacation with all that money you're saving to Kehei Maui. It's absolutely GORGEOUS there!!! Definitely do the Road to Hana too. Leave early in the morning and stop to take it all in.

Opening is so much easier than closing. But we're here... the lights are always on.

Lilypad · Feb 11, 2023

You’re gonna look back and just laugh at how much money you were about to spend on
pool service etc. It is so simple once you get the hang of it. It's fun too (Speedstir!).
This great group of TFP'ers can answer any questions and walk you through it all.
They've helped me and thousands of others that had no idea how to care for a pool.
Many of us check in frequently to see if we can give someone advice.

Welcome and you’ll be very happy with all the new found knowledge you’ll have, not
to mention the extra cash for fun!

Pauls234 · Feb 14, 2023

I'm local, I'll come open for $1500! Naah, you got this. I bought a house with a pool (above ground so less complex) 10 years ago, had no idea what to do, didn't even want it and ended up paying a guy $1200 to "open it" which consisted of unnecessarily draining the pool (a serious no-no for a vinyl liner), vaguely connecting some plumbing and dropping a garden hose over the side wall to refill and called it a day.

Then I found TFP and it probably took me 3 years to spend my next $1200 on pool related expenses.

With an SWG, once you get it dialed in, maintenance is pretty minimal and fun.

Opening is easier than closing and you've got a few months to develop a plan, get test kit, speedstir, etc. and then leverage the knowledge and enthusiasm of the forum. Start there!

By the time fall rolls around you'll have gained enough experience and knowledge that you will feel comfortable closing too.

TimZ · Feb 14, 2023

You might want to shop around a little for the opening and closing if you aren't locked in yet. Our opening and closing last year were ~$500 each and that includes an upcharge for removing/installing the pool cover. I'm sure it varies by location, but ~$1500 each seems really high.

phonedave · Feb 17, 2023

Poolpartay said:
Since I have a SWG, should I get a TF salt test kit, or take the regular one and add some strips (I read on the pool school strips should be fine, but then why do they have the specific salt kit?)

Everybody else already covered how easy opening, closing, and maintaining is. I'll answer your salt strip question.

Salt concentration is not quite as critical as many other measurements. You get your salt into the range that is acceptable for your SWCG and it is pretty much good to go. When you add salt, you are measuring it in pounds, as opposed to grams or ounces for most other chemicals. So measuring salt with a strip is accurate enough. But a drop based kit is more accurate, and it also helps with people who have trouble differentiating color shades on a test strip.

Poolpartay · Apr 28, 2023

Thought I'll continue in my original thread from last year. We finally opened our pool with the help of a pool guy. Some notes on what he did:

Tested the water Salt 1600ppm. Added 120lb salt
Chlorine 0
Ph 8
Alk 60 ppm
Cya 0
Calcium 250

Added 4lb alkalinity, 4lb stabilizer, Vacuumed debris to waste.

Feeling a little overwhelmed so thought I ask for some tips and help here. I have a Pentair Pool and Spa test kit, just nothing to measure the salt with yet. However, I have the Screenlogic app and it says its about 2750 PPM now (pool output is set to 9% and spa output to 0%). I will order a better test kit today but that may take a few days to arrive.

I just performed some tests with it and come to the following tests:

Chlorine seems to be above 3ppm

PH around 8.2

For acid, after 3 drops the color turned to about 7.6 (after 2 drops it wasn't really there yet but now it seems a bit lighter than 7.6 even)

Needed 12 drops for alkalinity, so 120 ppm?

Have to plug these numbers in the app later but let me know any thoughts or things I should do.

One other question, looking at the schedule in the app, there is just 1 schedule and it says "Circuit: Pool, Heat mode: "", Start: 8am, Stop: 7:59AM, Days to run: Every day". Is this correct or should this be changed, or should I check somewhere else as it seems a bit much to me to just run it 24hrs all day.

Probably lots more to come, but this is it for now

mknauss · Apr 28, 2023

Do you have a proper test kit? What you show indicates there is chlorine and/or combined chlorine in the pool water, the pH may be elevated but also might be effected by the chlorine level. Without CYA you do not know what to adjust.

Texas Splash · Apr 28, 2023

Poolpartay said:
let me know any thoughts or things I should do.

The only thing I would take action on at the moment is your pH and bring it back down to about 7.6-7.8. Wait until you receive your test kit to get accurate results on the other items.

Welcome back to another season. :swim:

Poolpartay · Apr 28, 2023

Ok, will get some muriatic acid to get the PH down and wait for my better test kit to arrive. Any thoughts on the schedule, should I change anything there or is it ok to keep it running like his?

Poolpartay · May 7, 2023

I got my test and just had a first attempt. My results are:

FC 7ppm
CC 0.5 ppm
Calcium hardness 300 ppm
TA 110
CYA the dot didn't fully disappear after using the whole bottle so close to 0 I guess

I added 32oz of acid last week but PH is still very high.

Hope you can give me some directions on steps to take. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.

mknauss · May 7, 2023

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Start by using 30 ppm CYA worth of stabilizer and start it dissolving using the sock method.

CYA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Then add enough acid to lower the pH from 8.2 to 7.6. Let that circulate and test again in a day or two. Repeat until the pH is in the 7's.

Poolpartay · May 9, 2023

I added about 4 LBS of CYA and managed to get it up to 80 now, not sure if my previous measurement was off or not, but it still seems to be on the ok side for a SWG. Added the Muratic Acid and got the PH down to about 7.5 now.

The FC is at 6PPM now, and have the SWG running at 10%. What is a good level of FC to maintain?

The CC is barely there, it turns a little pink and measures 0.5PPM. Should I be worried or do anything about this?

And lastly, is there anything more I should be on the lookout for or is this good enough? I still have quite some reading up to do on maintenance on the filters, SWG and automatic pool cover so I will be busy for the next few weeks for sure.

Mdragger88 · May 9, 2023

Poolpartay said:
The FC is at 6PPM now, and have the SWG running at 10%. What is a good level of FC to maintain?

I like to hang out around 10% of my cya for insurance against a high uv day or whatever but anywhere in the target range is ok. Just don’t play kissy face with minimum. The ph test is invalid at fc levels above 10ppm so take that into consideration as well.

For the cc’s adequate fc & the sun will likely do away with them. You say you have an auto cover so maybe leave that off for a day so the sun can do its thing.
How many hours are you running the swg?

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