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Last year, I blew out a 170,000L pool (10' deep at main drain) using the exhaust of a Ridgid 6HP shop vac. I wasn't totally confident in it, especially since I re-used old duck plugs, a type of plug I'm not fond of to begin with, but luckily no issues seem to have come of it, there was no...

How necessary are ice compensators in in-ground, painted or tiled concrete pools? (some painted with a tile border, some tiled throughout). Winters here have an average of night-time low of -4C for three months, with occasional night-time drops to -10C and the occasional cold snap of -20C for a...

I have a small pool and large hot tub on the roof of a four-storey building. The pool is about 3200 US Gallons (6'x20') and the hot tub around 1500 US gallons (8'x8'). These pools are concrete and completely tiled. I've always wondered what the best thing to do with them in the winter is -...

I have an issue where some amateurs painted a 12" stripe around the an in-ground pool ... using the same paint they used on the pool. It is very slippery when wet. The surface is aggregate concrete; sandblasting off the paint is a possibility next year, albeit with a good chance of ruining the...

I've been trying to determine the sizes of a large kidney shaped pool (pool "A"). I have a similar pool at the site next door for which I do have data, so I thought I'd test calculation methods based on it. Here's what I got on that pool (pool "B"), and I can't figure it out. According to the...

I have a couple of pools that operate solely on chlorine pucks. My problem is that so many pucks are needed to keep the FC levels maintained in these pools that the CYA level jumps much too quickly. During a typical week we might use as many as 15 pucks (3 kilograms of pucks) to keep the FC...

So here's my story. Please bear with me. To visualize it better, I've put photos of the equipment room on Imgur at http://imgur.com/a/W0N3p rather than attach them to this post (for which I would have to reduce the photo resolution). Click the gear icon in the top corner of each photo to view it...

Has anyone ever used an irrigation "slip fix" on pool piping? I used one a few years ago as an experiment (and to make my life easier) and was wondering about if it's considered okay and other people's experiences. I put one on the return side of a 2HP spa jet pump (2" pipe) in a difficult to...

So a curious thing for me. Every vacuum head I've ever had for a dozen concrete pools has no brushes. They are specifically sold as concrete vacuum heads. Recently I took over a pool that has a nearly identical style head, except it has two alternating rows of brushes on the bottom. I was under...

I did a pressure test on a pool recently to try and narrow down the source of some vacuum problems. The issue is that after about 5 minutes, the pump starts pulling a ton of air out of absolutely nowhere. From then on, lots of air moves through with the water, making vacuuming very difficult as...

I just thought I'd share a recent discovery / head smacking moment. I recently took a commercial hot tub circulation pump (Pentair Whisperflo 3/4hp) in for service. It had been very noisy since start-up, and was not putting out the same flow - last year was 47 GPM (the design rate), this year...

Is anyone aware of independent test lab results for pool test kits? I am a commercial operator in charge of 18 pools, and although I stick with a Taylor K-2006 at all sites, the local health authority has started switching from K-2005/2006 to LaMotte ColorQ. I tried the ColorQ and found it to be...

I have a large number of Rainbow 300-29x offline and 320cn inline feeders in use at various pools. Some of these pools are very old and have minor unlocatable air suction leaks, causing small amounts of air to travel through the line. Some of this air ends up in the chlorine feeders, in some...

I've got some confusion that I'm hoping someone can help me clear up. I have a pool for which the original engineering data sheet specifies 44 US GPM @ 76 ft. TDH. I presume the TDH figure is correct, since this is the original engineering. The original pump model is unspecified, but would be of...

I accidentally allowed some reagent bottles to partially freeze. Among those frozen are a nearly empty bottle of R-0004-E which I won't cry over, half a bottle of R-0871-E, 3L of R-0013(G), and possibly a couple of R-0009-C's (didn't actually check them). Nothing froze completely, and they are...

Does anyone know how to convert the Blue-White Industries F-1000 digital flow meters from GPM to LPM? I don't care that the label will be wrong. They will convert them - a simple settings change, I'm told - for $20 each plus shipping to and from. Too much, I've got a few to do :)

I am becoming very confused. Last year, all testing was done using test strips. Not once over the course of the year did I ever get a combined chlorine reading at any of my 16 pools and hot tubs. Independent testing by both our supplier (using a BioGuard test lab) and by the health authority...

The local health authority has mandated twice-daily, 7-day testing for all of our pools. As a result of this, I am about to deal with untrained persons doing evening tests at several sites. This is happening because the stratas do not want to spend the considerable extra money to have someone...

Recently when testing a pool using a K-2006, the water sample would barely change colour when the DPD powder was added. But when the titration agent was added, the colour would get darker and darker with every drop until after about 5 drops, at which point it would lighten again as is normal. On...

Recently purchased nine Taylor K-2006 test kits to use at various pool locations. I probably should have gone for the K-2006-C considering how much they will be used, but they were not available for purchase anywhere that I could find. Regardless, we got the K-2006 for a comparitively good...

I have several Rainbow 320CN in-line erosion feeders installed at various pools. Two give me problems, I'm hoping someone can give me some insight. The first is on an outdoor spa. The water line and valve is installed on the lower port. The feeder fills at least part way with air on a daily...

Through the multiple pools I take care of, there are three different salt-water generators. I have two Clearwater Zodiac SWGs (recently down from three, one was replaced with a...), three Aqua-Rite SWGs, and one Pool Pilot SWG. The Zodiacs have a constant problem with calcium build-up. I get...

I'm getting a build-up of a white substance in my skimmer, in particular building up on the thermometer and any items that may be in the basket (ie leaves). It is very thick, has the exact look and consistency of mucous, and is not the usual crud that builds up in hot tub skimmers. This is...

I am trying to upend 15 years of the company I work for using only test strips for water testing. To do it successfully, I need to bring numbers. I already know that our test strips (AquaCheck Yellows) cost us $10 per bottle, 50 test strips. These will last an average of 40 tests, accounting...

Anyone have some experience with keeping tiles looking nice and clean? I'm trying to find a better product to clean the tiles around my indoor pool rooms with. I get daily white marks across all the tiles, likely from calcium or possibly salt, but I can't seem to get them to dissipate much. I...

I have a problem with brown stains at three of the pools I maintain, and I could REALLY use some help/advice on this as the pool store here has got no answers for me. This problem stems back to long before I started taking care of them. For information: - For my own reference, I will refer to...

I am responsible for daily operations for several semi-private pools and spas. By semi-private I mean they are not public; they are located in retirement villas, condominium complexes, apartment blocks, etc. I took over this position only 3-4 months ago so I have been maintaining the regimen...