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I've been gone for several months, back with a question or two. I have come across an odd item. In disassembling HP photo printers for recycling of the usable items inside, I now have a couple of peristaltic pumps used for metering the ink to the printer head. The ink appears to be alcohol...

Decided to leave the pool uncovered this last winter. All the leaves were off the trees when I closed, so there isn't that much debris in the pool, just a lot of wind blown dust and dirt. Pool started to turn a bit green, so I stuck a sump pump on it's side in the still ice covered water two...

I am assuming that RV antifreeze will not attack the seals in a pool pump, since it is supposed to be used in potable water systems. I plan on draining my pump and filling it with antifreeze. Will this be OK over winter?

Just saw this on one of my favorite DIY sites: http://hackaday.com/2014/09/16/a-3d-printed-peristaltic-pump/ This was done as a proof of concept. If you know someone with a 3d printer, and can build a control system, this could be the least expensive way yet to get into automated chemical...

... a Pac Fab Dynamo 3/4 hp pump and a smaller Hayward sand filter. Doing some freelance work for someone, and trying to teach him a bit about the TFP method of pool care. He's wanting to get rid of items that he'll never use again, and this set was among the stuff going to the trash. Motor...

As many of the more established folks here know, I've been making a few modifications to my pool plumbing system, using bits and pieces of Intex equipment, and PVC pipe and fittings. Here is the latest installment in this ongoing saga. A word of caution is in order here. I have (to some...

I have a situation that I think is a bit odd. Yesterday afternoon I vacuumed the pool, then changed out the cart. We had a quick heavy rain (1/2" rain) early this morning. When I checked the pool it was a little bit cloudy, so I turned the filter pump on. Came back an hour later, and pool is...

Until recently, I've had the water flow in my round pool going clockwise, that is to the left standing outside of the pool. I'd had problems with floating debris gathering in the center, making me have to use the skim net to remove it. Currently, I have the flow going counterclockwise, and not...

I was in the pool for my daily therapy, and needed to do my monthly testing. When I got to the CYA test, I tried something a little different. As I was pouring the mixture into the test cylinder, the bottom half of the cylinder was in the water. I came up with 40 ppm that way, so tried it again...

I was recently given a length of 1-1/2" stainless steel tubing. I am thinking of redoing the manifold for the coils of my pool heater with this. What problems should I be anticipating if I do use this? Will it add unwanted metals into my water? How fast would it corrode if silver soldered to...

Some of you may recognize the grill lid from the first attempt at a wood fired pool heater. Same lid, turned upside down. Serpentine coils are the same ones I used in the first build as well. I have reused the Intex suction and return fittings, so I don't have any over the wall plumbing...

Quick question about water temperature for testing CYA: I have seen in several threads where it has been discussed about the low CYA readings in cold pool water. At what temperature does this effect become negligible?

As many of you know, I've been slowly converting my small pool to hard plumbing. I've been doing some reading on this subject, and have come across the idea of a complete loop around the pool especially for the returns. I think I understand the principle behind this, that being easier to...

I bought the Hydrotools through the wall skimmer complete set, which came with a return fitting. I noted the outside threads on the back side looked like they might fit the Intex 1-1/2" hose fittings. Checked it out, and yes they work! I don't know if any of the other brands of return fittings...

I would appear as though I waited a bit long to test my water.... Ice is finally gone from the pool, been that way for a few days. When I closed the pool, I bumped the FC up to 12, and I am assuming with the crud that fell through the mesh it got used up. Hard to test water when it's got 6"...

Ice has finally started to break up on my pool. Here's a few pics of what I've found. Each individual crystal is roughly hexagonal shaped, and were vertical in the water. I've only seen sheet ice on ponds and pool before, so this threw me for a loop a bit.

Dogs were in the pool again today, and I noticed what I thought was a bit peculiar. I literally watched the dust and dirt they normally drag into the water fall to the bottom. What I mean is within moments of them being in the pool, I could see the fine clay silt drop out of the water into the...

Was reading this thread:http://www.troublefreepool.com/calcium-hardness-and-metal-ions-t68511.html and need a bit of clarification not really answered in pool school extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html When I do the CH test, when I reach the point of first color change, the indicator...

For the past two months, testing the TA every two weeks, I've noted a very slow but steady rise in the TA. Past three weeks of daily pH testing has shown steady at about 7.5 When I filled/opened the pool, TA was 190, same as fill water. Lowered it using acid/aeration to ~100. Test this morning...

Got started on my triple "B" filter set, thought I'd post pics of it so far. I have doubled the filtration capacity with this, and will be adding the third canister when I can find one. I've got an ad on the local craigslist, hoping that someone else might have one to get rid of. According to...

I am right now at the stage of gathering parts for my hard plumb project, and need a little info. I'm planning on having a through wall skimmer, and would like to have an additional suction fitting with valve for vacuuming. Would this be the same fitting used for the returns, or is there a...

Here's what I threw together today, and why. Wife was complaining that the original "ladder" that came with the pool was too narrow and didn't feel sturdy. I agreed. She's right. So since I had the time and $$ in the same place at the same time (believe me, that is actually a rare event!), I...

I had mentioned early on that one of our dogs could climb the pool ladder. Here's the link to the video on youtube: http://youtu.be/lnZ4Z1LOWMU Once Abby discovered that she could get into the pool, there is no keeping her out. She learned the ladder on her own, and loves to go to the nearest...

The test cylinder that came with the HTH 6 way I started out with is graduated with 5, 10, 11, 14.5, and more, up to 50 ml. Could I use the 5 ml for FC/CC testing, and count the drops of R-0871 as full ppm? what would this do with the CC portion of the test? 2 or 3 drops of R-0003? Just...

Had an "unscheduled" rain event last evening, just before my usual testing time. I say unscheduled, because the storm moved in sooner and faster than predicted. I've been running my FC level where it seems to be most stable, between 4.5 and 5.5. CYA is at ~35 (1/3 below the 30 mark). Did my...

There may be some of us that see the potential available with a cheap pool. One of my projects this summer with mine is to modify the cartridge filter system to increase the available filter area by combining several similar sized pumps. Take a couple dead pump/filter sets apart, and hard...

New to the forum here. Just a quick intro -- We were given an Intex 15x48 pool last year, needed a new liner. The neighbor that gave us the pool had all sorts of trouble keeping the water clear, I'm assuming because she kept getting "pool stored". If it wasn't filled with algae, it was cloudy...