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I had my propane heater replaced with a Pentair heat pump, model 140H/C. Every time the pool circulation pump shuts off (I run two 3-hour cycles per day) the heat pump shows an error message: “Alarm Status Low Water Flow” and a red service light comes on. If I just leave it alone, the heat pump...

When the pool company opened my pool last week the pump was running fine on high speed. The next day I ran it on low speed with no problem, but when I stopped it and restarted on high, it wouldn’t run at all. I saw that the run capacitor was bloated and distorted like a soup can with botulism...

The guys that closed my pool forgot to disconnect and take the SWG panel down for storage. I had to do it myself before the big freeze this week. There’s a thin white wire that runs from the panel into a water return line which I disconnected from the panel. I assume it’s connected to a sensor...

I do my best to follow all of the advice here, and it has paid off – only one SLAM in four years! But now I want some more info before going ahead. The Chlorine/CYA chart recommends 70 CYA for a target FC of 5. My CYA has been in the 40-45 range all summer, though, and my chlorine level has not...

I am fed up with my Little Giant (model APCP-1700) cover pump and I’m ready to replace it. Moisture has apparently been sleeping in through the top past the o-ring and corroded some of the electronics. It also clogs easily and is very hard to clean. I can’t leave town for a few days and trust...

When I had a retractable cover installed they gave me a Little Giant cover pump (model APCP-1700) and it has been nothing but trouble. Many times after a rain the pump will be operating but no water comes out. Usually I can give the hose a shake and after a few seconds the water will start to...

Had the sand in my filter replaced last week and the next day I noticed a leak where the outflow pipe connects to the pump (at the red arrow in my photo). I thought it was an o-ring problem, but the pool company says there’s no o-ring there. They want to silicone it to stop the leak, but that...

My doctor has diagnosed me with an allergy to nickel, and I want to test various water sources around my house including my pool for nickel. I’ve found a commercial company that will test samples for me, but they want $50 per sample. Is there a kit out there that I can use to do the tests...

I know I've read here that once CYA is in the water it stays there, and the only way to lower it is to drain and refill. But my level has fallen consistently this season, and I think that's why I had to do my first SLAM last week. Here are the numbers: 5/15: 70 5/24: 60 5/31: 50 6/10: 45 6/18...

I'm curious about this statement in the Pool School article Water Balance for SWGs: "Starting out slightly higher (200-400 ppm) than the ideal level is recommended, since the salt level will tend to fall over time." According to PoolMath (web version), if I run my SWG at 100% for 24 hours a day...

I've almost finished my first ever SLAM. I've had the FC up to 20-22 for the last three days. It finally passed the OCLT this morning, so I've stopped adding chlorine. By mid-afternoon it had dropped from 21.5 to 17. My SWG is turned off, and it's been more cloudy than sunny today. Tomorrow is...

I just read this article from the 6/16/17 New York Times titled "Is Chlorine in Swimming Pools Safe?": Cookies are Not Accepted - New York Times The article gets it mostly right, but many of the comments show that there's still a lot of ingnorance out there. I responded to a couple of comments...

I just ran out of a product called "Bromine Start" which is 99% sodium bromide. I use it to establish a bromine reserve when I drain and refill. I have a pretty good supply of something called "Brominating Concentrate", which is 82.5% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione and 14.7% sodium bromide...

The pool guy opened the pool a few days ago and today I want to use the heater for the first time. I made sure he tested the heater operation while he was here, but like a fool I didn't have him make sure it was actually heating the pool water, which it isn't. The heater is a Raypak 406A...

Opened the pool yesterday and the water is a beautiful TFP clear – yay! :kim:But my CSI is a bit low and I'm not sure what to do about it. Here are the readings: FC: 5 CC: 0.5 pH: 7.3 CH: 225 TA: 60 Salt: 2800 CYA: 70 CSI: -.99 Any suggestions for adjustments?

I have had a guy offer to sell and install a salt water generator for my hot tub. Does anyone out there use one? Are you happy with it? I haven't seen any good pictures online of how they look installed. Does it just hang over the side and plug into an outlet or is it installed internally and...

Just wanted to express my thanks for all of the advice and support this past season. It's been two years now and still no need to SLAM! Here's a pic from a beautiful New Jersey fall day: Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I waited all day for the guy from the pool company to close my pool today, but when he finally showed up I was teaching and didn't even know he was here. I thought he knew that I do all of my own chemicals and he was only supposed to do the mechanical work, but apparently I was wrong (grrr...)...

Lots of changes around here this year – replaced my single-speed pump with a dual-speed, installed a SWG, and had solar panels put on my house (for electricity, not pool heating). Now I'm trying to educate myself about how much power it's taking to run my pool, but I'n a newbie at all things...

I have what must be an extra large skimmer basket. The outer edge of the top rim is 9.5". Skimmer socks I've bought at the pool store don't even come close to stretching across. Does anyone know of an extra large sock that I can get online? I've also seen posts from people who are using nylon...

I just had a salt water generator installed and I'm in the process of adjusting my water (mostly adding salt, of course, and raising the CYA) before turning it on tomorrow. :-D My TA has drifted down during the summer from 110 in May to 80 last week, but today it's back up to 90. Pool School...

I'm thinking about getting a projector for watching movies outdoors by the pool. What kind of specs should I be looking for and how much should I expect to spend? The projector doesn't have to be weather-proof – I'll store it indoors. I have a shed 10' away from the side of the pool and I'll...

Okay, because it's summer I've been a little lax about testing my spa water daily, but I didn't expect this! 7/3/16 Temp 103° Bromine 6.625 pH 8.2 CH 400 TA 50 7/23/16 (today) Temp 100° (that's ok, I turned it down last week) Bromine 18 pH 6.8 CH 0 (the test water didn't change color at all...

I'll be having a new SWG installed in about 2 weeks and I want to make sure I have all of my bases covered. It will be a Hayward (sorry I don't know the exact model) rated for 40K gallons (my pool is about 22K). Here are a few questions: Should I have a way to test for salt concentration? Does...

Now that my pool is about a year old, I'm doing some upgrades that my original PB should have told me about but didn't. My single-speed pump is a bit noisier in the daytime than I like (plus I've read here that a 2-speed pump is more energy-efficient), so I'm going to swap it out for a Hayward...

Our pool is less than a year old and we just had it opened two days ago. I followed the TFP method since it was installed last summer and never had the slightest algae problem. Of course I did my own chemical balancing before the pool company closed it last October, and I just tested the water...

Just had my pool opened yesterday and I noticed the filter gauge needle didn't move when I turned on the pump. It looks to me like the needle is on the wrong side of the pin, so the pin seems to be blocking the needle. Is this fixable or do I need to order and install a new gauge? Sent from...

The pool company is coming day after tomorrow to do my closing, and I'm getting the water chemistry right before they get here. I've read the stickies in this forum, but I'm just not quite clear on what to do with the FC level. Do I bring it up to shock level or to 50% of shock level? And then I...

I've read some posts that suggest adding a product called Gentle Spa to make the water feel silkier. I also read that adding 20 Mule Team Borax and muriatic acid at the same time will do the same the thing. if that's correct, I'd rather do the latter since I already have those on hand. The...

I have read the entire sticky thread on using bromine in my hot tub and I want to make sure I have everything right. In a few of chemgeek's posts he says that the TF-100 kit can be used to accurately test the bromine level using a conversion factor or 2.25 from FC to bromine. So, as I...