I started up the pool yesterday after sitting all winter - Not sure what the numbers were when I closed, but the test strips I was using seemed to say things were mostly OK.
I used an "In-The-Swim" winterizing kit when I closed, except that I have never been able to see much sense in putting chemicals in, then pumping them out on the ground :? so I always pump the pool down, THEN add the chemicals by sprinkling them over the surface as much as I can...
I pumped down about 2' when closing, to just below the returns, stopped up all the plumbing after blowing it out with a shop-vac and covered it with a Meyco(sp?) safety cover. Even though it's an in-ground pool and they aren't "needed", I string several partly inflated air pillows along the length of the pool, and toss in a large collection of all my empty chemical bottles from the past several years. This is not so much to prevent freeze damage, as it is to keep the weight of the snow from pushing the safety cover into the water, where it makes "leaf tea" out of the leaves on the cover (and the soggy leaves then keep the cover weighted down, etc..
Over the course of the winter, rain and snowmelt bring the water level back up, so that this year (as usual) I don't have to add any water when I open.
Saturday, a friend and I pulled the cover off, unstopped the plumbing, and got the filter running. I also pitched in the Polaris, and dumped in a 5 gallon bucket of 10% pool chlorine that I've had for a year or two (not sure how age affects that stuff) I also added one puck of I.T.S. "pHree & clear" (some sort of "magick water balancing pill, looks like a blue 3" puck, dissolves fairly fast and bubbles a bit in the pool) and dumped a pound bag of 1" chlorine tabs in the floater.
The pump and Polaris have been running 24/7 since then, although for much of that time it probably wasn't doing much good as the DE filter plugged up rapidly (normal pressure around 8-10psi, got over 28 before I backwashed) which mostly kills circulation and also makes the Polaris stop working since the booster pump is on the filter output side...
The water was better this year than I've often seen it in years past - brown instead of black, a lot of sediment on the bottom, some crud on the top, could (sort of) see the bottom in the shallow end - obviously the Polaris made this a lot worse when it started.
This afternoon, the water had a greenish cast to it, but was relatively clear - I could see the main drain, along with all the dirt still on the bottom
This is better than it has done in the past, but based on past patterns, I'm expecting I will still need to backwash at least daily for the next 3-4 days along with frequent cleanings of the Polaris bag before the water is relatively clear...
Back in my pool-store days, I was told I should run the pool for 3-4 days until the water at least looked part way decent before I started bringing in samples for testing and chemical sales... I now have a brand new virgin TF-100, and want to know when I should start breaking it in, and possibly which tests I should worry about doing most? I am anxious to separate from the pool-store addiction, but don't want to waste time and tests doing stuff before the water is clear enough that the dirt won't screw up the results...
As a separate, but related question, are there any good charts or equivalent for comparing pricing on the different forms of liquid chlorine?
Gooserider
I used an "In-The-Swim" winterizing kit when I closed, except that I have never been able to see much sense in putting chemicals in, then pumping them out on the ground :? so I always pump the pool down, THEN add the chemicals by sprinkling them over the surface as much as I can...
I pumped down about 2' when closing, to just below the returns, stopped up all the plumbing after blowing it out with a shop-vac and covered it with a Meyco(sp?) safety cover. Even though it's an in-ground pool and they aren't "needed", I string several partly inflated air pillows along the length of the pool, and toss in a large collection of all my empty chemical bottles from the past several years. This is not so much to prevent freeze damage, as it is to keep the weight of the snow from pushing the safety cover into the water, where it makes "leaf tea" out of the leaves on the cover (and the soggy leaves then keep the cover weighted down, etc..
Over the course of the winter, rain and snowmelt bring the water level back up, so that this year (as usual) I don't have to add any water when I open.Saturday, a friend and I pulled the cover off, unstopped the plumbing, and got the filter running. I also pitched in the Polaris, and dumped in a 5 gallon bucket of 10% pool chlorine that I've had for a year or two (not sure how age affects that stuff) I also added one puck of I.T.S. "pHree & clear" (some sort of "magick water balancing pill, looks like a blue 3" puck, dissolves fairly fast and bubbles a bit in the pool) and dumped a pound bag of 1" chlorine tabs in the floater.
The pump and Polaris have been running 24/7 since then, although for much of that time it probably wasn't doing much good as the DE filter plugged up rapidly (normal pressure around 8-10psi, got over 28 before I backwashed) which mostly kills circulation and also makes the Polaris stop working since the booster pump is on the filter output side...
The water was better this year than I've often seen it in years past - brown instead of black, a lot of sediment on the bottom, some crud on the top, could (sort of) see the bottom in the shallow end - obviously the Polaris made this a lot worse when it started.
This afternoon, the water had a greenish cast to it, but was relatively clear - I could see the main drain, along with all the dirt still on the bottom
This is better than it has done in the past, but based on past patterns, I'm expecting I will still need to backwash at least daily for the next 3-4 days along with frequent cleanings of the Polaris bag before the water is relatively clear...Back in my pool-store days, I was told I should run the pool for 3-4 days until the water at least looked part way decent before I started bringing in samples for testing and chemical sales... I now have a brand new virgin TF-100, and want to know when I should start breaking it in, and possibly which tests I should worry about doing most? I am anxious to separate from the pool-store addiction, but don't want to waste time and tests doing stuff before the water is clear enough that the dirt won't screw up the results...
As a separate, but related question, are there any good charts or equivalent for comparing pricing on the different forms of liquid chlorine?
Gooserider
) would it help the chlorine kill whatever's in there if I toss it in?
Googling for it gets lots of hits, but I didn't find anything informative...