new member with new pool woes

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sheloveswater

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May 31, 2009
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I am looking forward to getting to know others on this forum. In the past 2 years I have learned a lot from this site and the PoolSolutions forum. It has been extremely helpful this year learning to "open" a pool from winter. My experience has been redo surface, redo paint, new water. My grandfather put this pool in when he built the house before I was even born. I spent 3 years of pain and suffering putting a new coating on this monster to avoid the 2 months prep (and getting longer as the pool and I aged) So I have never shocked a pool before and I have lived here 30+ years myself. I am the only one to use the pool with the occassional guest so it is not a heavy load pool. It has been a trial learning the chemistry of starting up a pool, esp with no winter cover and bamboo alongside. It was finally light green instead of black green, but alas, today after vacuuming, then cleaning the filter basket, the pump won't start, just a light humming sound. :hammer: YICKS!!! My Dad has always been the one to take care of the pump with diagnosis, repairs and plumbing, but he has some serious health isssues. I guess it is time to learn something new, again, about the pool. We have been a do it yourself family so my pool is not a "pretty or fancy" pool, although I did glitter the surface when I painted the top coat. All the plumbing is outside because there are no openings of any sort in the walls. but when the pool is operating correctly, it is a beauty and so easy. I like the simplicity of it but I think skimmers would be nice. I am afraid a new pump is in order and then I will have to try to figure out how to hook it up, I am sure the new one won't fit the existing plumbing that would be too easy, Days like today are overwhelming. :wave:
 
It has been a very interesting pool over the years. I wish I had photos of the pool when I was a child. I remember the "filter" was a huge tank filled with sand, there was a square opening in the top and I used to get in and use as a sandbox. The tank was covered in black tar.

The vacuum is good for removing "crud' from the bottom, I guess you could say I am the skimmer for the surface and what I don't scoop out eventually settles to the bottom and is vacuumed out. Typically I only use it on weekends because it takes so long to clean and vacuum and I have a thing about sharing my pool with multi-legged critters, esp spiders. I am a bit OCD about a clean pool, my house....I don't care so much, I hate housework, but my pool has to be pristine. But I will skim the surface daily with a net.

I will try to show photos once I figure out how to post. I have never used a forum type deal before. I did a photo/video documentary during the "refinishing" process to send to the manufacturer, so I have photos of the finished product as well as the trials and tribs leading up to it. That was a labor of love and a nightmare.

The only other person regularly using the pool is my nephew (14 yr old) and I did it for both of us. He LOVES water as I do. I am scuba instr. and have let him use the equip in the pool and am hoping he will find time to take lessons and certify. I won't teach him myself because he will try to get away with too much.

Thanks for the words for my Dad, his health is very bad, he has taught me a lot. I have been looking at pumps online and the choices are overwhelming and I know whatever I may get it will not fit my existing plumbing and I dread figuring that out.

I have tried turning the impeller by hand, but it is hard to get my fingers to it to see if it will turn. It is certainly not turning easily. I am going to take it apart to check next, it is not the easiest to take apart from it's "nest". Maybe I will photo this set up for posterity and give the pros a few laughs. And this pump is about 30 years old now.

God bless my Dad who has taken care of this all my life, if it could be fixed with duct tape, he would have used it, he was an A/V engineer for the local NBC affiliate and he has always fixed everything for me mechanical, electrical or plumbing I guess now it is a combo of all three and I will have to rely on my training he has provided up until now.

Thankfully I can still consult with him about the kind of pump I will need and the specs required. He is very frustrated to not be able to help me with this. I love this old pool, everyone has told me I should just fill it in for years, but I love having the water and it is so cool and eclectic, I think I could safely say no one has a pool like this one.

I tell you what though, finding the pool forum here and poolsolutions was a God send for helping with the chemistry. I would have been taken in by the pool dealers trying to sell me a bunch of unnecessary products. Before he got sick my Dad came home with a bunch of Baquacil Flocculant to settle the green out of the water. I don't have any intention of using this stuff, it sounds like a hassle and It doesn't seem to have any thing to do with algae anyway. I hope I can get his money back.

Aren't pools fun! I also have a series of 3 fish ponds. I am a glutton for punishment.
 
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