Going on vacation for 7 days

[Her pool boy]

So leaving the pool for the first time since adopting the TFPC method and need some advice before heading out. I leave this Thursday. My current numbers are as follows

FC 5
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 80
CA 150
CYA 30

I have 3 trichlor pucks, but I don't not have a puck chlorinator, floater or otherwise. I also have someone to put bleach in the water, as required but they aren't school in the way.

advice, and recommendations?

 

[OHcabanaboy]

I showed someone how to put the chlorine in and even how much to add but came back to a green pool. Next time, I float pucks. I know they have stabilizer in them but I'll deal with a bit higher CYA over losing several days fighting an algae problem. I'd buy a cheap floater and go on vacation.

 

[Her pool boy]

I will get a cheap floater, but will 3pucks do it for a whole week? I have never used pucks before so not exactly sure how it works for releasing chlorine, and how long they last? Do I also have to add bleach daily? Thanks for the help..

 

[duraleigh]

Scroll down in PoolMath to the bottom and it will tell how many pucks you will need for the size of your pool. Figure that you will lose 3 ppm daily so you need about 20 ppm FC.

 

[singingpond]

Another approach to consider -- when we went on vacation recently (gone 10 days), I brought FC up to a bit above SLAM level, also bumped CYA up a bit (by using dichlor for part of the FC addition), covered the pool, and turned off the pump. The pump was moribund, judging by the racket it was making, so we didn't dare leave it running in our absence.

Upon return, FC measured at 5 and the water was clear. There was a little settled debris on the bottom, perhaps a bit of algae. Raised FC to 10 for a day or two (not a formal SLAM), brushed and vacuumed, and the pool has been fine since. Our CYA level is similar to yours. Water temperature was in the upper 80s when we left, so low water temperature was not a helpful factor. We were pleased this worked as well as it did.

The trouble with tabs in a floater (an approach we tried a couple years ago) is that you don't really know how fast they will dissolve. On that occasion we found quite a bit of undissolved material still in the floater when we returned from our trip.

 

[Cinic]

If it were me, and I trusted the person to add the chlorine, I'd probably raise FC to near SLAM before leaving then instruct the helper to add 'these' jugs to pool on Sunday. Where 'these' jugs are whatever amount it takes for 4 days plus a little extra. This keeps it simple and is a one time thing for your helper. Although you'll need to coordinate so that the pump is running.

If I couldn't trust the person I'd raise the FC to near slam then float a bunch of pucks. Pool your size I might do two floaters stuffed full. I did this for a 4 or 5 day trip and it all worked out fine. Pucks weren't even fully dissolved.

 

[doc8404]

Before TFP, my pucks (actually bioguard smart silk sticks) went right in the skimmer. No issues.