New Pool Owner in Huntsville, AL

[johnnyrec]

Hey all,

I found this site and am thankful that I did. My wife and I moved into our house in October - right during pool closing season - and having never owned a pool, had not clue what to do! Looking back now, I think we could write a manual on what not to do!

In short (I hope), our pool was somehow clear when we moved in but when I had it tested it had NO chemicals in it. We had no cover so before long it began to turn green and accumulate leaves. I didn't know anything, and got random bits of (not helpful) information from other pool owners like "vacuum the pool out." So... I vacuumed the leaves out.

You can see where this is going..... the pump basket got so full of leaves that the pump wasn't pumping water before long. So I cleaned the basket out but the water flow was low. "There may be a stick in there," people said. I tried things for weeks and frankly, I'm convinced there's nothing in the line. "You need to prime the pump," they said. So I tried to do so with the air release valve, but had no luck. It would sputter and such, and then water would start coming out. The flow of water coming out of the air release valve was continuous, but it was not a continuous pressure - it would sort of "pulsate" as it was coming out. "You may need to let it run for a while, and then it will prime," they said. But I wasn't sure if "a while" was 3 minutes, 15 minutes, or what, nor was I sure how long I should leave the air release valve open - do I close it once it appears all the air is out? I would think so, but I tried both that and leaving it open to no avail... In all this, I found YouTube videos are helpful sometimes, but not as much as I needed.

I also noticed that the pressure gauge was running high - around 30psi. My wife and I, against better judgment, simply decided to raise the white flag and admit defeat. We drained the pool a bit and covered it. I'm scared to think of what kind of big green monster lurks beneath the cover.

I found this site and registered this morning. I'm torn between trying and experimenting myself, or dropping the $400 or $500 to have the pool company open the pool and simply follow them around to see what I can learn. I have a Taylor K-2006 test kit and liquid bleach and a few other chemicals, so I'm good on that end. But as far as things like priming the pump, checking and cleaning the filter, lowering the pressure on the gauge... I'm clueless on that stuff and it seems to me that I can't get started until I settle those things. I don't know what any of this means but some of you might: my filter is a Tagelus TA-60/60D. The label on the pump is hard to read but it looks like it is A.O. Smith 1081 design.... I cannot make out the horsepower or model number or other relevant info.

I'm going to start with Pool School on the site here and see what I can learn. I really do need someone or something to walk me through every bit of this because I feel "in over my head," so I'm hoping the Pool School covers those needs. My wife and I are looking at the cost of chemicals, the cost of professional help, and the horror stories from other pool owners while looking at the country club across the street and wondering if we could save more money by joining the country club and using their pool! Who ever heard of joining a country club as a cost-cutting procedure!!!! We've definitely had our Gob Bluth "I've made a huge mistake," moment a couple of times with this pool already.

To be honest, I'm excited about this site but also feel just as overwhelmed trying to navigate the site as I am at navigating pool ownership. I noticed the SLAM procedure here on the site, and the pool calculator, and I think both of those will help me down the road and I'm actually looking forward to utilizing those. But first I have to figure out the filter and pump, get those going, and face off with the big green Algae monster. If you could point me anywhere else on the site that would be helpful, I would greatly appreciate it. I've scheduled the pool company for May 20th, so the way I see it I have 4 weeks to get this done myself or drop $400+ on the professional help. My daughter has a birthday Memorial Day weekend and wants a pool party, so that is my end goal. I'm looking forward to being a part of this community and seeing what I can learn!

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[woodyp]

Are we talking about an above ground or an in ground pool? What size? Please add a signature line to your profile and list you pool specs. Is the water dark green? Can you see bottom? Have you used a leaf rake bag to drag bottom for any debris? Your flow/pressure problems could be solved by something as simple as back washing your sand filter. We need test results posted! Welcome to the forum.

 

[johnnyrec]

Yeah, I added the signature after I posted. We'll see if it shows up with this post but if not, it's an in-ground 18x36. Most calculations I have run put me around 26,000-28,000 gallons of water. I don't know what color the water is now (it's still covered but we will probably take the cover off this week. Not today - it's raining!) but when we bit the bullet and covered it, it was a mid-green I guess. Could barely see the bottom in the 3 feet end, but not the 8 feet end. Once I discovered your weren't supposed to "vacuum the leaves out" (I was trying to vacuum them to waste thinking they would bypass the pump basket), I started using a leaf rake. But once I couldn't see the bottom in the deep end, I wasn't sure how much debris I was getting out.

I have tried to backwash, but is that something I can do if the pump is not primed? And if so, how long do I let it run?

I don't know what half your sig means but hopefully I'll learn, haha!

Thanks for the response!

 

[woodyp]

You may have a wadded up ball of leaves in your suction line to the pump from trying to vacuum mostly leaves. Is the seal on the pump basket lid good? Try lubing it. Is there a flow check valve in the line coming to your pump? How much higher does your pump sit in relationship to the top of the pool water? Is your pool water level at least midway up the face of the skimmer opening? Just taking shots here!

 

[Richard320]

An educated guess: the filter is clogged and there may be pine needles or similar caught in the pump impeller.

It really helps to know what kind of equipment you have. Like, whether or not you have a multiport backwash valve, and so on. Look for labels. Rag, flashlight, notepad, see what you can find out. You might find the visual encyclopedia helpful to put names to things. A few photos could also help us help you. Once we get your equipment figured out, the rest should be easy. You have the test kit, so you're miles ahead of most pool owners. One thing: clearing a swamp uses up a lot of the FAS-DPD test reagents, and refills are nearly impossible to find in stock anywhere. Order R-0870 and R-0871 refills now.