New Build in Western Massachusetts

[SebastianC]

Been utilizing the pool for the last four days since the heat pump finally got our water warm enough. It took 96hrs straight of running the heat pump to get to the upper 70s. It's quite brisk outside now (mid 60's) but the water is a toasty 88 degrees (we've been swimming at night because of our schedules).

The PB initially started up the mechanicals and said they put in the appropriate chemicals. When I first tried to balance the water, I would pour a whole jug of chlorine at night and the FC would be around 12. The next day I would be at zero. The PB said they put in stabilizer but when I tested the water it never got cloudy and I could always see the black dot and I thought my test was faulty but apparently I had 0 CYA. Once I put in 12 lbs of cyanuric acid, everything was fine and my chlorine stayed very consistent. I only have to put a tiny bit of liquid chlorine every other day. I also added a few boxes of baking soda to get my pH and alkalinity up and right now my water is crystal clear, doesn't smell and my latest test shows the following:

FC - 5
CC - 0
pH - 7.5
TA - 130
CH - 50
CYA - 40

As far as I can tell, the TFP method seems to be working out. All of my friends who have pools and use pool store free-testing say they struggle with bouts of green water and cloudiness which I hope to avoid. I guess we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

 

[kimkats]

Love what I am reading! Did your PB put pucks in the the tube? That might be what he meant when he said he added CYA or he might have *forgotten* to buy it and add it to your pool

For the other pool owners I see you having a pool opening party and letting ohhhhhhhh and awwwwwwwwww over your water THEN break out the test kit and do the test to show them how easy it is THEN offer to go over to their house and test their water! OR then can bring a sample of their water to the party!

Just be ready to hear "but the pool store will test it for free" and other such nonsense

Kim

 

[Nectarologist]

The pool looks amazing. The liner is a great choice. Next time (hopefully in 15 years) I am going to go borderless on the liner. My pool is also 16' wide but 32' long. The extra length you have really makes it look great. Best of luck!

 

[cvachon]

Congratulations on the pool - looks awesome. We just went thought the same experience and used the same PB. When I was reading page one of this thread and you were commenting on how quickly this is happening - I was think you must be using the same company we did...we signed the contract and a few days later we had a swimming pool We've been very happy with their work and it was a good experience.

How many BTUs is your heater? We're in CT and my heat pump (140,000 BTUs) has been struggling to keep the pool warm with all this cooler weather.

 

[rmclain73]

Congratulations on the pool - looks awesome. We just went thought the same experience and used the same PB. When I was reading page one of this thread and you were commenting on how quickly this is happening - I was think you must be using the same company we did...we signed the contract and a few days later we had a swimming pool We've been very happy with their work and it was a good experience.

How many BTUs is your heater? We're in CT and my heat pump (140,000 BTUs) has been struggling to keep the pool warm with all this cooler weather.

The weather has been awful the last few weeks. I turned my heat pump off Sunday evening, and do not plan to turn it back on until Thursday. It has just been too cold and rainy in this part of the country. Last summer I never turned it off, and most days it would only come on for a hour or two to keep the pool warm. Even though heat pumps advertise they will work with temps in the 50s and 60s, you really need temps to be in the 70s with sun for them to work well in this part of the country. Good news is this weekend and next week look to be more seasonal.

 

[TortugaCat]

Love your water color SebastianC. I am also totally wowed by how quickly and smoothly your project went - congrats!

Curious if you are considering a solar cover. We are currently waffling on whether or not it would be a significant cost savings versus the hassle. After all the rain yesterday our pool is down to a frigid 64. Fingers crossed that the weekend forecast holds or improves

 

[SebastianC]

Congratulations on the pool - looks awesome. We just went thought the same experience and used the same PB. When I was reading page one of this thread and you were commenting on how quickly this is happening - I was think you must be using the same company we did...we signed the contract and a few days later we had a swimming pool We've been very happy with their work and it was a good experience.

How many BTUs is your heater? We're in CT and my heat pump (140,000 BTUs) has been struggling to keep the pool warm with all this cooler weather.

Thanks -- yes, it was very fast! Guess these guys just work quickly. We are still waiting for the concrete surround to be poured. All of this rain we've been getting has the concrete contractor behind schedule. Did Mancini do yours too?

Our heat pump is 112,000 BTUs and it has been struggling (probably more than yours) with the cold weather but it has gotten the pool to 88 degrees. It just takes about 3 days to do it once it has been turned off. Do you get a lot of pool water evaporation with the hot pool and cool night air?

- - - Updated - - -

The weather has been awful the last few weeks. I turned my heat pump off Sunday evening, and do not plan to turn it back on until Thursday. It has just been too cold and rainy in this part of the country. Last summer I never turned it off, and most days it would only come on for a hour or two to keep the pool warm. Even though heat pumps advertise they will work with temps in the 50s and 60s, you really need temps to be in the 70s with sun for them to work well in this part of the country. Good news is this weekend and next week look to be more seasonal.

How long has it been taking your heat pump to get your pool to temperature and what is your goal temp?

 

[SebastianC]

Love your water color SebastianC. I am also totally wowed by how quickly and smoothly your project went - congrats!

Curious if you are considering a solar cover. We are currently waffling on whether or not it would be a significant cost savings versus the hassle. After all the rain yesterday our pool is down to a frigid 64. Fingers crossed that the weekend forecast holds or improves

Thanks! I love the color too. It was between this or the black granite. I think I would have been happy with either. I have thought a lot about a solar cover. It seems like a pain to deal with and frankly, I love looking at the water when we're not swimming. However, when I get my first electric bill since the pool went in, I might change my mind! What prices have you found in your search? Since your pool is the same size as ours we'd likely get something similar.

 

[rmclain73]

Thanks! I love the color too. It was between this or the black granite. I think I would have been happy with either. I have thought a lot about a solar cover. It seems like a pain to deal with and frankly, I love looking at the water when we're not swimming. However, when I get my first electric bill since the pool went in, I might change my mind! What prices have you found in your search? Since your pool is the same size as ours we'd likely get something similar.

How long to do you find your heatpump is running each day without a solar cover? Do you know how many degrees you are losing at night? Late June, July and August you can get a away without a solar cover, but in May and September when the temps drop at night, your water temps will drop pretty fast as well resulting in your pump running a lot to keep up.

 

[TortugaCat]

Sorry for the delay in my reply. I have been busy swimming...finally!

Thanks! I love the color too. It was between this or the black granite. I think I would have been happy with either. I have thought a lot about a solar cover. It seems like a pain to deal with and frankly, I love looking at the water when we're not swimming. However, when I get my first electric bill since the pool went in, I might change my mind! What prices have you found in your search? Since your pool is the same size as ours we'd likely get something similar.

Great point about not being able to see the water with a solar cover on. We keep one on our hot tub in the spring and fall, and it is super unattractive. With such a short season here, I definitely want to maximize my enjoyment of the space - in and out of the pool.

We have cheap electricity here, but we tend to heat the pool with propane and only maintain the temperature with our heat pump. Our challenge is that we often decide at the last minute that we want to swim, and then our only option is propane. I do like WARM water, somewhere around 86 is perfect for me, although early in the season I can't seem to justify heating it quite that high. With the recent air temps in the upper 80's our heat pump is only coming on for maybe 30-45 minutes in the morning.

Our pool was filled August 16, 2016 and we left a week later for a two week vacation, so we are still very new to figuring things out with our pool. It's hard to tell if increased electric bills are mainly for the heat pump, or for all of the other pool equipment. We definitely burned through propane in May in the hot tub.

This is the reel and cover that I have my eye on. All in it would be about $600, so definitely an investment. I haven't shopped around, so maybe it could be had for cheaper. My husband really wants to do it, but I would prefer to wait it out this season and see how it goes.