Rainbow Chlorinator

[Reed Kadavy]

Given that you travel a lot, and you're probably spending $500 a year on chems right now... if it was mine, I would be justifying a bundle like the one I'll paste below. It often goes on sale for a fair bit less than the $2150 shown. It will supply all your chlorine for probably the next 8 or 10 years, especially if you're using TFPC from this point forward. You can install yourself if you're keen to do that, or probably get it all hooked up for $300 or $400. You'd just have to make sure a couple of your existing valves are compatible with the supplied actuators, but I bet they are. You could change the valves for not too much money if need be.

You'll then have control of chlorine feed for spa or pool, heat for spa or pool, control of the VS pump for solar, heating, and pop-ups, etc. When you're away, you can turn the SWG down a bit and put some pucks in the Rainbow, which will look after your pH, although will raise the CYA a bit, but with TFPC you can monitor, leave a little headroom, and manage that all just fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Pentair-521150-Automation-Intellichor-Transformer/dp/B008H9A0FQ

With water that cheap, I wouldn't hesitate to replace water, subject to managing draining risks, and get your CYA down to 80. If you want a better sense of where you're at now, don't trust the pool store number, believe me, you're better at testing! Do the diluted test described at item 8 of this link: Pool School - CYA and then you'll know what you're up against.

Using the diluted test I still come up with 3/8" below the 100 mark.

 

[needsajet]

So your CYA might be more like 200+. Don't be alarmed, we've seen that here more often than you'd think possible. It's great news that your fill water is cheap

If it's no-risk to do a simple drain and refill, that's going to be the easiest method every time.

If not, and if your pool is around the same temperature as your fill water, or the pool is colder than your fill water (try your pool thermometer in a bucket of fill water, after the hose has run for a few minutes) there's a method worth trying that would completely eliminate any draining risk. You can float the fresh water on top, and draw the denser water from the bottom using your suction cleaner or the main drain if you have one, with your VS pump set on the lowest speed you can get. You'll probably need expanding plugs for your return jets (unless they are valved in a way we can get them all shut off, and a hose to attach to the drain spigot near the filter (hopefully you have one). If the spa overflow runs gently into the pool, that might be a good option as well.

 

[Reed Kadavy]

This is why TFP recommends an extended test for any CYA result above 90ppm.

Pool School - CYA

The extended test starts at step #8.

Why are you concerned with ‘solids’?

If you maintain CSI you will not need that Scaletec.

I tried the extended test and the level in the tube was 3/8" below 100. CYA must be off the chart. I'm not concerned with the solids.