3 week vacation in late summer

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pypeke

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Jul 31, 2015
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Southeastern Oklahoma
I will be gone for 3 weeks in late summer. My pool is in full sun from sunrise to about 5:00 p.m. when about 1/3 of the pool gets shaded by the house. I am in Oklahoma so the air temperature could be anywhere between 90°F and 110°F (and even hotter). The pool water feels like bathtub water.

My CYA is usually 45, but I am wondering if I should raise it since the pool is in the sun most of the day. Should I raise it to 60 or 70? (whether on vacation or not?)

My normal pool watchers will be unavailable to add water and chemicals so I will need to turn off the pump.

My plan:
1. The early evening before we leave, I will clean all baskets, use robotic cleaner, lower pH, raise chlorine to FC levels, and cover the pool with my winter safety cover.
2. The evening before I leave, I will turn off the pump and make sure all gates are padlocked.

I can't float any pucks because the water will not be circulating, right?

I don't have a solar cover so will the safety cover be okay to use? It has a square mesh section in the middle of the cover which allows water to go in but keeps debris out.

I WILL come back to a green pool, right? But, it is better than coming back to a pump that needs replaced because the skimmer went dry.

Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
If it was me, and I didn't have a friend in the world left who was available to help out, I'd hire somebody to come by every other day at least to just add bleach and check water levels and RUN that pump on a timer and using a puck floater too.
 
Thanks.

This is the first time I have not had nearby helpers. All my friends will be gone on vacation too. We usually go on vacation in July, but this year we are going in August.

Hiring someone where I live...in the middle of nowhere...it might be possible, but I might be setting myself up for a home break-in if I hire someone I don't know. Plus who knows if they would even show up.

All neighbors are in their 70s or 80s. My daughter lives two hours away, and I would need someone to come out daily.

So I will probably just have a green pool when I come back.
 
Richard 320, thanks. With the Poly 60, do I leave the winter cover off? Will the winter cover just make the algae worse?

I forgot to mention...we have several reasons why we can't run the pump while gone for 3 weeks.

1. We lose a lot of water and the skimmer could run dry. I add about 4-5" of water (16x32 pool) at least once a week. We have looked for three years and can't find a leak. We have a main drain so if the skimmer is dry or gets plugged by debris, would the main drain keep the pump from going without water? Would it be better to adjust the diverter so more water flows through the main drain than the skimmer? Is that good or bad?

2. We have a surge protector on the pump, but we have frequent power outages and as many as 2-3 surges per day. I don't know if the pump will come back on or not.

3. The other day while I was brushing the pool, the pump was running and suddenly changed to priming 2500 rpm all by itself. Safety mechanism? I am not sure if it actually lost prime or not. We could still hear the pump running.

Better the devil I know (green pool) than replacing the pump. I am afraid to put the cover on and leave it for 3 weeks with a tab floater. I don't want it to damage the cover.
 
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