My pool is exactly what this site's title is not. It's been a nightmare since I bought my house.
I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do (other than digging up my concrete deck--that's the only part of the whole installation that doesn't give me trouble!) to get the water in my pool moving around in an efficient manner.
The situation with my pool is a long story, so I'll skip it and just describe the situation. My deep-end return and main drain do not work--we bought the house that way 10 years ago (we didn't know that when we bought it). When we replaced the liner a few years ago we discovered that not only does the main drain not work, it had a plug in it! So we removed the plug and ran water down a mysterious pipe sticking out of the ground for 15 minutes that we assume must connect to the drain. The water never surfaced... So, having no money left after buying the liner, we re-plugged it, installed the liner, and just continued. But the problem is that in order to keep the pool clean, we have to run the filter 24/7 all summer... if it is turned off even just for a little while, the pool becomes a disaster. Needless to say, this is rather expensive.
I've been through a couple pumps in the last 10 years and just opened the pool the other day (way late this season) to discover that the latest one died over the winter--I'm trying to figure out if it is a broken impeller shaft or a bad capacitor, but I don't see the capacitor at all (another issue entirely). Ultimately, I think I'm going to have to buy yet another pump. So I'm trying to figure out what I can do, if anything, about my water circulation issue.
I'm thinking that the best (though admittedly ugly) solution would be to run external pipes down the sides of the pool... have you ever seen anything like that? I really don't want to rip up the concrete and can't afford to have a professional come in and either dig up the concrete or dig under it to fix the pipes--and I could only get under it on one side anyway--the side that is least broken.
So I'm looking for ideas on how to rig up a system of pipes that will not only pull water from the bottom of the pool and return it to both ends, but also still skim the top--the pool is surrounded by pine trees and we have to empty the FULL skimmer basket AND pump basket at least twice a day, sometimes more often in heavy wind conditions or on the days when the trees are dumping their millions of seeds. I finally removed all the pine trees on my land, but the neighbors have two hideous 75-foot white pine trees that lean over my pool.
I previously had a 1 hp pump which I replaced with a 1.5 hp pump which just died. So I have to buy a new one... I've been looking on Craigslist because I don't have $410 for a new pump (and my pool is rapidly turning green) and I've noticed a number of pumps identified as "spa" pumps rated at 4-4.5 hp. So I'm wondering exactly what the difference is and whether it might be something I could use or if they are only designed for infrequent, short-term use or if the energy usage would put my electricity cost even further through the roof than it already is... at 16+ cents/kwh, I want to cry every time I get my electric bill.
Right now I have a sump pump at the end of an 8-foot cord sitting on the bottom of the pool attached to a hose going to the shallow end--the pump won't drain all the way of the pool, so I have to leave the hose lying on the bottom under water (leaching lead into my water... great solution!). Obviously this is less than ideal and will quickly lead to a swampy pool... so I need to figure out if I'm just going to replace the pump I have with a similar one or if my crazy idea is feasible.... any suggestions would be appreciated.
I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do (other than digging up my concrete deck--that's the only part of the whole installation that doesn't give me trouble!) to get the water in my pool moving around in an efficient manner.
The situation with my pool is a long story, so I'll skip it and just describe the situation. My deep-end return and main drain do not work--we bought the house that way 10 years ago (we didn't know that when we bought it). When we replaced the liner a few years ago we discovered that not only does the main drain not work, it had a plug in it! So we removed the plug and ran water down a mysterious pipe sticking out of the ground for 15 minutes that we assume must connect to the drain. The water never surfaced... So, having no money left after buying the liner, we re-plugged it, installed the liner, and just continued. But the problem is that in order to keep the pool clean, we have to run the filter 24/7 all summer... if it is turned off even just for a little while, the pool becomes a disaster. Needless to say, this is rather expensive.
I've been through a couple pumps in the last 10 years and just opened the pool the other day (way late this season) to discover that the latest one died over the winter--I'm trying to figure out if it is a broken impeller shaft or a bad capacitor, but I don't see the capacitor at all (another issue entirely). Ultimately, I think I'm going to have to buy yet another pump. So I'm trying to figure out what I can do, if anything, about my water circulation issue.
I'm thinking that the best (though admittedly ugly) solution would be to run external pipes down the sides of the pool... have you ever seen anything like that? I really don't want to rip up the concrete and can't afford to have a professional come in and either dig up the concrete or dig under it to fix the pipes--and I could only get under it on one side anyway--the side that is least broken.
So I'm looking for ideas on how to rig up a system of pipes that will not only pull water from the bottom of the pool and return it to both ends, but also still skim the top--the pool is surrounded by pine trees and we have to empty the FULL skimmer basket AND pump basket at least twice a day, sometimes more often in heavy wind conditions or on the days when the trees are dumping their millions of seeds. I finally removed all the pine trees on my land, but the neighbors have two hideous 75-foot white pine trees that lean over my pool.
I previously had a 1 hp pump which I replaced with a 1.5 hp pump which just died. So I have to buy a new one... I've been looking on Craigslist because I don't have $410 for a new pump (and my pool is rapidly turning green) and I've noticed a number of pumps identified as "spa" pumps rated at 4-4.5 hp. So I'm wondering exactly what the difference is and whether it might be something I could use or if they are only designed for infrequent, short-term use or if the energy usage would put my electricity cost even further through the roof than it already is... at 16+ cents/kwh, I want to cry every time I get my electric bill.
Right now I have a sump pump at the end of an 8-foot cord sitting on the bottom of the pool attached to a hose going to the shallow end--the pump won't drain all the way of the pool, so I have to leave the hose lying on the bottom under water (leaching lead into my water... great solution!). Obviously this is less than ideal and will quickly lead to a swampy pool... so I need to figure out if I'm just going to replace the pump I have with a similar one or if my crazy idea is feasible.... any suggestions would be appreciated.
