Last year, after years of using tri-chlor pucks, I finally got burned with a high CYA level and a difficult yellow mustard problem. As a result, I’m now a born-again BBB School of Pool disciple. However, while I fully embrace the BBB philosophy, I’m not wild about having to manually add liquid chlorine on a frequent (daily?) basis. I want to be able to take off for a few weeks at a time and not have to hire somebody to keep up with the chlorine routine; I’d like to have a more automatic operation.
I’m in the greater Seattle area (Bellevue) and typically only have to worry about algae formation about 6 months out of the year. When we’re done swimming for the year, I typically remove the cover and leave the pool uncovered over the cool months, only running the circulation pump a few hours a day and running the Polaris only as needed to clean out leaves and misc debris. I don’t pay much attention to the chlorine level after the water temp drops. The circ pump runs off the heater controller and is set to turn on the pump if the outside temp approaches freezing (typically once or twice a year for a few days only).
As the pool temp begins to rise in the spring, I put on a solar cover and begin more rigorous and regular chlorination.
I’m basically looking for the approach which requires the least frequent amount of maintenance, a system that, once balanced and adjusted, can be ignored for a week or two during the warm (algae-forming) months and then pretty much shut down during the colder fall/winter/spring months. While overall cost (non-recurring installation and recurring annual maintenance) is a factor, it’s not the primary driver. I’m also pretty comfortable with reading instructions and doing the installation myself.
So, I’d love to hear any comments and recommendations from others on the forum. Are there approaches available, which would let me visit Montana for a couple weeks this summer and not have to worry about my pool turning green?
And even if I hired someone to look after the pool while I’m gone, I’d like to have that oversight and potential service be as simple as possible.
FYI, recent test results:
FC = 4
CC = 0.5
pH = 7.6
TA = 100
CH = 190
CYA = 80
I’m in the greater Seattle area (Bellevue) and typically only have to worry about algae formation about 6 months out of the year. When we’re done swimming for the year, I typically remove the cover and leave the pool uncovered over the cool months, only running the circulation pump a few hours a day and running the Polaris only as needed to clean out leaves and misc debris. I don’t pay much attention to the chlorine level after the water temp drops. The circ pump runs off the heater controller and is set to turn on the pump if the outside temp approaches freezing (typically once or twice a year for a few days only).
As the pool temp begins to rise in the spring, I put on a solar cover and begin more rigorous and regular chlorination.
I’m basically looking for the approach which requires the least frequent amount of maintenance, a system that, once balanced and adjusted, can be ignored for a week or two during the warm (algae-forming) months and then pretty much shut down during the colder fall/winter/spring months. While overall cost (non-recurring installation and recurring annual maintenance) is a factor, it’s not the primary driver. I’m also pretty comfortable with reading instructions and doing the installation myself.
So, I’d love to hear any comments and recommendations from others on the forum. Are there approaches available, which would let me visit Montana for a couple weeks this summer and not have to worry about my pool turning green?
And even if I hired someone to look after the pool while I’m gone, I’d like to have that oversight and potential service be as simple as possible.
FYI, recent test results:
FC = 4
CC = 0.5
pH = 7.6
TA = 100
CH = 190
CYA = 80
