The projecct begins!!!

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I have had great success with those leaf "vacuums" when there were lots of leaves and I could see them clearly. Sometimes when you aren't paying close attention it just pushes the leaves around rather then picking them up, but simple enough to reposition and get the leaves. When there are only a few leaves it is too much work to setup and I get them with a skimmer net. The leaf "vacuums" don't usually pick up much other than leaves.
 

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Pump is pumping!! I had to remove the pump amd turn it by hand to unfreeze it! I need to replace the rubber gasket between the pump and the basket now. What is that called, and is a pool store buy? Next is to start removing the leaves. I am going to give that leave thing i have a try, and the leaf net! FUN FUN FUN!
 
Update:

Drained about six inches of water from the pool via sump pump.

Cleaned up some leaves, seems to be alot of just mud like on the bottom.

Reattached pump and sealed.

Primmed system again and again, finally got it flowing! Yea!

Realized how loud my 1970s pump was. (Imagine 2 cats fighting)

Need to purchase new pump now. I would like to keep it between $300-400, suggestions. 1 1/2 pvc.

Still have pull in one corner of the pool. (Waiting till i get pump setup)

I have the tf 100 kit. ( don't want to start until pump is setup)
 
I have a Hayward Super Pump 1HP. It's one of the cheapest pumps as far as I can tell and I like it. I'm not sure how old it is, but it might even be the original from 1982 and it's going strong. There has been some plumbing work though so it's possible it was replaced at some point.
 
Those seem to be within your pricerange as well. Lots of people seem to get those for whatever reason. They may be better than the Haywards. Based on pricing the energy efficient one is probably worth it.
 
Almost exactly mine, mine is 1HP but I think there's something called a service factor or something like that that indicates the actual throughput of the pump. That may matter. Since you have no water features, you may be able to get away with as low as 1/2 HP whisper flow high efficiency pump and if you can, you should because it will save on electricity. I don't know much more than that about pump sizing though. From what I've read it sounds like a lot of pool builders just wing it and oversize you. I know mine with 18000 gal, 2 skimmers, 1 main, 2 returns works with 1HP so I wouldn't think you could go wrong with that.
 
To compare pumps you need to know the brake HP, which is the listed HP times the service factor (SF). Pump manufacturers sometimes use words like full rated, max rated, up rated, etc to hint at what the SF is. A 3/4 HP full rated pump is often the exact same pump as a 1 HP up rated pump in the same line except with a different name plate.

If you are going with a single speed pump, the 3/4 HP full rated WhisperFlo pump has a SF of 1.67, so 1.25 brake HP. The energy efficient version, model WFE-3, is a great pump, uses less electricity to move the same amount of water than many other similar pumps, and is fine for most any non-huge pool without a spa or water features.

For two speed pumps, the 1 HP full rated dual speed WhisperFlo, WFDS-4, is often a good choice (again assuming non-huge, no water features). It's SF is 1.65 so 1.65 brake HP. The 3/4 HP dual speed is 115 volts only, which is often a problem. Sadly the dual speed pumps are not currently available in an energy efficient version. Even so, the 1 HP dual speed on low speed will use less electricity to move the same amount of water as the efficient version of the 3/4 HP pump.

The next step up would be something like the IntelliFlo variable speed pump. For a simple pool with no water features it may seem like overkill, but the energy savings can be dramatic. This is a really good choice for people in areas with particularly high electric rates.
 

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Thanks guys! I like the WhisperFlo wfe3 right now but we will see!

I got the 70's pump purring like a kitten! (Still going to replace though, that thing will probably eat up the electricity!)

I have a problem, the main drain is working great, but i can't get the vacuum to work. The water level is below the skimmer, and i can't get the prime to take. I know i am doing something wrong. I shut off the main and tried just priming the skimmer, along with filling the hose.

Also tested the water

Ph was below 6.8
CYA = 0 I can see the black dot filled to the top of the tube. Filled to first line with pool water, added solutuion to 2nd line, shook, waited 30 sec, shook again and tested. Totaly clear? I tested twice, same result. Does that sound right? Pool has been closed for 2 years. How many tests do you get for cya with the tf kit, looks like 6.
Did not test fc cc or tc. I know there is none!

Thanks,

Joe
 
Joe,

Get everything running using the main drain only. Fill your skimmer completely (and associated plumbing) using the garden hose. Fill your vacuum hose using hte garden hose or the return just to be sure there's as little air as possible. Hook up the vacuum hose into the skimmer. Now open the skimmer valve a little bit until you start seeing some air come in. Quickly close it. Wait until the pump basket is completely filled without air bubbles and try again. Rinse and repeat. Eventually you will purge all of the air from the vacuum hose and you should be able to fully open the skimmer connected to the vacuum and close the main drain to get good suction. If you cannot succeed the change is likely that there's a large leak in the skimmer plumbing.
 
The problem is with the hose, i can't get the water started through it. I can get the prime pumped out of the skimmer and plumbing, so i believe the plumbing is ok.

Thanks i will give that a try. How are you doing with your pool problems?
 
Hrmm, my pool problems are not yet solved though close. I had crystal clear water but it wouldn't hold FC. I tested ammonia and it was off the scale. So I dumped in over time around 40 gal of 12.5% sodium hypo. This brought the ammonia to 0 and brought my CC to something like 12-14! To defeat the CC I would have to wait months probably without adding chlorine and probably developing algae or other problems. Otherwise I woudl have to add 140PPM FC which would cost a lot of money. So instead I used several pounds of MPS to get the CC down. It's down to 4 now. I've been doing the MPS 3 days at a time because it causes false high CC reading. It's interesting that my CC reading is extremely high yet I don't smell the CC. Maybe I really have none and the MPS is interfering even after waiting 3 days.
 
It is difficult to be sure from just pictures but I think it is very likely that the pulled out corner can be fixed. It won't be an easy job though. The liner is supposedly only a couple of years old, even five years would be alright, so it should have enough stretch left in it to get back into that corner. It may require some persuasion and liner installer tricks to go back in and then stay in, but it ought to be possible to fix.
 
Joe,

I'd get a second (local) opinion. The people here who've answered do this for a living too :p If you can save the liner I'm willing to bet it'll be a lot cheaper :p Have you tried the hot water or anything mentioned yet?
 
Yes, brittle is the risk. The vinyl can crack when you pull it instead of stretching. The older the liner the more likely that becomes. The liner can also get brittle from extended periods of low PH. It is tricky to judge how brittle the liner is, it will always bend some before anything else happens.
 

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