We will be away for 8 days. I plan to raise the chlorine to shock levels just before I leave. I have considered just leaving the pump on, but the pump only gets water from the skimmer, and my concern is that with 8 bright hot sunny days the water might evaporate down to below the level of the skimmer. If I just leave the pump off for 8 days is that any big problem?
Leave pump off when on vacation?
- Thread starter TomAtlanta
- Start date
First of all........you're gonna be surpised how fast that shock level bottoms out in the heat in a Georgia summer. It is NOT a sin to add some pucks in a floater/skimmer to help maintain it. I'd run the pump and PAY somebody to come check the water level if I HAD to. Good news is...(most of my friends work for beer). And they enjoy the pool when I'm here as well,................have'um chip in and help out just a tad.
Top off the pool, let the pump run on the timer, have friends check it, puck it and enjoy your vacation.
I have a huge leaf problem in my pool so when we are away I just bump it up to shock level and turn off the pump. When I get home if there is no FC I bring it back to shock level even if the water is clear. If you have a pool cover that will help the chlorine last a little longer.
Without your pump on, the tablets (pucks) won't do much for you. They need water movement to dissolve best.
I have a friend coming by to check the house but she is an old woman who I don't trust to deal with the pool. I am in a new neighbourhood and don't have any friends who I could ask to monitor the pool, so I think I will have to leave the pump off. What kind of mess can I expect when I get home?
I don't have a timer.
On the other hand, if I leave the pump on and the water level falls below the skimmer, will that ruin the pump?
Which of the two possibilities is worse?
I don't have a timer.
On the other hand, if I leave the pump on and the water level falls below the skimmer, will that ruin the pump?
Which of the two possibilities is worse?
I do the same as Zea. Bring pool to shock level the night before we leave, circulate for an hour and turn the pump off. The end.
Maybe a little green with some junk blown in when we get back. Not a big clean up.
It's easy and relatively cheap to clear a green pool, but pricy to replace equipment.
Maybe a little green with some junk blown in when we get back. Not a big clean up.
It's easy and relatively cheap to clear a green pool, but pricy to replace equipment.
I have always left my pump running when I have been gone for 7-10 days a few times. I fill up the pool more than I normally would, bring to shock level or a little higher and come back to no problems.
I am no expert, but I wonder about that. I remember something from some long ago science class about diffusion in liquids. I know it would be much slower than if the water is circulating, but I would guess that during a week the pucks would gradually dissolve and mix in the water through out the pool. I could be totally wrong about this.
The real problem is that the pucks will release too much chlorine in one spot. Not only is the puck dissolving in the pool but it is also out-gassing from the floater. My old puck floater always got caught under the ladder and I have some corrosion on the top rail in that area now. It prevailing winds blow the floater into the side of the pool and it sits in that spot for 7-8 days you could have some damage to the plaster in that area. Also the chlorine released will not distribute itself evenly throughout the pool, so it may not help deter algae anyway.
OK, I am convinced I should not use pucks in a floater while away. How about putting pucks in a skimmer basket and hanging the skimmer basket under the diving board so it can't move, but is in the water in the center of the deep end. Is that worth doing, or just a waste of time?
Tom, you can search 'vacation' in the google search, bottom left on each page. You'll get another ear full, prob some repeats 
The night before I left I poured in bleach and raised the chlorine to shock level. I also put some triclor tablets in a skimmer basket and tied it to a rope under the diving board so it was in the center of the pool. In the morning before we left I turned off the pump.
Today, 8 days later we returned. Chlorine level was still above 5. There was no algae. There were a few leaves in the pool.
Today, 8 days later we returned. Chlorine level was still above 5. There was no algae. There were a few leaves in the pool.
Thanks Tom for this post. I am having same concern that you had - now after reading your post, I know what I should do before going on a vacation.
This is what I have been thinking about doing. I want to tie a floater in the center of the deep end. I will probably use a string attached to my cover anchors to keep it in the center. I do not have anyone to come over and check the pool so I will have to shut the pump off. We have a large oak tree above the pool that needs to be cut down but it drops leaves in the pool on a regular bases, so I do not feel good about leaving the pump on with a timer. How much did the tablets dissolve? I have never had a floater so any suggestions on a certain type?
One more question.... I plan to purchase a leaf cover in the fall to help reduce the amount of leaves falling in the pool. If I had this next year at vacation would it be safe to install the cover and leave the pump on?