liner replacement : /

[induce]

Hello old friends. i need your advice.

Time to replace inground liner. There is really nothing wrong with existing liner, but the fade at the water line is driving me nuts. Tile pattern looks bad.
it is a Pacific pool, salt, ps-8 automated system, etc.
My builder has noted that the industry is experiencing liner fade associated with salt systems.............. any word on the street?
he has in fact, recommended going back to triclor and a rainbow feeder.

this is our second pool. I had a Tara liner and used trichlor without problems at our old house.
the manufacturer has offer me a break on a new liner and the builder has as well on install.

input appreciated.

 

[jblizzle]

I don't think we have every heard anything like that here.

The only causes of liner fading would be due to low pH or very high FC ... a little salt will do nothing.
I would think the trichlor would be far more likely to cause fading being that it drives the pH down very quickly.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Let me guess, he sells chlorine? Wonder why he'd want you to switch from something that requires no regular addition of chlorine to something that does, and it causes you to have to regularly replace water due to the CYA getting high from it's use.

 

[induce]

i've tried to keep a pretty good eye on h20 chem.
i guess it creeped up to 6 ppm a few times, but the rest has been spot on.
builder not really pushing the chlorine feeder on me. Just looking for a solution to liner fade.
i attached a pic. That is not shadow at the top. that is the actual original liner color.
this was at closing in the fall, so i had dropped the h20 level. odd that none of the rest of the liner faded. just the tile pattern.

<sigh>

continued input appreciated.

 

[induce]

one more.

 

[jblizzle]

If it was just the top that faded, then I would think it is a quality control issue. If it was a chemistry problem, it should affect the entire liner.

 

[induce]

maybe between the sun and running the swg too high, i did this. stumped.
usually just the wife and i in the pool, so maybe run it this year with fc around 2 ?
if the h20 quality starts heading south go back up?
back off the shock too?
i'm an old poolforum guy and pooldoc was a big shock guru. still never went up or over 8, even after a party.

 

[induce]

Jason,

oh, i was all over that quality issue. Pounded Pacific pools and parent company Latham.
Of course, you know liner fade is specifically addressed and excluded in all liner warranties.
Had a field rep in my back yard. offered a new one for less than dealer cost. (less than 1k)
feel like i gotta take it.

 

[duraleigh]

Just looking for a solution to liner fade.

The primary cause of liner fade is UV degradation from sunlight. Of course, UV does not penetrate water so that's why the liners always retain their nice color underwater.

I am sure some liner pigmentation is more UV resistant than others but it seems to me that the sun eventually starts to get all of them.

As an aside, my Father in law got a new liner put in and, after only a few months, his kreepy krawly vacuum sucked all the color off the liner down along the bottom of the vertical walls. Nice quality, huh?

 

[induce]

Hey Dave,
Got my refill kit yesterday. Thx !!

mine did that also. the wheels from the polaris wore a bit of the color off about 1/2 inch strip all the way around the pool where the walls meet the floor.

I hope the new liner lasts a bit longer.
i did learn that these are all made from different dye lots. they just pull off of X roll and seam to Y roll to get the pattern you ordered. so the walls could fade differently than the bottom even they they are the same pattern, just not off the same roll.

grrrrrrrr.

 

[induce]

one more thing.
besides white, any idea which colors are going to fade less?


can we wax em?

 

[duraleigh]

No idea about the colors.

Waxing is a great idea and would likely help but I don't know how you could apply it down to the water line without getting the applicator in the water and that wouldn't work.

 

[swimcmp]

What we have seen is that the lighter color liners seem to show fade more than darker patterns. We have also seen that auto covers with swg are more prone to fade if the homeowners dont keep there chems regulated. Dont know why it is this way. But this is what we are seeing.

 

[jblizzle]

So is it the auto-cover or the SWG that makes the fading more likely in your observation? Or only the combination?

 

[swimcmp]

The combination is where we see it. For some reason homeowners with covers don't seem to watch chems near as close for some reason

 

[jblizzle]

So do their FC & CC get too high or the pH get too high? I would think those are the only things that affect the liner if the sun is not a factor and did not think high pH would be a problem.

 

[induce]

no auto cover here.
plus the swg pushes the ph more alk. right?

i was leaning toward a lighter color thinking the darker would fade more. at least be more obvious when it did. (see my pics)

interesting.

for those in the industry:
does it matter if the liner is printed on blue or white vinyl? (the back side)
fade wise?

thx to all.

 

[induce]

also. note my pics.
the area above the h20 line did not fade.
just below. and just the tile pattern.

gotta be chem........ right?

 

[duraleigh]

also. note my pics.
the area above the h20 line did not fade

Sorry for my UV post. The pics are not detailed enough for me to see where the liner is faded. I thought it was above the water line.

 

[swimcmp]

Not sure why, FC CC and pH get too high or if it has to do with those factors and gassing or what the deal is. I just know what we experience.