Pentair 320 5/8 Hose

[tahoeatx16]

Hello, new here, and a new pool owner. My water is slowly turning cloudy white to slight green. I suspected low chlorine so I increased the rate on my pentair 320 feeder for the past few days. Still no improvement.

It turns out the tests yesterday showed 0 ppm free, total, combined chlorine. So something is wrong with my feeder. I have 4 3" tablets in, jacked it up to full flow, and ran it for 16 hours. I tested this morning and there's some chlorine, but not enough to really note. Do I have to just be more patient? The Pentair manual said switch to 1" tablets as the dissolve faster. Thoughts?

Also, in inspecting the unit, the 5/8" OD chlorination tube is done. It was brittle when I took it off, but cracked when I tried to get in back into place. Is this a standard hose that I can buy anywhere (cut to length) or do I need to get the specific oem part (R172091)? [Edit] Turns out the screen was brittle as well. I went to take it out to clean it out and a few pieces broke off. I'm guessing this is a special part that I have to purchase the OEM part from a pool store. Any insight is greatly appreciated. The pump is currently non-operational until I fix this.

Rest of specs on my pool (let me know if other info would be helpful):
20k gallon plaster, less than 10 years age

Saturation index 1.71
Water color none
Water clarity clear
Free chlorine 0
Total chlorine 0
Combined chorine 0
pH 9.0 (I added 1/2 gallon muratic acid yesterday to help, looks like about 7.5 today)
Hardness 350 ppm
Alkalinity 110 ppm
Cyanuric acid 100 ppm

 

[JoshU]

Also, in inspecting the unit, the 5/8" OD chlorination tube is done. It was brittle when I took it off, but cracked when I tried to get in back into place. Is this a standard hose that I can buy anywhere (cut to length) or do I need to get the specific oem part (R172091)? [Edit] Turns out the screen was brittle as well. I went to take it out to clean it out and a few pieces broke off. I'm guessing this is a special part that I have to purchase the OEM part from a pool store. Any insight is greatly appreciated. The pump is currently non-operational until I fix this.

You may be able to find a generic type of hose at a hardware store but it would probably be easier to get the OEM especially since you also need a new screen. I also don't know what material the hose at the hardware store may be made of. The OEM is pretty hose should be pretty inexpensive.

The valve itself could also be bad and not regulating correctly.

Was the screen badly clogged?

If you take a look at the manual there is alternative way to hook up the hose so it leads to the top of the 320 and applies more chlorine to the pool. Although this is rarely needed. Especially not typically needed on a 20,000 gallon pool.

I think you should be fine with 3" tabs -- 1" tabs are rarely used any longer.

 

[tahoeatx16]

No, the screen didn't seem clogged at all. I just read to check that and the one-way valve beneath it on a different forum post.

I'll swing by the pool store tomorrow and hopefully get this squared away. I did see the top hookup instructions in the manual. I'll give that a shot if I'm still not seeing results.

I don't know if there's a standard way to answer this, but what setting 1-5 do you think I need to have the valve set on to get the right amount of chlorine. Probably a stupid question since it depends on so many other variables (i.e pH, UV, etc.)

Thanks for the response.

 

[jblizzle]

I have to disagree ... you will not be fine with the tablets. You have fallen for the ease of use and do not know about the chlorine FC / stabilizer CYA relationship.

The tablets add chlorine and stabilizer. The chlorine is consumed. The stabilizer builds up in the water. The higher the stabilizer gets, the more chlorine you need in the water to prevent algae. You have hit the point where the tablets can not add enough chlorine to kill what is in the water because your stabilizer is sky high. The algae is using up the FC faster than you can add it.

I suggest you read Pool School (button at the top right of page) to learn about the chemistry.

Then you need to order one of the recommended test kits.

Then you need to replace as lot of water to lower the CYA down to the recommended 30-50ppm range. At this point you are likely well above 100ppm.

Then you need to stop using the tablets or the process will repeat itself ... liquid chlorine (bleach) is what we recommend. And go through the shock process described in Pool School to kill all the nasties in your pool.

If you have questions please ask and someone will help you learn the truth about what is going on in your pool.

 

[tahoeatx16]

Yikes, lots more wrong than just a broken hose. Welcome to pool care, I guess.

Alright, so I'll drain the pool to get the CYA levels down. I saw the chart and realize that I could operate the pool at these levels, but I would just need to be adding a lot of chlorine. Which I prefer not to do.

Test Kit: I'll get the TF100 per the recommendation.

Draining: is renting a sump pump the best option? Or could I connect a garden hose to my pump and run the water out that way?

Filling: fill back up with the garden hose. My water rates aren't as bad as I was originally thinking.

Chlorine and Shocking: to shock, can I just pour liquid bleach directly into the pool? And is liquid bleach from the grocery store fine to put in the pool? I guess it takes a lot of bleach to shock a pool. According to the calculator, a 20k gallon pool at 50 CYA, it's going to take 6.5 gallons of bleach to get to the recommend FC levels. And I'm supposed to add that amount no less than twice per day??

I'll be able to get to draining/refilling Thursday/Friday. Anything I can do in the mean time to prevent the CYA from going up higher? I'll get the pump operational again. Should I be adding chlorine/bleach at a higher than normal rate now?

Thanks for the help, and sorry for being mildly ignorant on pool care. I'll get there thanks to this site and you all.

 

[jblizzle]

Renting a sump pump is certainly faster. You could use the pool pump if you can isolate to only draw from the floor, otherwise you may pull air when water gets below the skimmer.

Where are you located? How high is your ground water table? There is a risk of the pool floating out if the ground if the water table is high.

Pucks add CYA. If you do not want the CYA to go up, stop using them.

I really would suggest not doing anything until you get the test kit and get good numbers. Your CYA might be very high requiring a lot of water change.

Read the shock process again. At a minimum of twice a day you should test the FC level and adjust it back up to the shock level.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short