Advice Needed for Chlorinating 100K Short Course Pool

[jnastasi]

Hi Everyone,

Last year, after parting ways with a pool service that failed to show up timely, I took over the maintenance for a local club's short course 100K outdoor pool. Two new Pentair Rainbow inline chlorinators, that were just recently installed, were a total bust. Even with extenders they never could get enough chlorine into the pool. Trying to keep them filled was also nasty business.

After investing in the TF100, spending a fair amount of time here at TFP, and making The Pool Calculator my new best friend ... I was able to get things looking great and keep it that way for the remainder of the season. My go-to strategy was taking readings every 2-3 days ... and adding x scoops of Cal Hypo as needed. Low tech perhaps, but it worked out well. And because the late 60's era pool has a slow leak, requiring you to slowly supplement water over time, I never did encounter a problem with calcium levels getting too high.

This year, as we look to start things up again, I'd like to improve upon and largely automate the maintenance. The two ideas I have at present...

a) An AutoPilot SWG setup capable of maintaining a 100k gallon outdoor pool. If we can't get by with the cheaper stuff, Pool Pilot Professional could be an option.

or

b) A Hayward CAT 2000 or 4000 automation controller, pumping liquid chlorine and acid into the pool as needed.

I would appreciate any suggestions the TFP community may have to offer on this. The club is a non-profit, with low operating budget, and we've always had a hard time getting folks to volunteer. For this reason I'm wanting to implement a solution that is largely automated ... but at reasonable cost.

Thanks in advance for any and all recommendations!

John

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

As I think you are aware, most of our members are pool owners and the forum is more directed at residential pools; thus there are not likely many people with experience with a pool that large and why you have not gotten any responses.

Hopefully some of the members in the pool industry will chime in about SWG recommendations. Clearly you are going to need at least 2 of the largest residential models or have to step up to some larger commercial unit.

 

[JoshU]

An AutoPilot SWG setup capable of maintaining a 100k gallon outdoor pool. If we can't get by with the cheaper stuff, Pool Pilot Professional could be an option.

John, have you had anyone properly size a Professional unit for you yet? To properly size a commercial pool I will need the following details:

Pool Gallons
Maximum Amount of Pool Users Over a 24 Hour Period ("Bather Load")
Does the pump operated 24/7?
Indoor/Outdoor?
Highest Water Temp
Any Water Features/Fountains/Aerators?

By the way, I'm in Metairie.

I would appreciate any suggestions the TFP community may have to offer on this. The club is a non-profit, with low operating budget, and we've always had a hard time getting folks to volunteer. For this reason I'm wanting to implement a solution that is largely automated ... but at reasonable cost.

We have some really great monthly rental programs that work very well with budgets.

 

[jnastasi]

John, have you had anyone properly size a Professional unit for you yet? To properly size a commercial pool I will need the following details:

Pool Gallons
Maximum Amount of Pool Users Over a 24 Hour Period ("Bather Load")
Does the pump operated 24/7?
Indoor/Outdoor?
Highest Water Temp
Any Water Features/Fountains/Aerators?

Hi Josh -- thanks for the ping back. Here's a quick rundown:

* Pool Gallons = 100,000 (75ft L x 42ft W - Shallow, 22ft W - Deep, 3-9 FT Deep - 6 FT Avg)
* Max bathers per 24 Hours < 50. Occasional parties will tax the pool a little, but those are few and far between.
* Pump currently runs 24/7. This results in more turnovers per 24 hours than we need, and more electricity, but attempts to put the pump on a timer have been unsuccessful. The pump ends up losing prime and causes the STINGL to time out on a restart.
* Outdoor pool.
* Not sure about the max water temp. I just started monitoring it toward the end of the season last year.
* Only water feature is a small water slide, with a trickle of new water going into the pool. Helps maintain the water level over time.

By the way, I'm in Metairie.

Nice

 

[jnastasi]

Welcome to TFP!!!

As I think you are aware, most of our members are pool owners and the forum is more directed at residential pools; thus there are not likely many people with experience with a pool that large and why you have not gotten any responses.

Hopefully some of the members in the pool industry will chime in about SWG recommendations. Clearly you are going to need at least 2 of the largest residential models or have to step up to some larger commercial unit.

Thanks! It definitely is a larger pool, but I have to admit it was a little fun learning to tame it last year. Never could have done it without the resources here at TFP, and the TF-100. Both kept me from buying a lot of those "quick fix" potions from the pool store.

Know what you mean about super sizing things. Those 2 Rainbows we have, with the extenders, are pretty big. It just amazes me that they haven't been able to put enough chlorine in the pool. Can't say I'm going to miss those things if we can find something better.