Large pool owners - how do you do it?

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J

jumpinjackieflash

0
Mar 20, 2013
90
Houston Texas
Our pool is 43,000 gallons and I know that b/c we had to drain and refill it for a total redo about 18 mos. ago. The water co. charged me for 43,000 gallons. :)

We had a smaller pool at our last house - and I was definitely considering the TFP method when we found this house and moved. This pool is close to double the size of our last pool. We also had a cartridge filter while this one is a DE filter. I have never done a backwash. I am going to need a hands-on pool primer once I fire the pool service co. (problem with scaling/staining at the moment - they seem clueless as to a solution).

My questions are:

How do you handle the storage/expense of keeping enough liquid chlorine on hand to keep the water sanitized? We have a garage but we are in a very hot climate about 8 mos. of the year - since chlorine isn't that stable, is it safe to have large containers stored outside? Are there supply companies that will deliver it for a reasonable cost?

Any other advice you have for a pool owner of such a large pool? Obviously cost of materials can be a bit daunting. I am currently paying about $150/mo for the service, and they come once a week. If any chemicals are needed, that is included. Cleaning the filter when necessary is extra.
 
You need to get an SWG that is oversized by around 2x since the "ratings" are not adequate to maintaining chlorine in hot sunny areas or when there is any peak to bather load. 2 ppm FC per day in 43,000 gallons would be 0.7 pounds per 24 hours, but you need this output during the peak day mostly over 8 hours so that would be 2.2 pounds chlorine per 24 hours. The largest standard residential units go up to 2 pounds per 24 hours so would be on the edge in spite of their claiming to support pools up to 60,000 gallons. You could try such a unit but have your plumbing set up to be able to add a second unit if needed. You can get a Pentair IC60 for around $700 or an Autopilot SC-60 for $600 but the Autopilot CC-15 outputs 2.5 pounds per day and is around $700. These are cell costs and you have to pay for the controller and installation. Generally speaking you want to get the largest cell you can afford (within reason) since the larger ones will last longer yet don't scale up proportionally in cost.

Note that you will have higher salt costs with your larger pool, though such costs are mostly during initial startup since the salt stays fairly constant except for dilution. Note that salt splash-out and evaporation can be detrimental to soft stone so if you've got such stone around your pool you may need to seal it or otherwise rinse it off regularly.
 
Why can't you keep bottles of bleach in the laundry room? You'll probably go through 7-10 121oz jugs of 8.25% a week. That doesn't take up all that much space. I usually keep that much on a shelf above my laundry machine. It's not like they will be sitting there for long. You would just have to plan on restocking once or twice a week. Then you won't have to worry about sealing the stone or the added expense of maintaining the SWGs. If you have reservations about keeping even that much chlorine in your house, just buy a bottle or two on your way home from work each day.

BTW I would recommend you clean out the DE filter yourself. It's not difficult and you'll have peace of mind knowing you started fresh... and you'll get the experience you need to make it that much easier the next time you need to do it. TFP usually recommends just cleaning out a DE filter instead of backwashing, since you have no way of knowing exactly how much DE you backwashed out -- you're just better off washing it all off and putting the full amount in each time. If you don't get a lot of debris , you'll rarely have to touch a DE filter.

The problem with the once a week service is that they will put enough chlorine in the pool to shock it and probably send your PH down to corrosive levels so that MAYBE it will last the whole week. It's like playing roulette with your pool and also your health. Depending on the weather conditions and how many swimmers you have and water features, you could end up swimming with no chlorine in the pool and your PH could end up being off the charts and cause more scaling before your next weekly service.
 
I think in your case swg would be an excellent solution.

But if you're still thinking about liquid chlorination, I'm betting at that size and full sun you'd use more like a jug of 12% a day, which in your pool, would be about 2.5 - 3 ppm. In which case, you might like the recycled bottles of fresh chlorine" service that some pool cos. offer...2 cases of 4 stacked don't actually take up much room. You trade in the empty bottles so no waste. I'm much happier doing this than throwing out my weight in plastic bottles each year ;)
 
I agree with the salt water method. Who wants to be hauling 30 - 40 jugs of chlorine per month. Not to mention the time spent hauling and dispensing it. Even if the cost were equal over the long haul the time I save is more than worth it. As far as maintenance is concerned if you keep your water balanced the maintenance is negligible. I have not cleaned my cell in two years. I inspect it every six months and it always looks new. Of course my water is always well balanced. All I do to maintain my pool is add acid once a week and occasionally some baking soda to adjust PH. In 2 years I have spent well under $300 for chemicals. It doesn't get any easier than this.
 

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I thought there were issues with SWG and high humidity climates, which Houston definitely qualifies! I'm just in the beginning stages of a pool, but this is one of the reasons I'm leaning towards DE. I'd be interested in what other high humidity location pool owners think.
 
corporate_zombie said:
I thought there were issues with SWG and high humidity climates, which Houston definitely qualifies! I'm just in the beginning stages of a pool, but this is one of the reasons I'm leaning towards DE. I'd be interested in what other high humidity location pool owners think.
Click to expand...

I'm 90 miles Northest of you so pretty close to the same climate. I have a SWG. I hae multiple problems the first two years of the pool, with a pool service company, as the water would get slimy, or start particulating out white stuff, etc. tossed everyone out on their butt this spring and started taking care of it ourselves. Learned a lot. Still learning a lot. But got calcium into the water, controlled pH, scaling went way down, got cyanrunic in, etc. I have had no issues with the salt cell operating as predicted other than it constantly thinks it is lower in salt than it really is according to a Taylor 1766 test kit.

Also, have DE filter.
 
chem geek said:
I know of no such issues with high humidity climates causing any problems for a pool, SWG or no SWG.
Click to expand...

Chem geek, thank you for your response! I just went back and read what I wrote...and I can't even make sense of it, so for you to do that...much appreciated :confused:.
As you can see, I am sorting through all the mis-information out there and trying to figure out what is "real". I just had a PB at the house yesterday who told me NO WAY on SWG ("piece o' junk" was the quote I believe he used) and NO WAY on a DE filter. They only do cartridge...which isn't an issue, but I am wary of people who tell me it can only be one thing or nothing. Plus, my personality dictates that when you tell me NO WAY without a good reason...I just have to do it to spite you, lol!!

Thanks,
C_Zombie
 
Welcome to the forum corporate_zombie :wave:
Learning as much as you can before interviewing your PB and interviewing a number of them is the way to go. Post up anything you have questions on.
 
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