A renter with a pool!

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@browserB - thanks for the comments! I'll be renting for 3-5 years (at least that's the plan) which is why I was thinking of the SWG route (changes to the plumbing are not a problem)

@Teald024 - there is one skimmer. Not sure about the suction port - how do I tell? One main drain. No spa. I'll need to check on the "other" grey electrical box - not sure.

Agree on the necessities vs luxury.
 
jonandmel said:
I hate to ask a stupid question but here goes anyway...what do these two valves do? I assume one is for the skimmer but I’m not sure about the other one. Just curious!
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One is from the skimmer, the other is from the main drain. To figure it out, make sure one of them is fully open and shut the other one. Start the pump and check the skimmer to see if it is flowing water. Shut down the pump, switch the open / closed valves and start the pump. Check skimmer again. Once you figure it out, take a marker and write on the pipe above the valve.

jonandmel said:
Also, any idea on what this is for (or what it used to be for)?
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It may have been the return line for a pressure side robot. That black hose that goes nowhere likely went into a booster pump at some point. Perhaps the pump failed and instead of replacing it, the pipes were capped off. Check the pool wall about 18-24" below the coping to see if there is a hole in the wall that seems out of place. It also could have gone to another return in the pool.
 
One more question:

The pool has a water feature. After the pool has been running for a hour or two the water flow stops. If I turn off the pump and then turn it back on the water feature starts again after the pump primes (and then the flow stops again after and hour or two). Any ideas on what might cause this issue?
 
Flow stopping is usually due to the filters clogging up.

Shop around for filters. I think TFP supporters are still getting some discount codes for INYOpools and PoolSuppyWorld.
 
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Sorry - should have made that clearer - I should have added that in the first post. It came up in post #32.

Regardless, to the best of my knowledge it should run when the pump is on but doesn't. I have the pump running 12 hours per day right now but the water feature stops are various intervals (haven't really timed it yet). The valve is after the inline chlorinator.
 
Sorry, I missed the post about the water feature.
Unless you have automation on the valves (and I don't think you do), the water feature turning on /off is based on the pressure from the pump and filter. The filter rising getting dirty and rising in pressure and stopping the water feature from running.
 
By the way, I changed the filters today and water feature now works without stopping and the flow is much higher. Thanks for the tip!

However, the pressure gauge is reading about 5 psi which certainly can't be correct. Any idea on what I did wrong?
 

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The 5 psi is your clean pressure. When it rises to 7 psi, you need to clean them again. The 22 psi meant they were basically plugged.
 
:laughblue:

That is backward, the pressure goes up when the filter is dirty. If you are getting good flow to your pool, then your clean pressure is only 5psi. We normally recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure goes up 20-25% over the clean pressure. That would only be at 6psi, at 22psi I would be surprised there was any flow.

Are you sure the pressure gauge is actually good and correct? Does it go to 0 when the pump is off?
 
When I bought filters I went ahead and purchased a new gasket and OEM pressure release valve and gauge. Not sure about the old one as it's now in the trash! This one read 5 psi tonight.

Also, I noticed when I was replacing the valve that there white "rod" on the inside doesn't actually seat into the valve. Is that OK? Or is that piece somehow broken and should be replaced?
 
Finally was able to conduct my own test:

FC - 3
TA - 110
CH - 150
pH - 8.2 (used the pH meter from tftest) and struggled to understand the reading that I got with the pH test in the kit. I'll do a little research on this site for some tips.
CYA - somewhere between 20-30. I also struggled here. It was hard to tell when the black got went away because I could always see it a little. I don't know where the "sweet spot" is.

For fun, I went by my local pool store and they told me:

FC - 3
TAC - 3
CH - 100
TA - 150
pH - 7
Copper - 0
Iron - 0
TDS - 400
Pho - 200

Out of curiosity, when the difference?

I did the plumbing for the SWG this week and plan to get the power supply connected next week. I bought an ic40.

Thanks for the guidance!
 
Here is a pic of the test that didn't make sense to me (I also held this against a white background and still couldn't tell a difference). I couldn't really pick out the proper yellow (the top three all look the same to me) and the pH side the purple doesn't match anything (which I assume tells me it is "off the chart!").IMG_8251.jpeg
 
Your yellow chlorine test basicly just tells you if you have chlorine or not. Its not real accurate. The pH on the other hand, is over 8.2. You need to use some muriatic acid to bring it down, if that is a correct result. Was the pool store test also today? Usually pH is pretty close. Try running your pH test again. If it still comes out high drop the pH. You may need to test and repeat several times before the pH drops as low as it needs to be.
 

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