Not sure if this was the right subforum to post this in, so apologies if it isn't.
We just had our inground fiberglass pool installed this summer. We decided not to close the pool, so I'm coming for advice.
I live in Memphis, so we don't usually get really cold, but we had a cold front that is dropping us to the low 30s (F°) and kicking on the freeze protection at night. We're supposed to warm up this week into the 70s, so I wanted to use this time to do anything I need to do before it gets colder.
I have a ~16K gallon fiberglass pool with spillover spa. I have a saltwater chlorine generator, and I know it doesn't work in cold weather.
I have a few questions and will accept any advice on things I haven't thought of:
1. How should I run the pumps? Should I schedule them for any time (pool/spa and spillover/either/both)? Just let the freeze protection kick them on when needed?
2. Does the spillover need to run at all or just let the spa pump run for freeze protection? It uses venturi jets. Do we need to close these off so it doesn't aerate when the freeze protection kicks it on?
3. Do I need to add any chlorine since the generator won't work in cold water, or does the cold temperature negate the need for chlorine?
4. Do I need to do anything specifically to protect the equipment (filter, pumps, etc)?
5. Do I need to clean the pool through the winter? I know I need to keep the leaves out as fall proceeds, but anything else that I need to do to avoid problems in the spring?
6. I'm noticing right now (about 9:30am) that since the sun is shining on my equipment pad, the air temperature sensor is reading about 15 degrees higher than weather service says the air temperature is right now. Will this cause a problem with the freeze protection not kicking on when it should?
Thanks in advance for any help. I just don't want to ruin our pool.
I mainly wanted to keep it open so we can use the spa during mild fall/winter/spring days (we had many days last winter that hit upper 60s/low 70s that I think would be a great time for the hot tub) and so that we can have the pool ready as early as possible when temperatures warm up for good next year.
We just had our inground fiberglass pool installed this summer. We decided not to close the pool, so I'm coming for advice.
I live in Memphis, so we don't usually get really cold, but we had a cold front that is dropping us to the low 30s (F°) and kicking on the freeze protection at night. We're supposed to warm up this week into the 70s, so I wanted to use this time to do anything I need to do before it gets colder.
I have a ~16K gallon fiberglass pool with spillover spa. I have a saltwater chlorine generator, and I know it doesn't work in cold weather.
I have a few questions and will accept any advice on things I haven't thought of:
1. How should I run the pumps? Should I schedule them for any time (pool/spa and spillover/either/both)? Just let the freeze protection kick them on when needed?
2. Does the spillover need to run at all or just let the spa pump run for freeze protection? It uses venturi jets. Do we need to close these off so it doesn't aerate when the freeze protection kicks it on?
3. Do I need to add any chlorine since the generator won't work in cold water, or does the cold temperature negate the need for chlorine?
4. Do I need to do anything specifically to protect the equipment (filter, pumps, etc)?
5. Do I need to clean the pool through the winter? I know I need to keep the leaves out as fall proceeds, but anything else that I need to do to avoid problems in the spring?
6. I'm noticing right now (about 9:30am) that since the sun is shining on my equipment pad, the air temperature sensor is reading about 15 degrees higher than weather service says the air temperature is right now. Will this cause a problem with the freeze protection not kicking on when it should?
Thanks in advance for any help. I just don't want to ruin our pool.
I mainly wanted to keep it open so we can use the spa during mild fall/winter/spring days (we had many days last winter that hit upper 60s/low 70s that I think would be a great time for the hot tub) and so that we can have the pool ready as early as possible when temperatures warm up for good next year.