Some of you may remember me from earlier this summer. I discovered TFPC after buying a home with a pool and researching how best to maintain a pool. I'm one of the lucky ones that discovered this system before spending hundreds at the pool store.
It took me a few months to convince the boss of the house to drain pool to get CYA down, but once I did it was smooth sailing all summer. However, my first real hiccup came last Wednesday. I woke up early, because the lady and I were getting out of the AZ heat for a 5-day trip to Lake Tahoe. My cousin and his wife were kind enough to house, pool and dog sit while away.
As we were preparing to leave, I went to pre measure out the chlorine dose for him to add each day and clean out all the baskets. Afterwards, I went to go turn on pool pump and it stuttered like a car motor with a dead battery. The pump then gave out. It showed a message Drive error. I researched it on here and it appears to be a common problem with the Hayward EcoStar pump.
Anyway, I was devastated that of all days my pump decides to go out it's the day I go on my only trip of the summer. Life seems to work like that sometimes. Anyway, I told my cousin to just pour in the dose of chlorine each night and try to brush it around as much as he can. I figured that would help limit any algae growth for a few days.
So while away, I called my home warranty company and lucky for me they cover the replacement and would send out a person on the following Tuesday. Although happy about cost, I knew that would be 7-days without my pump running. I expected it would turn green, but my cousin kept on dosing and I did same upon my return home. It remained clear, but when the tech arrived he still needed to order part so that meant a few more days without pump running.
Today is now Thursday, which is 9-days without a pool pump and the tech just finished installing part and pump is now running. The pool is still blue and there are no visible signs of algae. I still expected some hidden algae after running tests, but to my surprise my first test showed FC was 6 and my CC was 0.
I still plan to bring my pool up to shock level, and do OCLT tonight just to be sure. I was always amazed at how easy this process is, however I'm blown away how the method saved me loads of problems when my pump went out for 9-days while AZ temps are still in low 100s.
Second takeaway for new homeowners, I recommend a home warranty that covers pool equipment. It basically cost me $65 for something that costs well over $500 plus labor. Because of that, the warranty already paid for itself.
Thanks again TFPC.
It took me a few months to convince the boss of the house to drain pool to get CYA down, but once I did it was smooth sailing all summer. However, my first real hiccup came last Wednesday. I woke up early, because the lady and I were getting out of the AZ heat for a 5-day trip to Lake Tahoe. My cousin and his wife were kind enough to house, pool and dog sit while away.
As we were preparing to leave, I went to pre measure out the chlorine dose for him to add each day and clean out all the baskets. Afterwards, I went to go turn on pool pump and it stuttered like a car motor with a dead battery. The pump then gave out. It showed a message Drive error. I researched it on here and it appears to be a common problem with the Hayward EcoStar pump.
Anyway, I was devastated that of all days my pump decides to go out it's the day I go on my only trip of the summer. Life seems to work like that sometimes. Anyway, I told my cousin to just pour in the dose of chlorine each night and try to brush it around as much as he can. I figured that would help limit any algae growth for a few days.
So while away, I called my home warranty company and lucky for me they cover the replacement and would send out a person on the following Tuesday. Although happy about cost, I knew that would be 7-days without my pump running. I expected it would turn green, but my cousin kept on dosing and I did same upon my return home. It remained clear, but when the tech arrived he still needed to order part so that meant a few more days without pump running.
Today is now Thursday, which is 9-days without a pool pump and the tech just finished installing part and pump is now running. The pool is still blue and there are no visible signs of algae. I still expected some hidden algae after running tests, but to my surprise my first test showed FC was 6 and my CC was 0.
I still plan to bring my pool up to shock level, and do OCLT tonight just to be sure. I was always amazed at how easy this process is, however I'm blown away how the method saved me loads of problems when my pump went out for 9-days while AZ temps are still in low 100s.
Second takeaway for new homeowners, I recommend a home warranty that covers pool equipment. It basically cost me $65 for something that costs well over $500 plus labor. Because of that, the warranty already paid for itself.
Thanks again TFPC.
