Contemplating drain and fill So Cal

[jbailey895]

Hey all:
I'm in Carlsbad, CA. 17.5 gal plaster pool, refinished 3 years ago. Have not changed water since.
FC 2.5
CC 0
CH 500
TA 100
CYA Low, (ran out of re-agent R-013)
PH is 8.2 plus

I just had to replace my heater, heat exchanger went out after about 15 years. Home warranty company did not cover because ph level in pool was too high. (I slacked off this year, my bad)

When re-plumbing for the new heater, installer showed me about 1/2 think build-up in my pipes (assuming its mostly calcium). With high CH and high PH, would a partial drain be advisable, or should use Muriatic to reduce the ph and deal with the CH for another year or two? I also looked into RO, but it looks cost-prohibitive.

Any advice appreciated,

Cheers,
Joel

 

[mknauss]

High pH does not harm heaters. Low pH does.
You can drain if you like, but with some management of rain water and chemistry diligence you do not have to.

 

[Hal3]

Don't get me started on home warranties.

 

[BowserB]

Don't get me started on home warranties.

Too late. You're started, so please let's hear your off-topic story. You could be doing a lot of people a favor.

 

[Hal3]

Too late. You're started, so please let's hear your off-topic story. You could be doing a lot of people a favor.

Re: American Home Shield - my experience.

1. My oven stopped working. I called AHS. Repairman worked on oven, said I needed a part, and left. I called AHS. When will they finish the repair? Two months. Waiting for part to arrive. I said "I need my oven. I will pay to have the part FedEx-ed to my house." "The part is no longer available." I think it was some kind of mechanical timing mechanism. "We are having your part rebuilt and that takes time." "What about my oven? I need my oven!" "You have a double oven and the other one works so there is no urgency to repair the second oven."

I ordered a replacement oven from AJ Madison online that fit the space exactly and replaced the oven at my own expense. AJ Madison is great! Their website lists the exact dimensions of the appliances.

2. AHS again. AC problem. I talked to the repairman at length. He opened up and said contractors make no money on AHS warranty work. All profits come from upselling non-covered parts and services. I told him I would not have any work done that was not covered by the AHS warranty. He told me that my AC was "too complicated" and he was going to turn down the assignment.

 

[ciaka]

15.5 gallons. Must be easy to fill, few buckets and done.
All kidding aside, hope CA doesn't charge you premium fee for the refill.

 

[Bluesilv]

Our pool was refinished a year ago and we were already at 500 CH so I did a partial drain for about 6 hours and got it to 425. We just have hard water out here in CA. Will be an annual thing moving forward. Pool was getting cloudy so I ended up putting 4 gallons of HD Acid in over a couple weeks and got the TA down from 200 to 100 now it looks good and CH holds a lot better.