I drained for a refill to get CH under control as it was steadily rising since initial fill in November 2022. Before refilling I want to do a "mild" acid wash myself. Thinking 10:1 MA with a Stainless Steel brush. Thoughts?
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
I've been trying to push CSI below -0.3 for a long time but it ended up taking copious amounts of acid. I've now drained the pool because I know it's the only way to get the CH under control and suppose I'll do diamond sanding first. Need to get the pads and sander I suppose.Your CH and CSI has been consistently high.
You have three ways of handling scale:
- Run your water chemistry at a low CSI of around -0.6 or even a bit below and it may melt the scale off over a few months. This is the least damaging to your plaster finish but will take the longest.
- Drain the pool and sanding the plaster using diamond sanding pads with power sanders.
- Do an acid wash of the pool that will remove the scale but also etch the plaster, remove a layer of it, and weaken the plaster.
Calcium Scale - Further Reading
I've been struggling since day one to keep pH down and have been pretty successful at keeping TA in line. As far as measuring pH, I use drop titration and when it's purple I call it 8.5 but maybe it's lower. I'll work on keeping the FC lower than 10, preferably around 6 to 8 with CyA at 80 in a salt water chlorinated pool but prefer it nearer 0.1 times the CyA value than 0.075 times the CyA value but am probably overdoing it.Based on your PoolMath logs, you need to focus on keeping your pH and TA in check.
If you were to do an acid wash and continue to allow the large pH and TA swings, you will encounter the same issues again.
Looking at you most recent PoolMath log from 5 months ago, it isn't really possible to have a TA of 30 and a pH of 8.5. How did you accurately measure a pH of 8.5. Also, with FC greater than 10, your pH will usually show higher than it actually is.
Review the extended test kit directions. Be sure to take the TA and CH tests to their endpoints.
Many stop adding dropss on the TA and CH tests before the endpoint is actually reached.
Extended Test Kit Directions Archives
If this was my pool, I'd choose option one of the three that @PoolStored posted in post #4 - and I'd test more often, focusing on keeping the pool closely aligned with TFP recommended levels.
Looking to get this one because it will be here tomorrow instead of Thursday.. Our pool is smallish so hopefully it doesn't take too long because its warming up around here!Polishing the plaster to get rid of the roughness is better than acid.
Wet polisher/grinder for plaster pools -- found a good one
For anyone that plans on wet sanding their plaster pool in the future, I found a really nice polisher on Amazon (Amazon.com) that I just started using recently. It's so much better than the one I was previously using that didn't have a hose hookup, ground prong, or variable speed options. This...
Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading
A member used the Stadea SPW104A Concrete Countertop Wet Polisher Grinder with SHDIATOOL 5 Inch Dry Diamond Polishing Pads Grit 50 to remove calcium scale and smooth his plaster.
DRP Tools describes How To Fix (Resurface) Rough Pool Plaster. They sell the diamond polishing pads needed. They also have a Pool Plaster Stain Remover Block to hand sand and remove stains. And they have plaster application tools.
Coyote Abrasives sells the Red Coyote Hydrotorque Pool Plaster Polisher as well as a selection of diamond grit pads and hand polishing pads.
Let us know how it works out. The 4” head is small and will take more work.
Good point on the head size. I'll keep looking!
Yes it’s wrong. Just follow the directions. You generally keep adding drops until the color stops changing. The salt test is a bit different, but read the actual directions in the TF-pro or Taylor kits to get exact process. That may be why your TA comes in so low.
MasterTemp 400 in your signature has a copper heat exchanger, not titanium.
I was wrong there but I still don't think the bluing is from copper but could be wrong. It is mainly at locations where there is aeration but does occur in a few other spots. Not sure if they're visible in my picture but I can post more.
If you had water in the pool I would recommend you use…
jacksmagic.com
It has to be used very carefully. A pressure washer can damage plaster.
Keep it here, we'll watch for you!
Not sure why you wouldn't want to add salt right away to get your SWG going...
