empty salt H20 pool down clean out vs washing machine. hose vs 1.5" vs 2" hose

[outdoorsgal]

The app is a tool. You must tell it what you want to do. It is not 'telling' you to add anything. You can change the Goal levels. You should not mess with pH until it gets to 8. Then lower to 7.6.

I'm looking at the ap and when I say it's "telling me" it has exclamation marks and says I'm out of recommended ranges on FC and CYA. Then it says pH, TA, and CH are outside the ideal range. That's what I mean by it telling me what do do. For pH is says Recommended is 7.2 to 8.0 and Ideal is 7.6 to 7.8. Mine was 7.5 and there is an exclamation mark but maybe cuz the exclamation mark is blue it was ok and only when it's red I need to do something? Or should I ignore what the app tells me or put my own #s?

 

[JamesW]

panel reading 2700 ppm now. last 2 xs I hand measured with kit I got 3200 and 3000 ppm.

what's another way to test that it's accurate or in this case r u trusting the panel more? this is 1 test that seems pretty hard to mess up, unless I get the amount of h20 wrong in the test vile, meaning the top of the water line can curve.

I would consider them to be equally reliable, so the actual salinity is probably about 2,850 ppm.

The difference is within the tolerance and I would just add salt to get the salinity reading to 3,000 ppm.

If it was me, I would just change the cell type in the configuration to T-9, which will make the salinity reading go to about 4,000 ppm.

However, Hayward might not support doing that, so it's at your own risk as it might void the warranty (if they know that you did that).

 

[mknauss]

I'm looking at the ap and when I say it's "telling me" it has exclamation marks and says I'm out of recommended ranges on FC and CYA. Then it says pH, TA, and CH are outside the ideal range. That's what I mean by it telling me what do do. For pH is says Recommended is 7.2 to 8.0 and Ideal is 7.6 to 7.8. Mine was 7.5 and there is an exclamation mark but maybe cuz the exclamation mark is blue it was ok and only when it's red I need to do something? Or should I ignore what the app tells me or put my own #s?

The alerts are guides. With time, you will learn your pool and chemistry. For now, just stay in the Recommended Ranges. Do not focus on Ideal.

 

[outdoorsgal]

I would consider them to be equally reliable, so the actual salinity is probably about 2,850 ppm.

The difference is within the tolerance and I would just add salt to get the salinity reading to 3,000 ppm.

If it was me, I would just change the cell type in the configuration to T-9, which will make the salinity reading go to about 4,000 ppm.

However, Hayward might not support doing that, so it's at your own risk as it might void the warranty (if they know that you did that).

I'm glad u mentioned that hayward might not support that and I was thinking I liked your suggestion. I was nervous about adding more salt since I've been told here to trust my testing. At least until the pool company gets here Thursday. The last thing I want to do is void my warranty or blow my panel cuz I have too much salt, so I'm not sure why I'm adding more salt. Are you all pretty sure that it's the only way I'll get the cell to stay on? At one point it was said to wait for the pool company and I liked that idea since I have the warranty and the cell is producing salt. The check system light was on again today and in one place it says 2700. When I start pushing buttons it says 2600. Then there's the reading I get on the diagnostics that says +25.94V +6.65A 74 degrees 3200 PPM. Do you know what that means?

I added the rest of the bag that I had open, about 20 lbs today cuz you and Gene wanted me to add more salt, but I'm uncomfortable with it. If my readings were right when I got 3200 I'd be at about 3400 and I believe that's the limit. I know the pool guy and he will not be ok with it being over that and will not honor the warranty if it's not within range. I definitely do not want to add more as what I'm being told isn't making enough sense for me to add more. U guys r great but if there's one thing I don't want to add is too much salt. I've already been through at least 1 panel. Maybe I'm missing one or more post where there was an explanation of why I'm moving forward adding more salt and maybe hanging onto the past posts of waiting for the pool guy...?

 

[proavia]

For the TA - either Marty's way or what I suggested will work. I was trying to get the TA down a little faster as I know you will get busy again and lose tradk of the need to lower TA.

The app isn't telling you anything
I tend to ignore the "ideal" and focus on "recommended".

As you have a tech scheduled to come out later this week, I'd suggest keeping the cell set to T-15 - and just add a bag of salt.

With you getting busy for the next 2 weeks, you need to get it all dialed in NOW or else the pool will be the last thing on your mind.

 

[outdoorsgal]

Gene,
FC 13
CC .5
pH 7.5
TA 90
75 degrees
-0.31
I didn't measure CYA today but I haven't added stabilizer for days so am going with last reading since by the time I had time today to measure and add it was almost getting dark. last measurement= 40

added 46 oz MA which I think brought the CSI more out of range if I'm trying to get zero.
added 20 or so lbs of salt
added 40 lbs stabilizer

 

[outdoorsgal]

for water temp I have been using "water sensor" not "cell temp sensor." Is the way I'm doing it correct?

 

[JamesW]

Wait for the service person if you feel more comfortable.

Let them figure it out.

 

[proavia]

added 40 lbs stabilizer

I hope you meant 4 (four) pounds and NOT 40 (forty) pounds.

Once TA is down to 60-70, you want to keep CSI in the 0.00 to -0.30 range.
With your present CH, you can probably keep the pH at 7.8-ish if the TA is 60-70.
But remember, your CH will increase about 250-300 ppm every year due to evaporation.

 

[outdoorsgal]

I hope you meant 4 (four) pounds and NOT 40 (forty) pounds.

Once TA is down to 60-70, you want to keep CSI in the 0.00 to -0.30 range.
With your present CH, you can probably keep the pH at 7.8-ish if the TA is 60-70.
But remember, your CH will increase about 250-300 ppm every year due to evaporation.

Yikes. My heart is racing on idea of 40 lbs of stabilizer! What I meant was 40 oz. I forgot to move the lbs to oz in the ap then wrote that here.

It's pretty late and today was the first day I didn't test all day, even FC. That was not good, I know. I'll test FC now and do a more thorough testing tomorrow. thx

 

[outdoorsgal]

1st time salt goes to light salmon color is the salt number, not dark salmon/brick red color, right?

 

[outdoorsgal]

fc16
cc.5
ph7.5
cya-didn't measure cuz stabilizer hasn't all been mixed into pool h20-still in sock in skimmer)
salt3000 (if light salmon- dark brick red at 3200)
temp77
csi-0.28

panel now reads 2800. so, my problem must be my testing check system light is not on. I'm happy with 2800. Almost a waste to have pool guy come out but it'd be good to have the light put in so we can see the kids the whole length of the pool and I don't expect any other probs otherwise I'd wait for them to come out. (we pay per trip, not per job for these kinds of things). Do I even need to have him check anything now or has this been resolved?

 

[outdoorsgal]

had a little accident today. i'll get back at it tomorrow. pool guy prob coming in morning

 

[Mdragger88]

The swg panel & your salt test will likely never match as they determine salinity in different ways.
Also, As the cell gets older the salinity will read lower & lower, when it’s extremely low compared to the tested level in the pool it’s an indicator that the cell is reaching the end of its life.
This is why it is so important to have your own test to check against. (So you don’t just keep feeding it & end up with extremely high salt levels)
Having a few hundred ppm difference is ok & quite normal. The variance of the k1766 is +/- 200ppm. Strips are +/- 500ppm.
You do what makes the cell happy within reason whilst also knowing your true salt level.

 

[outdoorsgal]

The swg panel & your salt test will likely never match as they determine salinity in different ways.
Also, As the cell gets older the salinity will read lower & lower, when it’s extremely low compared to the tested level in the pool it’s an indicator that the cell is reaching the end of its life.
This is why it is so important to have your own test to check against. (So you don’t just keep feeding it & end up with extremely high salt levels)
Having a few hundred ppm difference is ok & quite normal. The variance of the k1766 is +/- 200ppm. Strips are +/- 500ppm.
You do what makes the cell happy within reason whilst also knowing your true salt level.

that makes sense. especially with what the pool guy who came today said: he's glad my panel/cell is running "hot" or high. He said he's 100% sure his $1200 tool to measure salt h20 is correct to the 10 ppm. I asked about testing with my kit and he said "why?" he's so sure about his tool. My panel still says 2800. so, he was just looking to see if it would be a warranty issue and he said with his tool saying 2488 ppm it works well since it's "within" 300 ppm. he explained how when the salt in the pool is on the lower end it's good cuz salt builds up and that way he doesn't have to empty his pool as often, although, he said I'm running on the cusp so should add another bag. Like Gene was saying. The gap between his test (2488 and my test today of 3200 is 718 ppm difference, which is disturbing, though). 400 ppm difference between my panel and my test. that part is frustrating as the salt test seems hard to mess up but with what everyone is saying, the only conclusion would be my kit isn't working, I'm not testing correctly, or something else is off; I'll never know. Any thoughts or just add another 40 lb bag?

Also, pool guy brought up something else for me to worry about. He said my auto fill shouldn't run all of the time like it does and I could have a leak. I'll have to test more closely throughout the summer and that'll help me to decipher if that's the case. that sounds awful! Is that true that my auto fill shouldn't be running often this time of year and any other thoughts on that?

As for testing today:
fc15.5
cc.5
ph7.8
TA90
salt3200
temp74
csi_0.02

I've been wondering why I've been getting .5 CC so much. the neighbor is getting their pool and backyard remodeled. it's been blowing over a lot of dust. Would that make sense for the .5cc?

as far as csi, I'm happy with that # so should I wait a day to add acid so to not push it out of range or do I need to add MA to move the TA down?
My TA could be 100. It turned pretty red at 90 but was brighter and more sure without a doubt red at 100.
I had half an hour to test and ran out of time to test the CYA. I checked the sock earlier and was no CYA in it. I'll make sure to check that soon.

thx!

 

[Mdragger88]

Add the bag of salt to keep the swg happy.
Turn off the auto fill so you can see how much water the pool is losing.
Lower ph to 7.2 when it rises to 8.0
Do you have an overflow drain?

 

[proavia]

Add a 40# bag of salt, as was recommended a few days back.

When the pH gets to 7.8-8.0, lower it to 7.2 again. This will help lower the TA to the 60-70 you are looking for.
The CSI being a bit more negative while doing this is short term and should have no long term effects on the pool.
The CSI range, after the TA is under control, should be 0.00 to -0.30 (negative 0.30). Being out of that range for a couple weeks while addressing the TA is fine.

Chances are the pool has no overflow drain - being in AZ, there really is no need.
In this dry desert, an average play pool evaporates 1 to 1.5 times its volume every year.

If the OP wants to check for a pool leak, they need to do the bucket test.

Bucket Test

This is a simple method of leak detection is done by marking water levels on … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[outdoorsgal]

I've never heard of an overflow drain so I imagine the pool doesn't have 1. I added the salt and MA. Gene, does it seem your auto fill runs most of the time this time of year? It's not the best time of year for me to shut off the auto fill cuz I'd have to shut off all of the extra hose bibs I had the pb put in and I use those often for my gardens that are around the yard and for my chickens, especially when it's hot. Unfortunately the pb connected the auto fill line to the hose bibs and the hose bibs r needed this time of year. Having a leak in a 7 year old built pool that I think was out of warranty for plumbing at year 5 sounds stressful and $ with the thought that the leak can be underground.

thanku

 

[Mdragger88]

Shut it off & do the bucket test explained in the article - its only for a few days.

 

[proavia]

Post a pic of your autofill (the inside of the canister its in.
Also post a pic of where it attaches to the house (should be a backflow preventer colocated).

What is your present CYA?
What is your present salt level (after the addition last night)?