Extended Leave

[kevinanton7]

Hi all, wondering about an extended leave of an open pool, mid season. We normally have pretty stable pH and a SWG. Was considering to leave the EVO robot in the pool, running once per week or so, autocover closed.

Problem is that we don't have any metric for SWG run time on a pool not getting any use. Any idea to pick something like the "water guru" up so I can adjust while away?

Automated Smart Pool Water Monitor | WaterGuru

WaterGuru’s automated daily measurements and expert in-app advice gives pool owners total control while saving big on energy and chemical costs.

waterguru.com

Anyone think leaving a pool for 6-8 weeks mid season is even feasible without someone to babysit the pool?

 

[PoolGate]

With the pool completely covered I don't think you need to run your robot. The issue would be the skimmers and with a closed pool should be a non-issue.

For chlorine, hard to say what you use with the cover on. For sure if you can have someone test every week or so that would be better. If not, I think you need to cover it for a day or 2 and determine your chlorine usage before you leave. I guess worst case you come back to a high chlorine level.

 

[kevinanton7]

With the pool completely covered I don't think you need to run your robot. The issue would be the skimmers and with a closed pool should be a non-issue.

For chlorine, hard to say what you use with the cover on. For sure if you can have someone test every week or so that would be better. If not, I think you need to cover it for a day or 2 and determine your chlorine usage before you leave. I guess worst case you come back to a high chlorine level.

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we don't have anyone to come around and look at the pool. Will we have water loss with the cover on (seems like should be a no)?

I'm certainly no expert, but we were thinking we would leave the robot in to scrub any slime off the walls. If you think this isn't going to do anything I'll defer to your expertise.

Thoughts on the waterguru (or any other inexpensive monitoring device)?

 

[PoolGate]

I don't think leaving the robot in will make any difference at all. Even if you did get algae on the walls, having the robot "scrub" it isn't going to do anything but spread it around. With your SWG running while you are gone, I think the only thing you would have to worry about is a higher chlorine level when you return. With your vinyl liner that may or may not affect it (fading). If you are dialed in with the SWG pretty well, maybe turn it down 10% more and let it run.

I have no experience with the waterguru or any monitoring device. I believe chlorine level monitoring uses an ORP probe and I am not sure how accurate those are.

 

[kevinanton7]

I don't think leaving the robot in will make any difference at all. Even if you did get algae on the walls, having the robot "scrub" it isn't going to do anything but spread it around. With your SWG running while you are gone, I think the only thing you would have to worry about is a higher chlorine level when you return. With your vinyl liner that may or may not affect it (fading). If you are dialed in with the SWG pretty well, maybe turn it down 10% more and let it run.

I have no experience with the waterguru or any monitoring device. I believe chlorine level monitoring uses an ORP probe and I am not sure how accurate those are.

I looked into this, Waterguru does not use ORP and supposedly works with saltwater pools. I have been testing it out before we leave and it pH is spot on, the FC has been within 0.5.

The CYA and TA measurements are WAY off though, but that isn't a major concern for my purposes. I'll write a review after my trip.

 

[PoolGate]

I looked into this, Waterguru does not use ORP and supposedly works with saltwater pools. I have been testing it out before we leave and it pH is spot on, the FC has been within 0.5.

The CYA and TA measurements are WAY off though, but that isn't a major concern for my purposes. I'll write a review after my trip.

Do you know how it determines chlorine levels? BTW: All pools are saltwater pools (for practical purposes).

 

[kevinanton7]

Do you know how it determines chlorine levels? BTW: All pools are saltwater pools (for practical purposes).

I'm not exactly sure, but they compare it against ORP systems on their site:

WaterGuru SENSE - Smart Pool Monitoring System

The SENSE device makes caring for your pool easy with our automated monitoring system and mobile app to be informed in real-time.

waterguru.com

There is a cartridge that you replace. One if you you only care about FC and pH that lasts two months and a more thorough test cartridge that tests CYA, TA, and CH as well that lasts one month. I have been testing with the later, but will be changing to the former as I will be gone for 2 months.

 

[kevinanton7]

Do you know how it determines chlorine levels? BTW: All pools are saltwater pools (for practical purposes).

found this here clarifying they do not use ORP for FC:

https://support.waterguru.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403540811675-Does-the-WaterGuru-SENSE-measure-ORP

 

[Everett_88]

For what it’s worth… we have a 16x30 liner pool with auto cover. I experience close to zero water loss with pool closed. I loose about 1-2ppm of FC daily. Double that if it’s open and we’re swimming.

 

[AUSpool]

We left our pool for an extended vacation without any drama. I balanced the SWG at 8FC/70CyA and it was fine. We have an auto leveller but with the cover on you’ll minimise water loss to evaporation. I wouldn’t use the robot. Maybe bring it up to SLAM level just before you leave.

 

[kevinanton7]

So we are coming up on 3 weeks away. If the waterguru is to be believed, the FC is creeping up with the SWG set to 20%. The Northeast had a pretty impressive heat wave during the beginning of our trip and it seemed like we were using a LOT more chlorine (I had upped the SWG to 32% at that point).

The pool temp was 90-92 degrees. I am wondering, with the cover on, should I expect the pool to use more chlorine at higher temps? Now that the heatwave has subsided we are back to 20% SWG run time at 82 degree pool temp. (So 50% more chlorine usage at 92 degrees than at 82 degrees?)

Again, assuming the waterguru is to be trusted.

 

[PoolGate]

So we are coming up on 3 weeks away. If the waterguru is to be believed, the FC is creeping up with the SWG set to 20%. The Northeast had a pretty impressive heat wave during the beginning of our trip and it seemed like we were using a LOT more chlorine (I had upped the SWG to 32% at that point).

The pool temp was 90-92 degrees. I am wondering, with the cover on, should I expect the pool to use more chlorine at higher temps? Now that the heatwave has subsided we are back to 20% SWG run time at 82 degree pool temp. (So 50% more chlorine usage at 92 degrees than at 82 degrees?)

Again, assuming the waterguru is to be trusted.

Dude - enjoy your vacation!

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I just saw this thread for the first time.

I wanted to warn about using the robot under the autocover. I have the Polaris Quattro pressure-side cleaner which is very robot-like. It climbs walls very well - too well, it turns out.

When I first got the Quattro, I quickly noticed it had threads from my autocover in its basket. It was climbing all the way up to the cover and its front scrubber was pulling the threads out.

I eventually remedied the situation by reducing the pressure so the Quattro wouldn't climb as high. But this might be something to look out for with a robot as well. I don't know whether climb height can be adjusted.

 

[kevinanton7]

Well we are back! The Waterguru wasn't super for the extended leave, it kept losing connectivity, and eventually the batteries died. It did seem accurate while it was working for FC and pH though. But we came back to a clear pool with nothing more than maybe 10 leaves in it.

FC - 10ppm
CC - 0ppm
pH - 7.4
CYA - 35

Didn't do the TA test yet, but I'm not hugely concerned about that.

Kids were sad they couldn't swim right away, but a few hours in the sun should bring the FC down to acceptable levels.

 

[SecoSteve]

Let the kids swim! Your CYA 35(round to 40) is safe to swim in up to SLAM which is 16ppm.