First "winter" with a pool -questions

[Ahultin]

I have been maintaining the pool the tfp way since completion this summer and ot has gone very well. I had been testing daily then had a week out of town so I let the fc get above range (but under slam) just in case, got home and all was still well lol. I lowered the swg to 15% and have been letting it slowly drift down into normal range. I have also lowered the acid dispense level on the intelliph figuring lower swg will slow the need for ma.
Now as the evenings are getting cooler I've noticed the ta dropping and the csi drifting further negative. Pool math suggested adding baking soda as the ta was 50, this also showed bringing the csi from @-.5 to @-.3.
I think I'm on the right path but as I've not dealt with this "season" just wanted to confirm

In addition, we have solar that I have not shut down as of yet as it is still getting the pool into the low to mid 70's by midday but our overnight lows are getting to where I'm going to be crossing my fingers that the freeze protection works on intellicenter. Do most in socal "winterize" the solar at some point or am I ok to let it ride?

 

[Texas Splash]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with the TA and keeping an eye on the CSI so it doesn't get too low. As for your solar question, I'll tag @mas985 for some assistance.

 

[duraleigh]

What is your pH? That;s much more important than chasing csi or a TA of 50

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I'm going to be crossing my fingers that the freeze protection works on intellicenter.

I will say, I just warned of this in another thread. If there is a power event, meaning that the power goes out and comes back on, check that the freeze protection stays on. It has been my experience that freeze protection gets unchecked when the power is restored. I believe several others have also noticed this.

--Jeff

 

[mas985]

In addition, we have solar that I have not shut down as of yet as it is still getting the pool into the low to mid 70's by midday but our overnight lows are getting to where I'm going to be crossing my fingers that the freeze protection works on intellicenter. Do most in socal "winterize" the solar at some point or am I ok to let it ride?

Given your location, do you need to worry about freezing? I am much further north than you and don't use freeze protection at all even though our temps occasionally dip below freezing during the winter. Just not long enough to worry about.

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

But solar panels should drain on their own if there is a vacuum release valve installed. It is best to leave the solar valve in the off position during the winter. But even if the panels should fill, once the pump shuts off, the panels should drain on their own so freezing should not be an issue.

As for your CSI issue, I would check the Intelliph, it may be adding too much acid. If you turn that down or off, you may not need to bring TA back up as PH should naturally rise on it's own over time.

 

[Ahultin]

What is your pH? That;s much more important than chasing csi or a TA of 50

Ph averages ~7.6-7.7

PoolMath Logs

 

[Ahultin]

Given your location, do you need to worry about freezing? I am much further north than you and don't use freeze protection at all even though our temps occasionally dip below freezing during the winter. Just not long enough to worry about.

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

But solar panels should drain on their own if there is a vacuum release valve installed. It is best to leave the solar valve in the off position during the winter. But even if the panels should fill, once the pump shuts off, the panels should drain on their own so freezing should not be an issue.

As for your CSI issue, I would check the Intelliph, it may be adding too much acid. If you turn that down or off, you may not need to bring TA back up as PH should naturally rise on it's own over time.

Where we are we typically get a few nights per year of below freezing temps. The rep at solar pool supply where we bought the panels had said they see more freeze warranty claims from areas that seldom freeze than from areas with rough winters because the areas with rough winters expect it.
As our solar panels are ground mount and located below the pool, they do not self drain. We do have a vacuum relief valve installed and a manual drain bib at the low point of the array.

I have reduced the intelliph reduced currently to 20% so using much less acid. Our spa overflow runs 3x per day for 15 minutes and our slide/waterfall run 1x per day for 15 minutes.

 

[Ahultin]

I will say, I just warned of this in another thread. If there is a power event, meaning that the power goes out and comes back on, check that the freeze protection stays on. It has been my experience that freeze protection gets unchecked when the power is restored. I believe several others have also noticed this.

--Jeff

Well... yup, thank you for that . I just checked and the freeze protection was no longer checked on any of the circuits. Must have happened a few weeks back when I cycled the breaker as we had an intermittent drop of the rs485 connection.

 

[mas985]

Do the panels have isolation valves?

if possible, drain and isolate the panels so they are filled with air and are prevented from filling.

 

[Ahultin]

Do the panels have isolation valves?

if possible, drain and isolate the panels so they are filled with air and are prevented from filling.

Yes, I installed isolation valves along with the drain bib so they can fully drain.