Getting ready for first close, what is this thing?!
- Thread starter mbeezie
- Start date
So, as best we can tell, the holes are connected together but not connected to anything else?
That seems odd.
Maybe they originally intended to put in a separate fountain pump or something and never connected it or maybe it was disconnected for some reason.
yeah it just seems they are connected to each other. i tried to find my fiberoptic snake to really get in there but i couldn't and i needed to close the pool today.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,007
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Thanks! i didn't realize aqua rite T15 and turbo cell 15 were the same thing.
Hi all, just wanted to pop in and thank you all for the help! i haven't opened up the pool yet, but did remove some of the concrete screws so i could fold the mesh cover back and see underneath. The water level has risen appropriately for the amount of precipitation we had this winter, so i don't think anything catastrophic has happened this winter.
we'll see how it goes in another 4 weeks or so when i do a 'soft open' and just run the main drain to clear up the water for a few days.
we'll see how it goes in another 4 weeks or so when i do a 'soft open' and just run the main drain to clear up the water for a few days.
A long time ago it was possible to get trapped by the suction. A young girl named Virginia Baker (yes, related to the politician James Baker III) was entrapped by sitting on the old "plate style"....and sadly died. Such a horrible thing. The new entrapment-free design does not allow leaves to be sucked in. But it does save lives.
Hi again all, just another quick update.
I 'opened' the pool up yesterday (not fully, i left the cover on). It's still pretty cool up here in the northeast, but had some time yesterday and was just dying to know if i had messed up anything with the closing. I took the salt cell, filter and pump out of the basement and hooked them all up. i removed a few straps from the deep end so i could see the water. Level was pretty high, to the point where the mesh cover was lightly grazing the top of the water. I had drained about 12" below the skimmer baskets at closing. 12" of water in a nearly 40k gallon pool is a lot of precipitation (i think...at least it seems it to me!)
At first i just had the main drain on. i wasn't really sure if i could run the pump with the water level a few inches above the skimmer baskets, so i drained it down several inches into my woods and then opened up all the valves. Everything worked without a hitch! i threw in 4 gallons of bleach and put the cover back on. I have the pump running for 12 hours a day at medium speed just to get the chlorine circulating.
A couple of observations:
So, i am really happy that i was able to do this all by myself and everything seems to be working fine! This community has been a tremendous resource and i appreciate everyone's help throughout this process. We moved into this home in 2019 and the list of things that i've now taken on myself instead of paying people to do has dwindled. I find that very satisfying, even if my wife doesn't really understand why i like to take on these kinds of things
I 'opened' the pool up yesterday (not fully, i left the cover on). It's still pretty cool up here in the northeast, but had some time yesterday and was just dying to know if i had messed up anything with the closing. I took the salt cell, filter and pump out of the basement and hooked them all up. i removed a few straps from the deep end so i could see the water. Level was pretty high, to the point where the mesh cover was lightly grazing the top of the water. I had drained about 12" below the skimmer baskets at closing. 12" of water in a nearly 40k gallon pool is a lot of precipitation (i think...at least it seems it to me!)
At first i just had the main drain on. i wasn't really sure if i could run the pump with the water level a few inches above the skimmer baskets, so i drained it down several inches into my woods and then opened up all the valves. Everything worked without a hitch! i threw in 4 gallons of bleach and put the cover back on. I have the pump running for 12 hours a day at medium speed just to get the chlorine circulating.
A couple of observations:
- I installed new filter cartridges. I got 3rd party ones from Spiropure. This is the first time i have bought non-Hayward ones, but these had good reviews and were half the price with the same specs as OEM so i gave them a shot. When everything was up and running, even with the pump at full speed, the pressure gauge was reading just over 0 psi. Usually it's around 20 psi. I made sure to bleed the air valve until all the air was out. I'll check again today now that the pump has been running overnight.
- I was surprised how green the water is even though the water temp was only 49F. Maybe it had been warmer the last couple of days and it crept up into the 50s? It was my understanding that algae doesn't really grow below 50F. but the entire bottom and sides of the pool were green (does anyone use polyquat when opening the pool? or just SLAM it and give it a few days?)
So, i am really happy that i was able to do this all by myself and everything seems to be working fine! This community has been a tremendous resource and i appreciate everyone's help throughout this process. We moved into this home in 2019 and the list of things that i've now taken on myself instead of paying people to do has dwindled. I find that very satisfying, even if my wife doesn't really understand why i like to take on these kinds of things
It made sense to have the safety cover people close my new pool when they installed the cover. I asked how much extra it would be, keep in mind, covering was already paid for and it was basically just blowing out the pipes.I find that very satisfying, even if my wife doesn't really understand why i like to take on these kinds of things
I spit my coffee out when they replied 'seven hun' and I don't know if it was $728, $786 or whatevs.
So yeah. Blowing the lines took about 20 mins soup to nuts. I REALLY find it 'satisfying' getting paid seven hun-something for 20 mins.
And I actually enjoy tinkering too. But seven hun something.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,007
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You probably need a new gauge- i like the ones from tf test kits . A bit more robust than the ones at lowes etc.
Remove it when you winterize the pool & bring it inside.
Cold water inhibits algae growth but it doesn’t stop it completely. That algae could have been brewing all winter after a warm snap in the fall.
What was the water temp when you closed?
What was your closing fc & cya level?
Did you check the fc periodically during the winter?
Algeacide does nothing for active algae its a preventative at best that buys you time in periods of low fc.
The SLAM Process with liquid chlorine followed to the letter is the answer.
Just wanted to say -- closed my pool for the second time. used all my notes from last year. seemed a lot easier and definitely took less time today. The Cyclone has now paid for itself!