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VWRosco

Active member
Feb 22, 2019
41
Tahoe Area
Hello,
I am a long-time troublefreepool forum interloper and finally, new member. I have appreciated greatly the wealth of information available here and have used info. from the forum as well as poolmath to dial in my troubled hot tub in the Tahoe area with success.
Here is what I'd like to learn more about.
We are building an in-ground pool in Mexico, southern Baja to be specific. We are generally down there in the winter months Dec.-April (as much as we can afford to be) and are never there during the hot months-May-Nov. We would like to fill the pool and then cover it and leave it until our next return. There may be 7 or 8 months w/out anyone down there. The other, major, factor is that our place operates on solar power and when we leave, the panels get put away for the season.
I am totally new to pools and am reading on-line from some cover manufacturers about their "shut-down" covers. "Simply turn off your pump, cover and good to go!!" they say. Is this hocus-pocus?? We would need some kind of solution other than the obvious- drain and re-fill every time we come down (we don't want to do this.) The cover and walk away option sounds too good to be true.
Is it possible to turn off the system, add chemicals, cover the pool and leave it for extended periods in our climate (we sit right on the tropic of cancer)?
I appreciate and look forward to any feedback.
 
Welcome to the forum!:handwave:

What kind of cover are you thinking of?

You can do most anything. But you will most likely be draining, cleaning, descaling, etc when you visit in the fall. And need buckets of chlorine, etc.

I am sure other members will have other questions and ideas.
 
I'm thinking whichever cover allows me to leave the pool unattended for many months at a time and then be able to use the pool again, without having to drain it. I don't want to drain- this is a project for us. We have to have water delivered in a truck and our pool is looking like two trucks worth. Too, having to drain, clean, etc. isn't part of our we come down, lift the cover, throw some chemicals and within a day or two are back in the pool.
What are your thoughts?
 
You can close the pool and cover it like folks in the North do in the winter. Your problem is algae doesn’t grow in cold water but does in warm water. You can cover the water but it is likely to be a green swamp with the summer heat.
 
I do not see you achieving your goal.

Best way is to install a SWCG and have a pool service maintain it while you are gone. You could still cover it.
 
Arizonarob said:
He won’t have any power while he’s gone, he packs up the solar panels.
Click to expand...

He will need to leave enough power connected for the pump, SWG, and any automation.

Otherwise he needs to bring some cases of liquid chlorine to SLAM Process the pool at opening.
 
mknauss said:
Need to find an alternative. Or drain it.
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How will drained plaster do in hot Mexico summers? I would think that is not good for the plaster.

I would think a tiled pool would be best if going to be left drained. It would need to be built with hydrostatic drains that can be left open. And even then the pool interior would likely be dirty and need to be power washed before filling.
 

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Baja has lots of waterfront. Anything near the ocean may have a high water table.
 
With no power available, I'm leaning towards prepare for departure by (hopefully) having a decent CSI, cover, and SLAM upon return knowing it will be a healthy green. Algae and possibly some organic staining isn't the worse thing that could happen.
 
duraleigh said:
A pool neglected by humans for 8 months is a pool neglected and you will not be able to return to it and use it without major intervention.
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Certainly not an ideal situation. However, we have had many members sign-up who just purchased a forclosed home that was vacant and on the marlet for many months - even a year or two. While extreme, those scenarios may have required some new equipment, but the water cleared-up relatively well. As long as this OP secures their equipment before leaving, other than algae (if the CSI is good) what other factors would need to be considered?
 
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Whoa. Bummer. Sounds like a square peg in a round hole. Perhaps not possible with the summer heat. All these cover manufacturers like to offer "shut-down" covers and were getting me excited.
I definitely need help with the acronyms: SWCG/SWG??, CSI?
Any such thing as an anti-algae chemical treatment?
 
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@VWRosco ... I'm with @Texas Splash, it's definitely possible to cover and go, (not of course the recommended style of care, but each pool owner has a different situation) but know that your first (at least, probably more) month back will be spent balancing/clearing the pool, it won't likely be a "weekend" clearing job (you can search the forums for different swamp stories) here's one to get you started :)Opening pool - swamp :(
You can also read up on the SLAM Process process
 

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