How to handle daily liquid adds and robotic cleaners while on travel/vacation?

[TXaquaholics]

First, a little background. Have been self managing our pool/spa combo for over 10 years. Until the recent (5 weeks ago) replaster, was using chlorine tabs with an inline feeder (yes, CYA was always high) and the pH as well as other chems were very steady. Was using a pressure side cleaner daily which stayed in the pool. Also have a Nest Cam pointed at the pool. All of this made travel easy, only necessitating a friend to stop by after a week to refill the chlorinator and empty the cleaner bag if needed.

As part of the prep for the replaster, I discovered TFP. I have seen the light and have switched to adding liquid chlorine daily, about 36-40 oz. As you know, and I wasn't aware ahead of time, the pH is still rising as part of the cure process. Currently requires ~28 oz MA daily. Love the new robotic cleaner but I put it in and remove after it's done. So the question is now how to handle these tasks when leaving on travel/vacation. I can't trust friends/neighbors with this activity.

Sanitizer - Currently thinking to revert to tabs while away and switch back to liquid upon return.

pH - This is the biggest problem. I'm wondering about adding a Pentair IntelliChem, Pentair IntellipH or simply a Stenner pump/drum combo with a timer.

Cleaner - Currently thinking to revert to the pressure side cleaner while away and then back to the robot upon return.

What advice do you guys have? How do you handle this situation? One option is to contract with a pool service while away, but this would get costly and challenging for daily MA addition. Thanks for your recommendations.

 

[santacruzpool]

I have the Pentair Acid Tank with Pump unit and it is really nice to have - I have had mine installed and running for only a few weeks now so I have yet to perfectly dial in the PH but I am getting closer...Mine is attached to a Jandy system which is required more work than you would need hooking it up to your existing Pentair setup - it should practically be plug it in and go for you...

The idea of me being in control of when and how much acid to add is what I like about the setup - I didn't want to trust automation and PH sensors to do the dosing. I can raise or lower my acid amounts as needed based on the TFP testing.

 

[TXaquaholics]

I have the Pentair Acid Tank with Pump unit and it is really nice to have - I have had mine installed and running for only a few weeks now so I have yet to perfectly dial in the PH but I am getting closer...Mine is attached to a Jandy system which is required more work than you would need hooking it up to your existing Pentair setup - it should practically be plug it in and go for you...

The idea of me being in control of when and how much acid to add is what I like about the setup - I didn't want to trust automation and PH sensors to do the dosing. I can raise or lower my acid amounts as needed based on the TFP testing.

Thanks Monty. I agree closed loop control is not a requirement, especially if I can tie it into the existing IntelliTouch and manage remotely from my iPhone and also set up a recurring schedule in the system. Can you be more specific on what you used? What Pentair Model or P/N?

 

[santacruzpool]

Pentair Acid Tank with Tank Mounted Pump 522472

I bought mine here (I used a coupon I got from them in an email to save a good amount as well). It took them a few weeks to deliver it.

 

[TXaquaholics]

Monty, since the pump injection rate is not adjustable, I assume you've set the Jandy to run it several times throughout a 24 hour period, with the objective to minimize the pH swing in the course of a day? Since I've not seen a GPD spec listed anywhere, this means more trial and error to get it lined out. Is this what you're doing?

Anyone have any recommendations beyond the Pentair 522472? How about one of the Stenner pump/tank combos using a Classic Series fixed rate pump? How do these compare in your opinion?

Per above, I'll be using this in combination with a Pentair 320 in-line tablet chlorinator while traveling. Should the MA injection point be before or after the chlorinator? How far to separate? Does it really matter since the injection rates are low and the filter pump is pushing a high volume of water past these points?

Thanks for any knowledge/experience anyone can impart. I'm a retired engineer so this is definitely a manageable task all around.

 

[mknauss]

If you are going to switch to pucks while gone, disable the MA adds. The trichlor is acidic.

 

[TXaquaholics]

Thanks Marty. The problem per above is that this is a brand new replaster and is currently consuming 26-28 oz of 31.45% MA/day. I think your recommendation is after things settle down, some time in the distant future. Chlorine tabs with no MA required was my operating mode in the past, before the replaster. I suspect, but not positive, that the chlorine tabs won't be able to handle the current MA appetite. Do I have this right?

 

[mknauss]

You might. But. If new plaster (how new?) I would be very careful about leaving a system to dump MA in every day with out testing. Dropping the pH too low could result in not only plaster damage, but destroying your heater.

With your current lower CH and TA of 70, you can have a pH of 8 without issue. Does the pH rise slow down if left at that level?

 

[dallasaggie]

I see you're located in Austin. Have you heard of skratch? You can hire local teenagers for short or long term gigs like this. Find someone you like that lives close, teach them how to test and add the chemicals you need, then hire them whenever you're out of town. With your Nest Cam you can double check that they're coming at regular intervals - you could even have them text or call you with test results. Better yet, have them download and log into your PoolMath app and log everything that way.

 

[TXaquaholics]

You might. But. If new plaster (how new?) I would be very careful about leaving a system to dump MA in every day with out testing. Dropping the pH too low could result in not only plaster damage, but destroying your heater.

With your current lower CH and TA of 70, you can have a pH of 8 without issue. Does the pH rise slow down if left at that level?

Marty, pool replaster 40 days ago, spa 20 days ago (they screwed up and had to redo it). As you saw, 28 oz once a day in the morning swings the pH from 7.7 to 7.3. Dropped the amount this morning in attempt to raise the band to 7.8 to 7.4 as CSI was bumping against the bottom range as you allude to. A local “expert” had recommended curing at a lower pH (7.2ish) but I see no reference to that here in TFP and that had my CSI too low. Currently running -0.3 to 00 daily swing. So you see no issue bumping up against 0.3 during this cure phase? It would be great to see the MA requirement slow down at a higher pH.

Btw, the heater is not in the filter pump flow path so no issue there.

 

[TXaquaholics]

I see you're located in Austin. Have you heard of skratch? You can hire local teenagers for short or long term gigs like this. Find someone you like that lives close, teach them how to test and add the chemicals you need, then hire them whenever you're out of town. With your Nest Cam you can double check that they're coming at regular intervals - you could even have them text or call you with test results. Better yet, have them download and log into your PoolMath app and log everything that way.

That’s an idea Travis. We are also going to inquire with a couple pool maintenance companies we have relationships with about the cost to come by daily for chemistry and brushing. We just have to get past a 5 day trip early June and an 11 day trip later June. I wasn’t aware of the high frequency brushing past 28 days and the need for daily chemistry test/add for an extended period.

 

[santacruzpool]

Monty, since the pump injection rate is not adjustable, I assume you've set the Jandy to run it several times throughout a 24 hour period, with the objective to minimize the pH swing in the course of a day? Since I've not seen a GPD spec listed anywhere, this means more trial and error to get it lined out. Is this what you're doing?

Yes, I am doing a scheduled injection - currently I am doing it 3 times per week for 1 minute each time - which based on my tests is adding around 15oz of 14% MA...

So far I have been adjusting the schedule upwards - at some point I will stop when I start to hit my PH 7.6 target.

edit: Since I am using a Jandy control system I don't have fine control of the Acid pump, it is just a relay that I energize and my Jandy automation has a minimum run time of 1 minute for any scheduled item. I don't know if the Pentair system is similar but there are a few other frequent posters on TFP who use this Acid Pump with a Pentair setup that might have more pertinent information for your situation.

 

[TXaquaholics]

Yes, I am doing a scheduled injection - currently I am doing it 3 times per week for 1 minute each time - which based on my tests is adding around 15oz of 14% MA...

So far I have been adjusting the schedule upwards - at some point I will stop when I start to hit my PH 7.6 target.

edit: Since I am using a Jandy control system I don't have fine control of the Acid pump, it is just a relay that I energize and my Jandy automation has a minimum run time of 1 minute for any scheduled item. I don't know if the Pentair system is similar but there are a few other frequent posters on TFP who use this Acid Pump with a Pentair setup that might have more pertinent information for your situation.

Pentair IntelliTouch schedules would also be one minute minimum. I figured I would have to run it several times throughout the day to spread out the current daily appetite of 28oz of 31.45% MA.

 

[santacruzpool]

Get IntelliPH working without InteliChlor?

^ That is the thread/post that got me going down this path - My setup is pretty much identical to how it is shown in that post above, except my panel is a Jandy panel.