I'm back! New house..new pool...lots of questions! (and pics). Hoping y'all can sort me out again. :-D

[nyvram]

I'll post pics below; but it seems fairly straightforward so far but there are things that are new to me that I don't understand.


Pool Layout
- I'm guessing roughly 30,000 gallons, it has a proper deep end (8 feet), vinyl liner
- 4 returns
- 2 drains
- 1 strainer basket
- Fiberglass steps
- Typhoon slide
- diving board

Pool System - 6 'on/off' blue valves. I think I *kind of* know what they do:
- Rear 1 (open this to push water to waste)
- Rear 2 (not sure..maybe close this one when opening the cartridge filter to cut off water coming from the pump?)
- Front 1 (in from strainer)
- Front 2 (in from drain)
- Front 3 (TO pool returns)
- Front 4 (OPEN - TO water slide; generally leave it closed..especially since slide is broken right now)

Pump model below. Seems basic and very similar to my old pool. No questions here.

Cartridge Filter - This is a huge pain in the butt it appears. This was left completely clogged and had a pool company come out since I've never dealt with one of these. I watched the steps they went through to release the water, open the filter and 'backwash' the nasty water but I don't have a clue what they did. I was in the middle of moving so I couldn't sit and take notes. They took the 4 cartridges to the pool store and soaked them in muriatic acid and pressure washed them off. Before they cleaned them, there was zero water flowing through the returns into the pool and its much better now. Anyone with a cartridge system have some tips & tricks?

UV Sanitizer. I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. I think this helps to keep the water clean so I'm not putting as much chlorine in but this is a mystery device.
1. Do I have to service it regularly?
2. How do you service one of these?
3. What does this actually do as far as reducing the amount of chlorine needed or keeping the pool clean? I don't know what to think of this.

Intermatic Switch. Does this make my life better in any way? I installed an intermatic switch at my old pool that I could turn on/off rather than flipping the breaker each time. This does not appear to have any switches or way to turn the pool components on or off. Looks like I'm back to using the breaker for everything which I don't like.

Finally, this little guy gets an amazing amount of gunk into his filters every couple days. I'm hoping this is just pollen & stuff from being spring as we don't really have any trees hanging over the pool. I have him set to run once every day and he tends to get hung up on the 2 drains at the bottom of the pool.

That's about it! I would LOVE your thoughts on this system especially things I need to watch out for or nuances to how to keep things running smoothly.

 

[Newdude]

UV Sanitizer. I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. I think this helps to keep the water clean so I'm not putting as much chlorine in but this is a mystery device

Stop right there. It might as well be a mystery device. It puts zero residual sanitizer in the pool so you need to fully chlorinate the 99.999% of the water that is not passing through the device at any given moment. Feel free to slack on the water inside the device.

It will actually hurt as it will burn off some of your FC.

Plus, the residential units are rinky dink and pale in comparison to their commercial cousins, which are appropriately priced.

You cannot test it to know it's working and all you can do is replace the bulb.

The industry says because it sanitizes the water in the device, your whole pool will be sanitized after 3 turnovers so you only need a little chlorine because it was treated already. But alot can fester until that water over there finds its way through the device again. If it was powerful enough in the first place to work like a commercial unit. If you could tell it was working.

It's best to find a way to remove its power.

 

[nyvram]

It's best to find a way to remove its power.

Well that's not what I wanted to hear. So this really doesn't do anything helpful?

 

[Flying Tivo]

Pool System - 6 'on/off' blue valves. I think I *kind of* know what they do:
- Rear 1 (open this to push water to waste)
- Rear 2 (not sure..maybe close this one when opening the cartridge filter to cut off water coming from the pump?)
- Front 1 (in from strainer)
- Front 2 (in from drain)
- Front 3 (TO pool returns)
- Front 4 (OPEN - TO water slide; generally leave it closed..especially since slide is broken right now)

Correct on all of them, you can label them if you want. Keep in mind we dont recommend much those type of valves. They tend to stick with time and break. Eventually you will have to change them for quality ones like Jandy Neverlub.

 

[1poolman1]

The Intermatic in your picture is not a switch. It is a transformer to operate your pool light. You should NEVER use a breaker as an on/off switch. That is against all electrical codes as it can cause the breaker to fail when it is needed most. Get a true switch installed. If the pool company truly used a power washer on you filter cartridges, they shortened their life and that should NEVER been done a gain. A good strong flow from a garden sprayer is all that is needed. To help with that, you can get a variable-speed motor to replace the standard motor on your pump and start running your filter system long and slow. Won't have to clean the filter as often and it will clean easier. A V-Green ECM16SQU will replace what you now have exactly and will work with what appears to be your Intermatic time clock (can't really tell, its behind the filter tank). You will then have the equivalent of a Pentair SuperFlo VS.

Be aware that any work on the motor of your pump is going to involve cutting the plumbing as the builder didn't leave any room behind it for maintenance. The motor won't go back far enough to allow it to be removed. Would be a good time to replace the ball valves in front of the pump with some good 3-way valves

Newdude and I will have to agree to disagree. Until you've had a working system you can't really know how they will work on your pool. Do some research on UV/AOP systems. Been using mine for 6 years and love what it has done for my water. If you don't like it, take it out. May need a bulb and they can be pricey. If you don't want it take it out, you don't absolutely need it, especially if you are able to follow the recommendations on chemicals on this forum. A good alternative is a SWG. Due to high chlorine prices, I'm finally going to reinstall one this week on my pool. Had one when they first came out. Loved what it did for the water, hated the maintenance on those old ones. When it died I removed it. Yes, you still need chlorine with UV, just not as much. I'll have both.

 

[Newdude]

Newdude and I will have to agree to disagree.

I will always prefer to do so as civilized adults. Cheers.

Until you've had a working system you can't really know how they will work on your pool

Until they make a model that's output can be tested to prove its working, like can be done with a SWG or adding bleach manually, then it will never fit our 'trust, but verify' way of doing things. It is a redundant device if the water is already sanitary.

UV C is needed to burn off CCs, which the unit or the sun provides for free. The sterilizing UV A and UV B which burn off in the atmosphere and don't reach the pool from the sun, aren't needed from the UV unit as the chlorine which was needed either way already handled the sanitation.

 

[1poolman1]

Radiation-Emitting Products

Radiation-emitting produces and procedures includes X-rays, mammograms, security X-rays, microwave ovens and cell phones.

www.fda.gov

UVC radiation is the highest energy portion of the UV radiation spectrum. UVC radiation from the sun does not reach the earth's surface because it is blocked by the ozone layer in the atmosphere. Thus, the only way that humans can be exposed to UVC radiation is from an artificial source like a lamp or laser. Quote from the website. Cheers backatcha.

 

[Newdude]

UVC radiation from the sun does not reach the earth's surface because it is blocked by the ozone layer in the atmosphere.

It does not and I concede my above statement. Touche'. My Google-Fu is not firing on all cylinders at the moment and I'm going to need a minute.

In the meantime, the simplest fact is the only reason the UV system was invented was for indoor pools to mimic the suns affect on dichlorimine. Some parts if the CCs when broken apart only oxidize with more chlorine regardless of UV source. And the sun handles the rest in an outdoor pool.

It is a redundant device at best in a properly sanitized outdoor pool with no way to verify it or adjust its output based on its effectiveness. Even CYA raising tabs are a better solution as the amount added may be controlled as needed.

 

[1poolman1]

From the Oxford Dictionary: Forum a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

 

[Newdude]

From the Oxford Dictionary: Forum a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged

Well I will concede that as well. But there is also etiquette. For example, if you brag too much about your Mustang in the Corvette forum, you will likely outstay your welcome.

This is the Trouble Free Pool forum. A place for discussing trouble free poolcare. Nothing about UV systems is trouble free. You cannot know what it will do tomorrow and act accordingly. You also cannot instruct someone, anywhere in the world on how to hack theirs to achieve the same results as yours, based on reliable data and adjustments of known additions.

Can it work, or does yours work ? Those are not why TFPC exists. It will not work trouble free for all and will not be reccomemded until it does.

 

[poolkid]

Be aware that any work on the motor of your pump is going to involve cutting the plumbing as the builder didn't leave any room behind it for maintenance. The motor won't go back far enough to allow it to be removed. Would be a good time to replace the ball valves in front of the pump with some good 3-way valves

While I agree that plumbing pumps like that is poor workmanship, fortunately that Pentair SuperFlo pump has unions on the inlet and outlet, so repairs are quite easy. I'd recommend have spare o-rings for the unions on hand when repairs are done.