...and you clicked on this thread anyway, huh? I guess I'm not the only one here who's been a little bored lately!
I think I was suffering a little boredom-induced anxiety. My pool has a small tolerance for variances in water level. There's no coping lip, just vertical tile, so too much water can result in spill-overs while swimming. When I got the house, there was no weir door. I added one and it works great, but it reduced the tolerance of low water - particularly when the pump is at a high speed.
The result is that I need to add water about every 10 days. It doesn't need much, I guess, but if I go more than 2 weeks the skimmer will pull air. It struck me that the 10-14 day rule is constant, even when the pool cover is on. I only keep it covered when the water is heated, so I expect more evaporation, but then it started to bother me: are those small gaps and puddles in the cover enough to explain the constant water loss???
The gradual, predictable rise in CH over the years suggest there's not a leak. or maybe just not a fast one?
The water is cold now. I procrastinated doing a top-off last week, so sure enough, air entered the system. As I was running the hose, anxiety set in.
I decided to settle this and do a bucket test. I don't have stairs, just a ladder, so my "bucket" is a small glass bowl that I placed on the top step of the ladder. I pre-filled the bowl to just a fraction below the top so it wouldn't float away, and then I began to add water until the bowl was just under water.
Then I waited. and watched. and waited, and worried...
I managed to leave it alone for a week before getting down on my knees to examine the water levels in the bowl compared to the pool.
They're identical.
I've moved my attention to not one but TWO ice damns on the roof. Unfortunately, they're not imaginary.
I think I was suffering a little boredom-induced anxiety. My pool has a small tolerance for variances in water level. There's no coping lip, just vertical tile, so too much water can result in spill-overs while swimming. When I got the house, there was no weir door. I added one and it works great, but it reduced the tolerance of low water - particularly when the pump is at a high speed.
The result is that I need to add water about every 10 days. It doesn't need much, I guess, but if I go more than 2 weeks the skimmer will pull air. It struck me that the 10-14 day rule is constant, even when the pool cover is on. I only keep it covered when the water is heated, so I expect more evaporation, but then it started to bother me: are those small gaps and puddles in the cover enough to explain the constant water loss???
The gradual, predictable rise in CH over the years suggest there's not a leak. or maybe just not a fast one?
The water is cold now. I procrastinated doing a top-off last week, so sure enough, air entered the system. As I was running the hose, anxiety set in.
I decided to settle this and do a bucket test. I don't have stairs, just a ladder, so my "bucket" is a small glass bowl that I placed on the top step of the ladder. I pre-filled the bowl to just a fraction below the top so it wouldn't float away, and then I began to add water until the bowl was just under water.
Then I waited. and watched. and waited, and worried...
I managed to leave it alone for a week before getting down on my knees to examine the water levels in the bowl compared to the pool.
They're identical.
I've moved my attention to not one but TWO ice damns on the roof. Unfortunately, they're not imaginary.
