Hi everyone! I'm Robert.
The new: I just bought a 1970's ranch house on 8 acres, 6 miles out of town, and it has a roughly 40,000 gallon in ground pool. It measures 20' x 40' , ranging from 4' to 9.5' deep, with a kiddie wading area set off to the side of the shallow end separated by a rope.
The old: The pool has been empty for at least 10 years. The old DE filter has been gutted with it's broken components strewn about the pool room. The above ground plumbing for the filter has cracks and holes in it. And the pump motor is just missing.
And the history: I grew up at this ranch. My father and grandfather built it from the ground up. My father had the pool put in and my brother and I had the best time as kids having huge pool parties every summer. My mother also taught private swim lessons here (along with horseback lessons and horse boarding). I remember helping my dad plumb in the last filter and pump change somewhere around 1990 (I was 11-ish). This place was awesome! Unfortunately, my parents divorced in 93 and we lost the house. The lady who bought it did not care for the house, the land, or the pool at all so everything is needing a LOT of attention.
So now the pool is in rough shape with a lot of minor plaster cracking and wear. I have had two different plaster guys come out to inspect it and give me quotes for repair and re plastering. Man is that expensive given I have a ton of other repairs to do. While they where out, we asked them about the possibility of just starting it up for a season or two before the repairs. Both said that as long as the pool held water, to go for it.
I've cleaned out the whole pool and flushed the drain, skimmers, and return lines. I am now filling it from my well (105ft deep with a 10ft water table) and it is filling fast, with an combined 8 hours down and probably 4 more to finish it off tonight. I also chose to fill it through a pre-filter Pleatco PPS6120 Disposable 40,000 Gallon Swimming Pool and Spa Pre-Filter hoping to limit the metal content issues that can come from the well. Also, I didn't want to buy a new sand filter and pump if the pool wasn't going to hold water, so I'm filling it without any equipment attached. I plan to buy a 1.5HP Pentair Superflo VS and a Pentair TF100 4.91sf sand filter as soon as I know the pool is still good. Fortunately, I'm a technician at a local irrigation & power district and have been a homeowner for a long while so I know my way around power and plumbing, so I can get all of this running easily.
So, that's where my questions come in. How long can I wait to check for water loss before I need to get the pump running? How long until I should add chlorine and other chemicals? Everything I've read say to add things with the pump running, but I literally have no pump at the moment.
I am new to pool management, so I've read through the TFPC for beginners and have a K-2006 test kit arriving tomorrow. I love the method that you guys use and will follow it. I'm just not sure about startup in my situation.
Sorry for the long read.
Thanks!
The new: I just bought a 1970's ranch house on 8 acres, 6 miles out of town, and it has a roughly 40,000 gallon in ground pool. It measures 20' x 40' , ranging from 4' to 9.5' deep, with a kiddie wading area set off to the side of the shallow end separated by a rope.
The old: The pool has been empty for at least 10 years. The old DE filter has been gutted with it's broken components strewn about the pool room. The above ground plumbing for the filter has cracks and holes in it. And the pump motor is just missing.
And the history: I grew up at this ranch. My father and grandfather built it from the ground up. My father had the pool put in and my brother and I had the best time as kids having huge pool parties every summer. My mother also taught private swim lessons here (along with horseback lessons and horse boarding). I remember helping my dad plumb in the last filter and pump change somewhere around 1990 (I was 11-ish). This place was awesome! Unfortunately, my parents divorced in 93 and we lost the house. The lady who bought it did not care for the house, the land, or the pool at all so everything is needing a LOT of attention.
So now the pool is in rough shape with a lot of minor plaster cracking and wear. I have had two different plaster guys come out to inspect it and give me quotes for repair and re plastering. Man is that expensive given I have a ton of other repairs to do. While they where out, we asked them about the possibility of just starting it up for a season or two before the repairs. Both said that as long as the pool held water, to go for it.
I've cleaned out the whole pool and flushed the drain, skimmers, and return lines. I am now filling it from my well (105ft deep with a 10ft water table) and it is filling fast, with an combined 8 hours down and probably 4 more to finish it off tonight. I also chose to fill it through a pre-filter Pleatco PPS6120 Disposable 40,000 Gallon Swimming Pool and Spa Pre-Filter hoping to limit the metal content issues that can come from the well. Also, I didn't want to buy a new sand filter and pump if the pool wasn't going to hold water, so I'm filling it without any equipment attached. I plan to buy a 1.5HP Pentair Superflo VS and a Pentair TF100 4.91sf sand filter as soon as I know the pool is still good. Fortunately, I'm a technician at a local irrigation & power district and have been a homeowner for a long while so I know my way around power and plumbing, so I can get all of this running easily.
So, that's where my questions come in. How long can I wait to check for water loss before I need to get the pump running? How long until I should add chlorine and other chemicals? Everything I've read say to add things with the pump running, but I literally have no pump at the moment.
I am new to pool management, so I've read through the TFPC for beginners and have a K-2006 test kit arriving tomorrow. I love the method that you guys use and will follow it. I'm just not sure about startup in my situation.
Sorry for the long read.
Thanks!
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