New pool owner. How am I doing?

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T

Too_Tall

0
Jan 20, 2018
71
Joshua, TX
Hello folks. Happy to be here. The wife and bought a house late last year and it came with a pool! (Oh boy here we go, what did I just do?... :eek: )

I've been through this forum a lot over the last 3 weeks. I feel I have a very basic understanding of how all the equipment works. Need to read more manuals. I've gotten a few tests under my belt, here are the latest results.

FC - 3, CC - 0
pH - 7.4
TA - 60 (just added 10#s of sodium bicarbonate)
CYA - 65
Calcium Hardness - 260
Salt - 2700

The pool guy who was testing the water for the last homeowner told me salt levels don't really matter right now with the water temp as the SWCG isn't working right now. He also stated that it's only neccesary to run the pump 1hr for every 10 degrees of high temperature. So right now that'd be about 6 hours. The system is currently set up 8a-5p. Should I change is or just leave as is? I have a straight 2hp Challenger pump, not sure what model # but its constant speed.

Pool temp is about 50 this morning. We've had a long hard freeze last week so I got to see the EasyTouch FRZ protection work. I did my first backwash last night before adding the bicarbonate this morning.

Also is there a good resource (personal or webpage) for the best none shedding plants to have around the pool in North Texas? I've read a few general google searches but I figured I'd get a better answer from you folks with first hand experience.

I've read through the Pool School and some various other how to's. Just looking to reach out and see how the masses grade me currently. I feel like with this place as a reference I won't need a regular pool guy to properly maintain it.

Cheers!



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Welcome to the forum!

I see you have great test kits so that is taken care of!

Now, just to dispel a few myths. The 1 hour of pump run time for 10deg water temp, that is a new one! See Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

Not sure why you added baking soda. Let you TA settle wherever your pH also settles. With a SWCG you will get some pH rise in the summer when it is operating but right now it should be pretty stable. pH up to 7.8 is just fine.

Do a test of your fill water so you have that data. pH, TA, and CH. Record it and keep it handy. Great info to have as you will be filling the pool this summer quite a bit.

Did you record the clean pressure at your filter after backwashing? You need that so that you know when to backwash. Let the pressure rise by 25% before backwashing.

Others will chime in - lots of folks from Texas so they can help with trees, etc.

Take care.

- - - Updated - - -

Also -- be sure you are using Liquid chlorine (bleach) while your SWCG is off. I have an inkling you have tablets in your water and that is why your pH is on the low side. Also your CYA is in a good spot for SWCG at 70 (round up).

- - - Updated - - -

Use this for FC -- [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]; use the non-SWCG chart when your SWCG is turned off.
 
Doing good, pick up some bleach and build up your fc a little bit, it's probably low and check the fc/cya chart to make sure. It might be best to turn off your swg and run bleach the rest of the winter but that depends on the temps there.

Probably don't need to worry about your ta too much, if your pH keeps crashing you can build it up. Ta is more of a reference number to pH. I do believe you have to keep it above 40-50 for plaster.

Consider a vsp pump, you will probably pay more electricity on the 2 hp then a vsp will cost + electricity to run it.
 
Too,

Welcome to TFP... A great place to find all the answers to your "new pool" questions... :shark:

As Marty points out, when the water temperature gets in the low 50's most salt cells automatically shut off.. Using Liquid Chlorine or just plain bleach as your chlorine source works great.

The idea that you have to run your pump x hours based upon the temperature is just a myth. Here are the main reason to run your pump..

Each pool is a little different... You generally run a pump for three reasons:

1. To keep surface debris moving and being pushed into the skimmers. The more debris the more often you need to run the pump.

2. If you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG) you'll need to run it long enough to generate the amount of chlorine needed.

3. To circulate the water to ensure the chlorine is effectively distributed throughout the pool. Two or three hours per day is all that is needed for this to happen in most pools.

For you, in the summer, your main goal will be to run your pump long enough to generate the amount of chlorine you will need.. Usually about 4 ppm per day. To generate that much chlorine means that you will have to run your pump about 12 hours per day and have your SWCG set at 100% output. Or run longer and reduce you cell's output...

I love my salt system, but the one downside is that the pump has to run for a good length of time. This could be an issue with a standard 2 HP single speed pump.

I suggest you look into getting a Variable Speed, or 2-speed, pump to reduce your electrical costs.. As an example, I can run my 3 HP IntelliFlo VS pump, at 1200 rpm, 24/7, for less than $20 bucks a month. (BTW, Your EasyTouch was designed to operate the IntelliFlo...)

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
mknauss said:
Welcome to the forum!

Not sure why you added baking soda. Let you TA settle wherever your pH also settles. With a SWCG you will get some pH rise in the summer when it is operating but right now it should be pretty stable. pH up to 7.8 is just fin

From my research I was under the impression the TA needed to be between 80-120ppm for my SW pool. Did I just waste 10#s of baking soda?

Do a test of your fill water so you have that data. pH, TA, and CH. Record it and keep it handy. Great info to have as you will be filling the pool this summer quite a bit. Will do.

Did you record the clean pressure at your filter after backwashing? You need that so that you know when to backwash. Let the pressure rise by 25% before backwashing. Yes it was down to 12PSI. With the percentage rise, is that 25% gain of 12psi i.e. 16psi is when I need to BW or a different #?

Also -- be sure you are using Liquid chlorine (bleach) while your SWCG is off. I have an inkling you have tablets in your water and that is why your pH is on the low side. Also your CYA is in a good spot for SWCG at 70 (round up). No sir, no chlorine tabs. The previous owner must have, I assume, shocked it or added a lot of bleach one of the last days they had it because my initial test showed a FC of 12. It's slowly gone down over the last 2 weeks.

Use this for FC -- [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]; use the non-SWCG chart when your SWCG is turned off.
Click to expand...

Using the pool math calculator it says add 125oz of 6% bleach to raise my FC from 3-6 (with my 20k gal). Just want to make sure that's right.

​Much appreciated.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Too,



I suggest you look into getting a Variable Speed, or 2-speed, pump to reduce your electrical costs.. As an example, I can run my 3 HP IntelliFlo VS pump, at 1200 rpm, 24/7, for less than $20 bucks a month. (BTW, Your EasyTouch was designed to operate the IntelliFlo...

This the one you're referring to? I'll add it to the list...

http://www.poolcleaningparts.com/pentair-intelliflo-011018-vs-variable-speed-pump.html

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.[/QUO

So with my CYA of 65 is that good enough for the season or should I add some stabilizer?
Click to expand...
 
The amount of 6% bleach is correct. Best place to get bleach is Walmart. Great Value plain. 8.25%. Do NOT use Clorox Cloromax. It has polymers in it.

The TA needs to be above 50. Other than that, do not chase it. Let it settle were pH settles.

Your BW pressure would be 16 psi.

Good job on not using solid chlorine. The 7.4 pH is what I saw as that takes acid being added often. So just monitor your pH and when it hits 8.0, add acid to get it down to 7.6. Repeat.

Sounds like you got it.

Can you add more detail to your signature? What Easytouch, what SWCG, what Sand filter, what pump.

Take care.
 
Too_Tall said:
Using the pool math calculator it says add 125oz of 6% bleach to raise my FC from 3-6 (with my 20k gal). Just want to make sure that's right.

​Much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Too,

Yes, 125 oz, of 6% is correct... but you do not have to be that precise... one jug is 121 oz and that would work just fine...

On the other hand, I never buy 6% bleach, which is the really cheap stuff and is often very old and not really 6% any more..

I use 12.5% liquid that I buy from a near by Pool Store or I use 8.25% grocery store bleach..

Thanks,

Jim R.

- - - Updated - - -

Too,

The IntelliFlo P/N 11018 is a great pump. It does not have the rotatable control panel, but with the EasyTouch you really don't need it..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Alright so I find myself scratching my head this morning. I've updated my signature with more information. Having an issue with the ET8 automation.

Issue: Pool runs on schedule 8am-5pm. Overnight and the next start up cycle are my issue. Overnight the spa drains about 6 inches to just above the jets. When the system turns back on for some reason the valves only open to the spa, the ET screen shows "SPA". I'm having to go to the control panel and press the valves button to "POOL". When I do that "DEL" comes up on the screen, I see the valves move, the jets in the main pool are on and within about 10 minutes the spa is back full and things seems to be normal.

From reading the manual I think my best bet is to try a reset? We had a bunch of freeze nights last week and perhaps the system hasn't quite corrected itself from that state of operation?

Also new test numbers this morning after adding a jug of 8.25% bleach yesterday afternoon.

FC - 10.5
pH - 8.0
CYA - 85
TA - 100
 
Too,

Do you use ScreenLogic to use and program your EasyTouch, or do you just use the little 3" LCD on the main panel?

Is your 8 am until 5 pm Pool schedule the only schedule you have?? Unless you have the Spa scheduled, the only time the system will go into the Spa mode would be via the freeze protect program.

When in freeze protect mode, the system switches back and forth between the Spa Mode and Pool Mode..

Most pools with raised spas have a check valve at the equipment pad that is designed to prevent your spa from draining back into your pool when the pump is off... I suspect your check valve is either dirty or defective...


Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Too,

Do you use ScreenLogic to use and program your EasyTouch, or do you just use the little 3" LCD on the main panel? Just the main panel.

Is your 8 am until 5 pm Pool schedule the only schedule you have?? Unless you have the Spa scheduled, the only time the system will go into the Spa mode would be via the freeze protect program. There is a schedule for the spa the same time frame as the pool. I may see if I can delete that schedule and see what happens.

When in freeze protect mode, the system switches back and forth between the Spa Mode and Pool Mode..

Most pools with raised spas have a check valve at the equipment pad that is designed to prevent your spa from draining back into your pool when the pump is off... I suspect your check valve is either dirty or defective.. I'm hoping it's just a fluke as the system was operating normally when we initially took over the pool. Thanks!


Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
Too,

It would never make sense to have the Pool and Spa scheduled at the same time. The EasyTouch can only be in either the Pool mode OR the Spa mode, it can't do both the same time.

I would delete it...

We can then decide what it is that you need to schedule, and when, and get you pointed in the right direction..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Too,

It would never make sense to have the Pool and Spa scheduled at the same time. The EasyTouch can only be in either the Pool mode OR the Spa mode, it can't do both the same time.

I would delete it...

We can then decide what it is that you need to schedule, and when, and get you pointed in the right direction..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Not exactly sure how it got programmed that way but indeed that's how it was. I just deleted the program. We'll see on the next start up what happens. Thanks Jim.
 
Alright got myself scratching my head and need some clarification on my SWCG.

Todays test
Water temp 59*
FC 3.5
pH 8.0
TA 90
CH 240
CYA 75
Salt 3200
CSI -.1

My issue is I've added salt over the last week gradually getting the levels up to 3200-3300. I turned the Intellichlor off on the panel while the salt was added. Problem is the red low salt light is still on and my easy touch 8 says the salt is much lower level of 25xx. I've read a different thread that was saying the IC40 measures the salt level at a linear rate with water temperature. So the 59* water is causing the 25xx reading of salt which is normal and the reading on the ET should increase and the light should go out on the generator as my water temperature raises with the season change.

Is that all correct? No need to panic and just let it do it's thing? Still in the learning phase when it comes to all this pool stuff! Thanks.
 
Too,

The IC40's salt test is not all that accurate in the first place +/- 500 ppm and when the water temperature is below about 65 it gets worse... :(

I tend to not worry about what the IC40 thinks the salt level is until the water temp gets to about 65 degrees.. Then I look at the real salt level measured by the K-1766 and compare it to the IC40...

To make the IC40 work, it has to 'think' the salt level is above 2800... If I can, I will add salt to the pool so that the cell sees at least 2800 and at same time keeping the "real" salt level below 4000. For me anyway, when the real salt level gets above 4000 I can taste it more than I like..

In some cases this can not be done, and is a pretty good indication that the temperature sensor (part of the flow switch) is defective. Replacing the flow switch is a pretty easy DIY if out of warranty.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 

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