New Pool + Pool Company Management = confusion

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melsteph

melsteph

Gold Supporter
Jun 8, 2013
59
East Texas
Hi All and Happy Summer!
I have new IG pool and part of our contract had that the pool company would "manage" it for the first month. That part hasn't been great - but we are about finished with that timeframe. Yesterday (7/1) I made sure I was home and outside when they came so I could see EXACTLY what they did and added. They carry the TFT test kit but they used it differently than the directions on the lid. They tested for pH using the green TA chemicals to tell me how much acid they were needing to add. That confused me. They also added 3 "scoops" of chlorine and 6 tablets total in the skimmers because I had no FC showing up. (I already knew that but were waiting for them to "manage". I do have a Pentair Rainbow Chlorinator that I thought was supposed to keep up with the chlorine.
***We ARE going to SWG System. Still waiting on them to install that and add the salt. ***
So for now - these test results seem off to me:


pH - 7.4 (added 2 gallons yesterday of muriatic acid)
FC 13 (tested twice)
CC 0
CYA 100
TA 160
CH 200+ (ran out of drops)

Thoughts? Are they managing this correctly for a new pool, new fill? Do I need to do something differently?
Thanks as always,
Melissa
 
They are managing it according to "normal" pool company standards, but nwhere near how we would say it should be handled.

First, too much solid chlorine is being used. Solid chlorine is almost half CYA, and by your test the CYA is way too high. 100 is the limit of the CYA test, so at this level we are unsure if it is 100 or some number above 100. You can't equate “just a little over 100” to a number, the tube is not marked for such extrapolation.

So at this point you have to do a diluted test to get an idea of where you really are.. While the full instructions are in the Pool School, here is the short version. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap water. Use this mixed sample as your test water. If still at a 100 you will need to dilute more. The problem is that when doing a diluted test not only do you multiply the rage of the test you multiply the error rate of the test, so results are a ballpark - not an absolute. Here is a great chart by JamesW to explain dilution rates and what you multiply the results by to get an approximation of your CYA level.

Pool water......Tap or distilled water.........Multiply result by

....1...................1................................2
....1...................2................................3
....1...................4................................5

Once you do that, you will need to drain and refill part of the pool to get the CYA down to about 60/70.

You have to stop using solid chlorine and get the SWCG running or use only liquid.
 
I hate the way that most of these pool maintenance companies do business :hammer:

You are going to have to already replace water because they have your CYA so high. The current FC is fine for that high CYA, but you can't correct test the pH when the FC is > 10ppm.

And I highly doubt they are using the TF-100 from tftestkits.net ... maybe that have one of the many Taylor kits, but clearly they do not know how to use it ;)
 
After 30 years in the business I have come to the conclusion that the only people that add tablets to the skimmer are 1) People that don't know better, 2) People that replace skimmers (yes the tablets will deteriorate the plastic, 3) People that replace pumps, motors, heaters, plaster at the main drain.

If you are going to use tablets (and it doesn't hurt even with a SWG) keep them in a floating chlorine dispenser. I don't even care for inline/offline chlorine feeders as they only add chlorine when the pump is running. When the system is off, the tablets still dissolve and the resulting "soup" is very corrosive. In a system where the main drain is plumbed into the skimmer you will eventually see damaged plaster at the covers. When the pump starts that very damaging solution affects the pump seal at the very least and then travels to the heater. Damage will occur. I have seen inline and offline feeders destroy heaters, especially Max-E-Therm, Master Temp, and Jandy heaters that are very low to the ground even with what is called a "chemical resistant" check valve. Inline ones have destroyed heaters that have higher plumbing like a RayPak. As with everything, just my opinion.
 
1poolman1 said:
After 30 years in the business I have come to the conclusion that the only people that add tablets to the skimmer are 1) People that don't know better, 2) People that replace skimmers (yes the tablets will deteriorate the plastic, 3) People that replace pumps, motors, heaters, plaster at the main drain.

If you are going to use tablets (and it doesn't hurt even with a SWG) keep them in a floating chlorine dispenser. I don't even care for inline/offline chlorine feeders as they only add chlorine when the pump is running. When the system is off, the tablets still dissolve and the resulting "soup" is very corrosive. In a system where the main drain is plumbed into the skimmer you will eventually see damaged plaster at the covers. When the pump starts that very damaging solution affects the pump seal at the very least and then travels to the heater. Damage will occur. I have seen inline and offline feeders destroy heaters, especially Max-E-Therm, Master Temp, and Jandy heaters that are very low to the ground even with what is called a "chemical resistant" check valve. Inline ones have destroyed heaters that have higher plumbing like a RayPak. As with everything, just my opinion.
Click to expand...
If the in-line chlorinator is after all the equipment with a check valve installed as required, then "the soup" will not be going anywhere near the floor drain, or pump, and usually not the heater. Granted the check valves are certainly not fail-proof. Are you suggesting that this soup can back up through the heater and the pump and all the way down to the floor drain?
 
jblizzle said:
If the in-line chlorinator is after all the equipment with a check valve installed as required, then "the soup" will not be going anywhere near the floor drain, or pump, and usually not the heater. Granted the check valves are certainly not fail-proof. Are you suggesting that this soup can back up through the heater and the pump and all the way down to the floor drain?
Click to expand...
I read it as dissolving in the skimmer and running down to puddle in the floor drain.
 
jblizzle said:
If the in-line chlorinator is after all the equipment with a check valve installed as required, then "the soup" will not be going anywhere near the floor drain, or pump, and usually not the heater. Granted the check valves are certainly not fail-proof. Are you suggesting that this soup can back up through the heater and the pump and all the way down to the floor drain?
Click to expand...
No, tablets in the skimmer can cause a problem. A major portion of the tablet is an acid, heavier than water. Most residential pools in my area have the main drain plumbed into the pool-side port of a skimmer. When the pump is not running the heavier solution will fall down the pipe to the main drain. It can then flow out and, since it is still heavier than water, just sit on the finish deteriorating it. You can almost always tell a pool that has had tablets in the skimmer for a while with this plumbing configuration. The area around the main-drain cover will be discolored, eroded, or, with most pebble-type finishes, a different (usually darker) color.

A good, air-tight system can, in fact, draw water backwards through the system as a siphon. Just finished a "puzzler" of a problem with a raised spa draining down every night. Replaced all the above ground plumbing, including check valves and still had the problem. With the system off, placed dye at the one port that supplied filtered water to the spa and found it to be drawing backwards through the system and ending up in the pool. The water was being lifted about 3 feet and falling about 5. Changed the already new check valve and problem solved. Sometimes you get bad parts that are new. Was a headache for me and the customer for about two weeks. If there was a chlorinator in the system it could have drawn the solution with it. For 22 of my 30 years I have concentrated on repairs and have seen this happen too many times.
 
Understood, as my post above state, your original post mentioned tabs in skimmer, then switched to talking about in-line feeders, and then mentioned the floor drain damage ... so there was some confusion there. I am well aware of the damage that can be caused by tabs sitting in a skimmer ;)
 
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