Next project - pool equipment pad and replumb

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Sorry, I thought this was an IntelliFlo.

For a plumbing system that is full of water, priming is unnecessary. That’s why I adjusted my settings to reduce it as much as possible. Priming a system really only refers to the process of pulling water into the pump and through the return lines when the system has been drained. Once the system is primed, it shouldn’t lose prime.

Pentair built some intelligence into their pumps to sense when the system has lost prime and to attempt to re-prime by jacking up the speed. They also built in a priming counter so that the system will make a certain number of attempts and then shutdown. The pump is also designed to shutdown if prime is not achieved in a given length of time. All of this is to keep the pump safe from burning out.
 
Each time the pump goes from off to on, it will have to pull the water up the elevation change from the pool to the pump though - right? The only way to prevent that would be to put a check valve at the pool (not at the pad). Or am I thinking wrong?

So, each time the pump kicks on, it does a priming cycle. 5 minutes (I think) was the default time at 3450 rpm. I don’t think it needs to be that high or that long.
 
Oh... btw... here is what my pool looked like yesterday

e417f161fe41c2f6cacfdd00e7eeb46e.jpg
 
mt,

What a lovely shade of green... :(

I could not see a way to reduce the priming time.

Unless the water drains back out of your pump, you really don't need a check valve.. You can always put one in if it makes you feel better...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Why are you adding CYA if you are SLAM'ing the pool?? That will only make the SLAM more difficult.

Salt is fine.

Don't borate the water until you can accurately measure pH and TA and get the TA where you want it before adding borates. Once you add borates to the water, it will take more acid to move the pH needle.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Why are you adding CYA if you are SLAM'ing the pool?? That will only make the SLAM more difficult.

Salt is fine.

Don't borate the water until you can accurately measure pH and TA and get the TA where you want it before adding borates. Once you add borates to the water, it will take more acid to move the pH needle.
Click to expand...


My CYA is low... 15 I think... based on everything I've read, I figured it took a while to dissolve, so while running the pump 24/7 would be a good time to start adding. First just to the 30 target for a SLAM. I intentionally left it low to start the SLAM. I can keep it low or bump it a bit... no biggie for me either way.

As for borates. My TA is low (30), but my PH is rock steady all last year (after adding the borates). Any advantage to having a higher TA? I kept it low all year last year.

My CSI is very negative (-1.5 I think)... my CH is also low (75). But with a vinyl pool, I didn't think that the CSI being minus that far was a problem... is it?
 
Ok. That's good info to know.

Get your CYA up to 30ppm. Adding CYA will add a little bit to your TA. I would suggest not running your TA so low but try to keep it at 50ppm. 30ppm is really at the bottom end of what's safe for your pH. See what your TA is after getting your CYA corrected. Don't worry about the CH right now, it's not that urgent. There's really no need to add salt at the this point. You're going to be adding more chlorine and possible some MA to correct the pH once all is said and done so just wait to add the salt. It only takes 24-36 hours to fully dissolve and homogenize so it's not a big deal.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, once you're ready to install and run the SWG, you're going to be adding more CYA to the pool. You want your CYA to be at least 60ppm for an SWG pool but I can say from experience that mine is never happy unless it's at 70ppm or above. At 60ppm CYA, you can expect that to add 20ppm to your TA (in other words TA = carbonate alkalinity + cyanurate alkalinity + borate alkalinity and the cyanurate alkalinity is about 1/3 of the CYA in ppm). So I wouldn't go messing with borates until all of your other levels are set.

1. CYA + SLAM completion
2. Salt + get your SWG running
3. Borates

That's the priority list.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Ok. That's good info to know.

Get your CYA up to 30ppm. Adding CYA will add a little bit to your TA. I would suggest not running your TA so low but try to keep it at 50ppm. 30ppm is really at the bottom end of what's safe for your pH. See what your TA is after getting your CYA corrected. Don't worry about the CH right now, it's not that urgent. There's really no need to add salt at the this point. You're going to be adding more chlorine and possible some MA to correct the pH once all is said and done so just wait to add the salt. It only takes 24-36 hours to fully dissolve and homogenize so it's not a big deal.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, once you're ready to install and run the SWG, you're going to be adding more CYA to the pool. You want your CYA to be at least 60ppm for an SWG pool but I can say from experience that mine is never happy unless it's at 70ppm or above. At 60ppm CYA, you can expect that to add 20ppm to your TA (in other words TA = carbonate alkalinity + cyanurate alkalinity + borate alkalinity and the cyanurate alkalinity is about 1/3 of the CYA in ppm). So I wouldn't go messing with borates until all of your other levels are set.

1. CYA + SLAM completion
2. Salt + get your SWG running
3. Borates

That's the priority list.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks Matt!
 
Finally finished the remaining big topics over the weekend...
  • bought an adapter and actually connected the discharge line to the corrugated drain line
  • completed plumbing for discharge
  • mounted and wired SWG controller
  • shoveled dirt back into the holes that I dug out (still needs a bit more grooming, but it rained again)

SLAM still ongoing... yet to pass the CLT... hopefully this week

Next thoughts / questions...
I pulled the ladder out of the pool while slamming - planned to clean it separately. That led me to think about the ladder a bit more. You can see it in a few of my earlier pictures.
Q1 - Now that I'm going salt, do I need to be concerned over corrosion of the ladder?
Q2 - The previous owner had tennis balls over the bottom feet of the ladder (where it meets the liner). This seems effective, but somewhat jakey... what is the right way? I tried to search it, but only come up with above ground ladder topics when I search.​

As you can also see in any of the pictures, my concrete is in pretty bad shape (the white specs are the larger aggregate showing through). It seems that it is disintegrating... I often end up with quite a bit of "sand" in the pool which is the top of the concrete washing into pool after heavy rains.
Q3 - Is there an easy solution? Some sort of coating that I should apply?​
 

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