Ph, TA and CH Issues

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I just started the pool draining. Unfortunately, I have a spigot just above my pool pump as the only way to drain it. water goes out about the same pace as filling it up with a garden hose. Will be an over 24 hours to drain and another 24 hours to fill. Wish I knew of a faster way, or a way to have more water exit via the hose and not just back in the pool.

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You can drain and refill if you want.

However, be aware that you need to make sure that the ground water is not going to push the pool out of the ground before you drain.

You likely have copper in the water.
 
No way of knowing for sure. I don't plan on it staying empty for very long. If I do have copper do I need to drain the whole pool? Also, if that copper came from the heater should I have it looked at? Is that a repairable item? I just replaced it a few years ago. Not cheap.
 
A pool can float instantly if the ground water is higher than the water in the pool.

If you have high copper, the only reliable way to remove it other than reverse osmosis is to drain and refill.

If the heater is damaged, there's no easy way to check it.

 
They drained and resurfaced it about a year and a half ago. It was empty for about 5 days during that time. They did poke a few holes in the bottom for some reason. I've drained 8" in 8 hours. I will let it run overnight. If still a long way to go in the morning I will see if Home Depot has a submersible pump I can rent.
 
Rick T said:
They did poke a few holes in the bottom for some reason.
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They did that to try and equalize pressure and keep the pool from popping. You are in the Houston area, right? I would think that you have a higher than average risk of popping your pool.
 
Just curious why does Houston have a greater chance of popping out? I completed the drain portion at 10 this morning and immediately started the refill then. Unfortunately, the refill is about as slow as the beginning of my drain. I am filling about 1" an hour. How full does the pool need to be, to be out of danger of popping up? Currently 20" in the deep end.

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JamesW said:
Pull the cartridge out of the filter. If you have copper in the water, the cartridge will usually show turquoise coloring.
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You're a genius. I just cleaned these cartridges 3 days ago. They looked cleaner than ever. Thought I'd check them again while the pool is refilling and after dumping all the baking soda and soda ash in there for the last couple of days. I have never seen this before. Are the cartridges still good? I will have 99% new water by tomorrow evening as the pool refills.

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Hose them down to see if they come clean.

If not, it might be best to replace them.

If you haven't added copper algaecide, I would be concerned about the heat exchanger as the copper tubing has probably been compromised.

The combustion chamber is sealed, so it's not easy to check for leaks.

You can periodically remove one of the bottom manifold bolts to see if water comes out.
 
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Rick T said:
The pool resurfacing company came out and dumped several gallons of muriatic acid in the pool then tied a recirculation pump (so I wouldn't use my pool pumps) and left it there for a few days.

After about 4 days of this, the white spots came out. He then put a few pounds of soda ash (approximately 3 pounds) in the pool to bring the ph back up.
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They were right to take the equipment offline while they did the treatment.

Unfortunately, they didn't balance the water before restarting the system.

This made highly acidic water eat into the copper in the heater.

You might want to talk to the company about replacing the heater.

Right now, there's some risk that the heat exchanger will deteriorate further and add more copper to the water.

It's likely that the heater will eventually leak if it's not already leaking.
 
JamesW said:
Right now, there's some risk that the heat exchanger will deteriorate further and add more copper to the water.
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That will be next to impossible to get them to do but thanks for the advise. Is the heat exchanger/copper area of my heater replaceable or will I most likely need an entire new heater? I just replaced that one a couple of years ago. It was $3k+.
 
It can be replaced, but it's expensive.

If you can do it, it might be worthwhile to do.

If you have to pay someone, it might not be worthwhile to do.

It's hard to know how damaged the heat exchanger is.

The copper had to come from somewhere.

Once the copper is compromised, it usually wears out a lot faster.

Maybe just check for leaks periodically and deal with it if it leaks.
 
I won't have too much more info for a few more days. I am replacing the filters before I turn the system back on. Amazon had a 4 pack of filters for $160. Leslies had them in stock for $400. I can wait 5 days for that $ difference. Didn't want new refilled water running through the turquoise filters. I could have gotten some of the turquoise out. It was a little pastey/gummy and didn't want to run the risk if I couldn't get it all out.
 
It's hard to know for sure. It's just speculation at this point. You can test the water for copper weekly to see what's happening.

Maybe check the filters monthly to see if they turn green/turquoise.

Maybe remove a bottom manifold bolt monthly to check for water in the combustion chamber.
 

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