Plans for my Pool Opening

[patplh]

Hi .. some quick background: we moved into a new house with a pool in August. A professional maintained the pool weekly for the previous owners, but we can't afford to keep doing that so when we moved in, I started using Bleach and bought the tf100 kit... Was thinking of closing it on my own, but despite all that I read on TFP, I knew too little about the system to do it myself - so we hired someone to close it and I took tons of notes and pictures so I could do it myself next year. I finally dug out my notes so I could write up a little maintenance guide for our pool and also in preparation for reversing everything so I could open it by myself. As I was writing it up, I came up with some questions that I hope someone can help me with .. If you have the time,I would really appreciate some feedback on the guide I created (had to split up the guide due to the file size limit)- specifically the Pool Opening piece, but if you have time to look at the other parts, I'd love that! I'm sure there are some gaping holes .. I left all the other sections in since it might help explain what kind of pool system I have..
here are my initial questions:
1) My pool is filled to the top due to rain water and I remember reading that I should let my filter run for 3-4 hours before taking my first reading. Before I run the filter, I should drop the water to the skimmers, right? I also need to add DE to the filter - Should I just follow the instructions on the DE Bag- I read somewhere that I should add DE based on the type of filter I have, I have a DE4800, so I'm suppose to add 4 coffee cans of DE? Also, should I turn on my Polaris and In Floor cleaners at this time too?
2) When we closed the pool, I was told that we actually had an In-Floor Cleaning system. How often should I run that.. It shares a valve with the Return, should I turn the Returns off in order to open the valve to the In Floor Cleaning System? Owners never told me anything about it even existing.
3) When I first start the filter, I have a bunch of different valves and I want to make sure that I turn on/off the right ones. Please let me know if this sounds right...The Skimmer and Main Drain should be OPEN, The Return should be OPEN, In Floor Cleaner should be CLOSED, The Water Feature (water Fall) should be CLOSED.
4) In preparation of opening the pool (I'm waiting to cut down some trees first), I bought a lot of Bleach, a case of Sodium DiChloro from Costco and a bag of DE powder. I'm guessing I won't use the Sodium Dichloro, right? and I'm thinking I need to buy some Polyquat, right? Anything else I should buy in preparation of opening the pool?

Thanks in advance, I'm sure there will be many more questions to come - I'm feeling really anxious about taking off the cover, but will be waiting for the tree guy to cut down some trees to avoid getting all sorts of wood chips in the pool. Once that happens, it's game on

 

[JasonLion]

1) You should lower the water so the level is near the top of the skimmer opening. I'd leave the Polaris and in floor cleaners off right at first, to make sure everything else is working, and then turn them on to make sure they are good too.

2) In floor cleaners are normally run for an hour or two a day, more if you have a lot of dust constantly blown into the pool. But you don't need to do it that way if you don't want to. You could just turn it on when the pool looks dirty.

3) Almost right. I would close the main drain, so you are drawing only from the skimmers right at the start. Then when the pump is primed, open the main drain valve slowly to prime it as well.

4) Dichlor is not good for very much. I only use polyquat when I am closing. I like to have a little of everything on hand at all times. Other than that, it depends on your pool and what you expect to need. I always need some CYA at the start of the season, some people don't.

 

[patplh]

Thanks Jason for the quick feedback!

I just lifted part of the cover since I'm going to try opening today.. water is quite nasty (as expected), but I'm wondering if I can filter to WASTE without putting removing the plugs on the returns / skimmers. Can I open the main drain and filter to Waste? I'm kinda trying to avoid putting my entire arm/shoulder in this nasty water .. if i could bring the water down 6+ inches and then remove the plugs, i'd be a happier

Also, I am reading up on how to reassemble my DE Filter and it says to use Gasket Grease.. is there a recommended kind? the guides I'm reading say to use the recommended type and i looked at the manual and there is no reference to grease... >>>> OK, just edited to add that i saw a label saying to use Hayward Jack's No 327 Lube.. I don't have any.. so I read that butter/cooking oil would be OK - any thoughts? <<<

And when do you know its time to replace the grids in a DE filter... mine are all intact, but are totally brown after washing out the DE when we closed the pool.. looks really dirty to me..

thanks again!

 

[JasonLion]

You don't want to backwash the filter with swampy water. So, you can pump to waste without removing the return plugs if your system has a multi-port valve that can be set to waste position, or if you remove the grids from the filter.

 

[waste]

A couple things that struck me as I read this (other than the frying pan my wife launched at my head for being here again as soon as I got out of work :lol: )

It's easier to prime the pump from 1 source (like the MD) rather than 2 or more (like MD and skimmer at the same time) - then slowly open the other .

Your filter takes 6 lbs of DE when fully clean - 4 1lb coffee cans = ~ 2 lbs (please see this for properly caring for your filter).

The in-floor systems I used to install were designed to run whenever the pump was on, but that was 15+ years ago :|

I'll try to remember to take a look at your attachments when I get a few days to breath (busy time for pool dudes right now )

 

[patplh]

Ted -
Thanks for the post, I have a DE specific scoop, so I put in 6 scoops when I turned on the filter, and everything ran OK and pressure was good.. norm is around 16psi.
Turned it off after I added enough bleach to shock the pool due to the algae and chem results.. I posted them http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-opening-test-results-help-want-to-chlorinate-tonight-t22063.html..
Going to run chem tests in the morning and make a CYA run. Need to run the filter/backwash all day tomorrow to clear up the dead (hopefully) algae.

regarding priming the pump, what exactly does that mean? in the end, I drained (waste) from the main drain, but when I switched to Filter, I didn't switch slowly to MD and skimmer.. I just did it before I turned the pump back on. Sounds like I was suppose to gradually move the valve to the middle of MD and skimmer after I turned the pump on, is that right? Can you tell me what issues are caused by my not-gradual method?

Thank you for offering to take a look at my PDFs. Back in November, I said I would post my closing instructions (based on watching the pool guy), but I never did .. you offered back then to review it and you offered now, so thank you! (and your wife.. haha).. i have a lot of editing to do, since I'm learning as I go - so maybe I'll repost it again when it's time to close since that's where I need more help (i think) .. Thanks again

 

[JasonLion]

regarding priming the pump, what exactly does that mean? in the end, I drained (waste) from the main drain, but when I switched to Filter, I didn't switch slowly to MD and skimmer.. I just did it before I turned the pump back on. Sounds like I was suppose to gradually move the valve to the middle of MD and skimmer after I turned the pump on, is that right? Can you tell me what issues are caused by my not-gradual method?

Priming a pump, or prime as it is sometimes abbreviated, means removing all of the air from the plumbing. When there is too much air in the system, the pump strainer basket can sometimes fill with air and the pump stops moving water. As long as the pump is moving water, you are fine. Using the gradual switch-over is a way to help prevent loss of prime. As long as you didn't lose prime, there is no harm done.