Hi all,
I wanted to ask general advice on pool maintenance during the off season months. I live in Napa and it never freezes, at most we might get a few days of frost in early mornings. I've never seen the pool temp drop below 45 degrees F. The pool doesn't get used from around November - April.
I keep the pool pump going in the winter, but at around 7 hours only. The IntelliFlo pump is set at 1900 RPM (set 27 gallons/min), so roughly the turnover for my 22K gall pool is around 12 hours, which is what the pump is set for during the summer months of heavy use.
I've read that I should be turning my pool volume daily, but this seems like overkill given the pool is covered and not in use. Any suggestions on the minimum amount of pump run time I can get away with? Would love to save some money on the electricity bill.
Also wanted to ask about pool water balance. The pentair SWG shuts off during the winter (I think around 52 F), but with cold water and no actual swimming use, there seems to be little if any chlorine demand. I usually throw some chlorine shock into the pool about midway through winter and this usually keeps the free chlorine to be within range. I also don't check the pool water balance much during the winter. When I do I notice the pH is quite high over 8.5 using the TFP kit. I know that cold water increases the pH, is this something I should be correcting through the winter by adding more acid? Or is ok to permit the pH to rise, and assume that once I start using pool again in May it should self correct as I turn the heater on, and then start adding acid at that time as needed?
Thanks,
Robert
I wanted to ask general advice on pool maintenance during the off season months. I live in Napa and it never freezes, at most we might get a few days of frost in early mornings. I've never seen the pool temp drop below 45 degrees F. The pool doesn't get used from around November - April.
I keep the pool pump going in the winter, but at around 7 hours only. The IntelliFlo pump is set at 1900 RPM (set 27 gallons/min), so roughly the turnover for my 22K gall pool is around 12 hours, which is what the pump is set for during the summer months of heavy use.
I've read that I should be turning my pool volume daily, but this seems like overkill given the pool is covered and not in use. Any suggestions on the minimum amount of pump run time I can get away with? Would love to save some money on the electricity bill.
Also wanted to ask about pool water balance. The pentair SWG shuts off during the winter (I think around 52 F), but with cold water and no actual swimming use, there seems to be little if any chlorine demand. I usually throw some chlorine shock into the pool about midway through winter and this usually keeps the free chlorine to be within range. I also don't check the pool water balance much during the winter. When I do I notice the pH is quite high over 8.5 using the TFP kit. I know that cold water increases the pH, is this something I should be correcting through the winter by adding more acid? Or is ok to permit the pH to rise, and assume that once I start using pool again in May it should self correct as I turn the heater on, and then start adding acid at that time as needed?
Thanks,
Robert