Two weeks with no pump

[doublerock]

Hi all,

This morning I looked out the window and saw that my kids had pulled the vacuum out of the pool the day before. The vacuum had been running dry all morning. I put it back in the pool, primed the pump and got it running again. However, the pump now has a slow water leak (see pics) and air is getting into the system. The pump doesn't have enough power to run the vacuum but the skimmer seems to work fine.

This normally wouldn't be a problem because I would just go ahead and get a new pump and filter which I certainly need anyway. Problem is, I'm flying out of the country this evening and won't be returning for two weeks. This leaves no time for any repairs or replacement and I don't want to leave the pump running because of the leak (Which may get worse). The only thing I can think of is to shock the pool (20,000 gallons) and turn the pump off before I leave and then have my neighbor shock it again for me again in another week. I also have chlorine tablets I can use.

What am I looking at here after two weeks with no pump? Will my pool go green even with lots of chlorine? If so, will it be a nightmare to clean up when I get home?

Any advice please.

Thanks

 

[Arizonarob]

SLAM level to maintain while gone. But could you run the pump and have your neighbor check in on it to see if the leak has grown? How bad is the leak now, and do you have an autofill on your pool?

 

[Richard320]

Yours is one of the very very few situations where algaecide would be a good idea. Look for the Poly 60 stuff.

 

[sktn77a]

Yep, shock the cr_p out of it (sorry, SLAM it) and have your neighbor do the same after a week. Adding algaecide is a good idea too.

And get rid of the kids................................

 

[doublerock]

Thanks. I don't have auto fill. Leak is about 3 drops per second which according to the leak calculator would be 25 gallons per day. My neighbor will be happy to add chlorine once or twice but won't do much beyond that. So far I'm going to SLAM it with liquid chlorine although I wonder if I should not use chlorine tablets along with liquid chlorine becuse of cynuneric acid. I will look into algaecide.

 

[Catanzaro]

Doublerock:

If you SLAM the pool, I believe the chlorine will just disappear within a few days. Remember that you a percentage is lost, not a flat amount daily. Poly-Quat 60 may be your best bet, unless your neighbor wants to turn the pump on each week for 12 hours and SLAM the pool for you. This will buy you time when you return and easily can clean up the mess. Algaecide should work even with no cover on the pool for two weeks. Note that your chlorine will be consumed by the Poly-Quat 60, so hopefully the water is up to far. No need to SLAM again from neighbor if you add the bottle of algaecide. Good luck with your trip.

 

[doublerock]

Here's the followup on this situation. I put 3 chlorine tablets in the dispenser thingy and two gallons of chlorine in the pool (20,000 gallon pool). Then I left the pool pump off for two weeks and went on vacation. After 8 days I called my brother-in-Law and had him put algeacide in the pool (according to the instructions on the bottle) He put it in the deep end and in the shallow end but did not run the pump. I was gone for a total of 16 days and when I got home I was surprised that the pool looked good and the water was nice and blue. There was some sediment at the bottom of the pool. I've been running the pump for about two hours a day while I look for a new pump and it still looks good. The suggestion to add algeacide seems to have been a very good one. Thanks for your help.

Here's a picture of the pool when I got back after 16 days without running the pump.

 

[Catanzaro]

Nice work! Assuming you mixed the chlorine properly before you left and shut off the pool pump. Also, did you Brother-in-Law mix the algaecide by hand or at least turn the pump on for a few hours, or less?

 

[doublerock]

Nice work! Assuming you mixed the chlorine properly before you left and shut off the pool pump. Also, did you Brother-in-Law mix the algaecide by hand or at least turn the pump on for a few hours, or less?

He just poured the algeacide in (Both the deep and shallow end) but did not run the pump. I was worried because he didn't run the pump or do any mixing. Needless to say, I was very surprised to see the pool was OK when I got home.

 

[Catanzaro]

He just poured the algeacide in (Both the deep and shallow end) but did not run the pump. I was worried because he didn't run the pump or do any mixing. Needless to say, I was very surprised to see the pool was OK when I got home.

Assuming you mixed the 2 gallons of bleach by running the pump for at least an hour before you left?