Updated- New owner ongoing questions

[Hudsongirl]

Equipment is not below water level, it's an IG pool and the equipment is on a slab so should be above water level by about a foot.

Yes, I knew about releasing air for the filter cartridge cleaning. I think the woman who did the walk through was being overly cautious when showing us by closing all the lines as well as the power to the pump.

One last thing (for now) is it normal that when the filter basket is open there is a bit of gurgling that happens? It hasn't seemed to cause any issues but with both lines closed and the cover open there is a gurgling sound until we close it and turn it back on again.

 

[Newdude]

Equipment is not below water level, it's an IG pool and the equipment is on a slab so should be above water level by about a foot.

Ok then you don't need to turn the suction valves.

I think the woman who did the walk through was being overly cautious when showing us by closing all the lines as well as the power to the pump.

Better safe than sorry. I worked at customers houses for 25 years and I don't trust thr general public further than I can throw them. Lol.

Killing power to the pump is good though.

One last thing (for now) is it normal that when the filter basket is open there is a bit of gurgling that happens

That's air getting sucked into the filter to empty it. And ok.

 

[Hudsongirl]

Ok then you don't need to turn the suction valves.

Better safe than sorry. I worked at customers houses for 25 years and I don't trust thr general public further than I can throw them. Lol.

Killing power to the pump is good though.


That's air getting sucked into the filter to empty it. And ok.

Thanks so much!

 

[Mdragger88]

Update:

SWG is doing its magic, things are pretty honed in (til the temperature shifts on me) and FC is staying right around 7.5.

I checked the PH today and I went outside, white background, in person it looked dark red, but in this pic it's looking to me like this is high 7s? I don't need to mess with it until it goes to the bright pink shades indicating it's in the 8s even if it's not in the "ideal" range, right? How often should I expect to be adding acid to lower PH?

Ph is on its own schedule lol sorry. When it’s a solid 8 lower it & ta will fall a little too.
As your ta falls the frequency of the ph rise will lessen. With a ta of 60 my ph literally never changes in my vinyl pool.

Electrician came out today and he said the breaker for the pool heater was a 40amp and the minimum on the heat pump label says 41.78. While running it was drawing about 25, but they draw more at startup so I insisted given it has tripped the breaker twice that it be upgraded to a 50 or 60 so he'll be out next week to get that done.

I’m confused- did he not install the breaker initially? Are the wires coming from the breaker to the heater rated for 50 or 60 amps?
If not rated for the same or ideally more amps than the breaker then they can melt before the breaker ever kicks if an over current condition occurs.
Definitely verify this info before calling it good.

 

[Hudsongirl]

Ph is on its own schedule lol sorry. When it’s a solid 8 lower it & ta will fall a little too.
As your ta falls the frequency of the ph rise will lessen. With a ta of 60 my ph literally never changes in my vinyl pool.

I’m confused- did he not install the breaker initially? Are the wires coming from the breaker to the heater rated for 50 or 60 amps?
If not rated for the same or ideally more amps than the breaker then they can melt before the breaker ever kicks if an over current condition occurs.
Definitely verify this info before calling it good.

Luckily I was told the wiring is for 60 amp service, so they'd only need to switch out the breaker. I am not sure how he wound up putting a 40 amp breaker. It was odd, he is the one who did the install of the wires but I don't know if one of his guys did the breaker box so it may have been miscommunication somehow.

Patio guys finished tonight! My baby is ready for swimming! I'll be closing out the permit this week and scheduling the inspection, after that the only thing left to do is the install for the winter cover anchors (supposed to be later this month).

Pics because I'm happy- and the attached hexagonal firepit (apparently we are the first ones to ask for anything other than a rectangle/square or round.

 

[mitanc]

Looks Beautiful! Also my first season as a pool owner! You must be so excited. Congrats!

I finally got a handle on my pool, so clear I can see the robot vacuum and the betta skimmer in the same shot on my surveillance camera.

 

[Hudsongirl]

Looks Beautiful! Also my first season as a pool owner! You must be so excited. Congrats!

I finally got a handle on my pool, so clear I can see the robot vacuum and the betta skimmer in the same shot on my surveillance camera.


View attachment 580130

love it! I spy a built in jacuzzi too! We decided to hold off and do a separate one since we're in NY and wanna use a spa in winter when the pool would be winterized, but I do love the combo ones!

 

[mitanc]

love it! I spy a built in jacuzzi too! We decided to hold off and do a separate one since we're in NY and wanna use a spa in winter when the pool would be winterized, but I do love the combo ones!

I inherited this when I purchased the home. I’m in NY as well, Long Island here.

 

[Hudsongirl]

I inherited this when I purchased the home. I’m in NY as well, Long Island here.

Ah, I'm a native Massapequa girl, up in the Hudson Valley now. We unfortunately had to go through the whole build process, and it was as much as a fiasco as you've heard they can be, but we're relieved to be on the tail end!

 

[Hudsongirl]

Back with another question:

Pool builder was supposed to give me a valve and spigot for the bottom of the filter which (shockingly
) they haven't done. We're expecting rain later this week and I really don't want to be out there trying to drain it by siphon again because we just don't have a good grade for doing it with an inground pool.

I figure if I'm going to end up closing the pool myself come Fall (which it looks like I will since that's the TFP way) then I'll need a stand alone pump and drain hose anyway so I might as well go ahead and order that now. Is there a specific kind I'll need or a brand recommendation? We'll have a mesh cover, so I don't need one of those automatic pumps that sit on the cover, but a submersible one I guess for lowering the water level enough to winterize.

 

[wireform]

Amazon.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Also harbor freight has a great selection of submersible pumps. Many times a coupon can be had as well.
I have their pool cover pump (wayne clone) & it’s been great. I use it for all of the off season for the past 3 years. I imagine their other variants do similarly well.

 

[Hudsongirl]

Also harbor freight has a great selection of submersible pumps. Many times a coupon can be had as well.
I have their pool cover pump (wayne clone) & it’s been great. I use it for all of the off season for the past 3 years. I imagine their other variants do similarly well.

Thanks, I'll try harbor freight.

I wasn't sure if I need to look for a specific flow rate or anything to be able to get the water out of the lines for winterizing or anything. (Not really sure how all that works yet) but based on these responses I'm thinking any pump will do.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thanks, I'll try harbor freight.

I wasn't sure if I need to look for a specific flow rate or anything to be able to get the water out of the lines for winterizing or anything. (Not really sure how all that works yet) but based on these responses I'm thinking any pump will do.

A submersible pump is not what you use for the lines. You use a shop vac or a blower for that.
The pump is just to lower the water level without risking running your pump dry.
Up to you how fast you want to accomplish that compared to your budget.

 

[Mdragger88]

Here’s the closing info for you to bookmark for later

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Hudsongirl]

Back again-

Had my SWG settings honed in where FC was hovering around the target 7ppm when I tested, up or down .5 depending on time of day. I didn't test yesterday and since Monday FC fell from 7 to 5.5 this morning. Pump and SWG are set to run from 7am until 10pm at 55ish % (SWG auto varies based on temp) the pool heater runs during this time too , set to 82 degrees so it falls in temp a bit overnight and rises again in the AM.

Weather here has been upper 70s mostly, but the last two days were upper 80s- yesterday 87. We are also dealing with a caterpillar infestation which unfortunately means there is literal poop (frass) raining down from the trees onto one end of the pool every day until it is vacuumed up.

My gut feeling is that it's probably normal for the FC to be used up by the frass and that higher temp = higher chlorine demand and I can just adjust the SWG up a little, but since i have no experience I'm jsut wanting confirmation that it's okay to swim still with the frass situation so long as the FC is staying where it's supposed to be.

 

[bobloblaw42]

My gut feeling is that it's probably normal for the FC to be used up by the frass and that higher temp = higher chlorine demand and I can just adjust the SWG up a little, but since i have no experience I'm jsut wanting confirmation that it's okay to swim still with the frass situation so long as the FC is staying where it's supposed to be.

Yes, the pool exists in the real world where variables change all the time. You have a great test kit and your instincts are being honed properly!

We like to ride FC near the top end of the target FC/CYA range for the exact dynamic you described. Your FC went down but it was still above minimum and you tested it in time to determine pool is still safe to swim and your SWG settings need to bump up for the change in variables. Kudos!!!!

 

[Hudsongirl]

Yes, the pool exists in the real world where variables change all the time. You have a great test kit and your instincts are being honed properly!

We like to ride FC near the top end of the target FC/CYA range for the exact dynamic you described. Your FC went down but it was still above minimum and you tested it in time to determine pool is still safe to swim and your SWG settings need to bump up for the change in variables. Kudos!!!!

Thanks for the reassurance, it's nerve wracking starting out and I am mostly concerned about instances where it might be unsafe to swim. I like the idea of riding near the top end of FC target for now with the changing weather and infestation

 

[Mdragger88]

Thanks for the reassurance, it's nerve wracking starting out and I am mostly concerned about instances where it might be unsafe to swim. I like the idea of riding near the top end of FC target for now with the changing weather and infestation

It is safe to swim so long as:
Ph is in the 7’s,
Fc is between minimum and slam level for your cya,
&
you can see the bottom of the deep end for safety purposes.

 

[wireform]

I run all the pools in the high side or past target. As long as it's below the given slam per the waters CYA I call that perfect . If the pump was off for a day and nobody noticed then the water doesn't notice either. For instance last evening I got a call of the filter pump thrashing, low and behold water was low. Didn't flinch and just shut the power and started to fill. They can use the pool this way without any worries and they are.