Vacation Time!

[Waiawa]

So what do most people do when they go on vacation to keep their pool maintained?

I'll be away for 10 days, but I'm hesitant to use a pool service...not sure if I'll get my bang for the buck!
My neighbors won't be any better and probably worse.
I'll be going at the middle of January, so it'll still be cool/cold at that time.

Should I dose high chlorine and hope for the best?

 

[mguzzy]

In the winter I would bring the CL up to the higher end of the range, I don't think you will need to go to SLAM level .. it its cold there will not be a whole lot of activity. cover it if you have a cover. 10 days is not that long in the winter. A month of two is another thing.

I have a SWG.. so it chlorinates itself.. except in winter when it gets too cold to produce. So I switch to LC.. its pretty boring and no biggie if I skip a week.. so for 10 days you'll be fine

 

[Waiawa]

In the winter I would bring the CL up to the higher end of the range, I don't think you will need to go to SLAM level .. it its cold there will not be a whole lot of activity. cover it if you have a cover. 10 days is not that long in the winter. A month of two is another thing.

I have a SWG.. so it chlorinates itself.. except in winter when it gets too cold to produce. So I switch to LC.. its pretty boring and no biggie if I skip a week.. so for 10 days you'll be fine

Thank you!
Speaking of covers, I do have a cover my pb gave me, it's like small bubble wrap however, no anchor points.
I'm afraid if the wind builds up, it'll take flight somewhere!

 

[Dirk]

If you're worried about FC holding, here's a tip. It assumes you have a general sense of how much liquid chlorine your pool uses each week, and that you have a neighbor that wants to get in your good graces so he'll get invited to use the pool next summer! You don't have to teach him how to test. Just pour into an empty sealable container half the amount of chlorine you would expect your pool to use in 10 days. Then tell your neighbor to pop over to your pool on such-n-such a day (halfway through your trip) at such-n-such a time (when you know your pump will be running for at least another hour), and have them pour in the chlorine you made up for them in front of a return. Bob's-yer-uncle! You set your FC level a little high before you go, and you can take off worry free.

If a lot of trips away are in your future, especially when it's hot, and you want to spend a ton of money to get this done, you can do what I did. I automated chlorine and acid dosing and have an auto-fill system and I put an internet cam on the pool. I can leave for a week or two easy, more if I stretch it, without worrying about chemicals or evaporation. I can use the cam to make sure everything is working (pump, vac, no algae, good water level, no dead animals, etc), and even check to see the neighbors are not commandeering my pool while I'm away!

 

[Waiawa]

Dirk, I have the camera, now I need the automated chlorine and acid dosing system.
Who sells it?
I'd like to look into this, most of my neighbors are busy working and probably would forget about coming over. There are a few that have pools....BUT they are stuck on the pool store system or have pool peeps come over.
I'm one of those that believe if you want things done the way you want it....then you have to do it...it sucks sometimes though!

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

@Waiawa , your signature shows a tablet feeder. But your PoolMath logs don't show your CYA level. If your CYA isn't too high, why not just dump a puck or 2 into the feeder for the 10 days you'll be away?

 

[Waiawa]

Hi Squirrel...Bullwinkle huh? LOL! Love it!
I didn't think the tabs would do much or give out enough, I have been using them, but they don't seem to be dissolving very much.
My CYA is very low <20, and I still need to get on it with PoolMath. I need to upgrade, but I've been logging my readings on an Excel sheet.

 

[Dirk]

There are two ways to automate chlorine dosing. An SWG or a liquid chlorine pump/injector system. For acid it's just a pump/injector system. I have a Pentair controller, so a Pentair IntelliChlor SWG paired with a Pentair IntellipH were the best choice for me, and I highly recommend both.

Jandy has an SWG. But no acid system I'm aware of. For liquid chlorine or acid injector systems the Stenner brand is used by many TFP members. I believe there are plenty of other brands, too.

Generally you want your SWG, pump and controller to all be of the same brand. If you want to inject liquids, then Stenner seems to be a good choice. You can purchase other SWG brands and get them to work with whatever else you own, but you might lose some capability or convenience by doing so, or have to DIY some components (for safety, or a timer, etc).

For chlorine, an SWG is by far the more convenient. It makes your chlorine on site, so there is no buying and lugging and storing of chlorine. And there are no freshness issues, like there are when you buy chlorine from a store, or if you buy and store a lot in your yard. Chlorine injection requires a stash of liquid chlorine, which you have to buy and lug and store.

Cost-wise, over time, there is no clear winner. SWG and manual chlorine dosing work out about the same. Chlorine pumping has the additional upfront expense of the equipment, and then the same ongoing costs of liquid chlorine. SWG cells (not the entire system) have to be replaced when they expend all their production capacity (every 3-7+ years, depending on size of pool). Injection systems don't have that caveat (though I expect they do require some maintenance). SWGs stop working when the pool water dips below 50° or so, at which point you have to go back to manual dosing until Spring. Warmer climates can run SWG 365.