Vacation

[tkbutler4]

Hi! Last time I went away for two weeks I returned to a green pool with yellow algae. That’s how I found TFP! Now I’m about to go away again and don’t want to rely on my neighbor to put CL in daily. What are my options?
For my first trip, I’m only gone 2-3 days. So I planned to give pour in enough CL to cover that timeframe.
Could I take that approach if I’m gone a week?
It’s winter and I’m in FL so the sun isn’t as hot.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PoolStored]

What is your current CYA and FC? How are you chlorinating on a day to day basis? Are you still using tablets? Do you know how much FC your pool uses in a day?

These answers would help...

 

[tkbutler4]

What is your current CYA and FC? How are you chlorinating on a day to day basis? Are you still using tablets? Do you know how much FC your pool uses in a day?

These answers would help...

Ok, so I usually chlorinate every few days. Current CYA is 20ish probably a little less. FC yesterday was 8 at 7am and today at 8am was 7.5, so very little loss without the addition of CL. Don’t use tablets but have some 3” if I need to .

 

[PoolStored]

Current CYA is 20ish probably a little less. FC yesterday was 8 at 7am and today at 8am was 7.5, so very little loss without the addition of CL.

Great info. So you use .5 FC / Day. For your 2-3 day trip, you could raise it to slam level (10FC) and you will probably be ok. Why don't you raise FC to 10 now and test FC daily for a week. That will tell you how your pool behaves, and where you would end up after 3 days and 7 days. Testing everyday, if your loss is more than expected, you can catch it...and you know if it will last for a week. With a CYA of 20, pucks would also be a good solution, especially for a week trip. You could test with pucks for a week also, wouldn't add enough CYA to matter, and at 20, you could use some CYA.

I might also suggest that you could raise your CYA to 40 first, before doing your testing. This will help protect more of your FC and give you a higher likelihood it will last a week.

 

[generessler]

If you put one 3 inch puck in a floater it will add about 4 ppm of chlorine over the time it takes to dissolve and about 2.5 ppm of CYA. At .5 ppm loss per day, that will easily cover a 3-day trip. The CYA will be a good thing, as "something less than 20" is below TFP recommended. See the chart.

I'm saying this because I put a floater in for safety when I left for a 10-day trip last summer. That's mid-summer hot in NC. 4 pucks (3 inch). Sure enough the pump breaker tripped (long story). Both pump and SWG were useless. Water was still clear when I got back. FC was 6.5. Dodged a bullet.

Otoh boosting to a high level with LQ ought to be fine for this short period. The suggestion of @PoolStored to practice whatever you plan to do is excellent.

 

[tkbutler4]

Great suggestions guys, thanks. It was 6.5 this morning so staying consistent I would say at .5 so far. I’ll raise to 10 now per your suggestion. I leave on Wed so I’ll throw 3 pucks in that morning. Sound like a plan?

 

[ShallowWater]

Great suggestions guys, thanks. It was 6.5 this morning so staying consistent I would say at .5 so far. I’ll raise to 10 now per your suggestion. I leave on Wed so I’ll throw 3 pucks in that morning. Sound like a plan?

Pucks in a floater, right?