When I leave my house for an extended periods I'm always worried about the pool; water level, water chemistry and water clarity. I have a SWG and I was never certain it and the pump were working when and how they should. I've been thinking of buying a Water Guru but from what I understand they test daily and need cartridges replaced every month, I'd be in if I could simply test on-demand and be limited to thirty before replacing cartridges but I don"t think that's possible.
To achieve a remote reading of the water level I improvised a mechanical water level indicator monitored by an inexpensive Wyze security camera. The camera looks at the indicator across the pool from inside the living room. The camera is about 30 feet from the device and the resolution is enough to know just where the water level is. Looking for the surface or clear water is difficult but this device solves that problem. The device is a clear rectangular juice container with the top cover and label removed and bottom cut away. In my case it also has a side hole cut-in that allows me to mount it to an spray jet that I don't use any more. The container is mounted with the top pointing upwards. A high visibility pink racquetball ball is placed within and captured by the container, floating on the surface of the water. The ball and jet can be seen by the security camera so the water height is rather obvious. A photo of the device is attached.
To get a handle on the SWG, I installed a Curb energy monitoring system in the house. It's a fantastic device that allows each circuit to be monitored in real time or historically. A probe was placed on the circuit that feeds the pump and SWG. I can now look at the power history for that circuit and know when the pump starts and stops. I can also tell when the SWG cell is powered, it draws another 100 watts when on and the Curb system is accurate to show when it's energized. I can even look at the SWG power-on times and cycles. Life just got easier!
View attachment 123459
To achieve a remote reading of the water level I improvised a mechanical water level indicator monitored by an inexpensive Wyze security camera. The camera looks at the indicator across the pool from inside the living room. The camera is about 30 feet from the device and the resolution is enough to know just where the water level is. Looking for the surface or clear water is difficult but this device solves that problem. The device is a clear rectangular juice container with the top cover and label removed and bottom cut away. In my case it also has a side hole cut-in that allows me to mount it to an spray jet that I don't use any more. The container is mounted with the top pointing upwards. A high visibility pink racquetball ball is placed within and captured by the container, floating on the surface of the water. The ball and jet can be seen by the security camera so the water height is rather obvious. A photo of the device is attached.
To get a handle on the SWG, I installed a Curb energy monitoring system in the house. It's a fantastic device that allows each circuit to be monitored in real time or historically. A probe was placed on the circuit that feeds the pump and SWG. I can now look at the power history for that circuit and know when the pump starts and stops. I can also tell when the SWG cell is powered, it draws another 100 watts when on and the Curb system is accurate to show when it's energized. I can even look at the SWG power-on times and cycles. Life just got easier!
View attachment 123459
