What did you do to your pool today?

[JamesW]

Oxidizing ammonia creates acid by releasing hydrogen.

More than 95% of ammonia is in the form of the ammonium ion (NH4+)

2NH4+ + 3OCl- --> N2 + 3H2O + 2H+ +3Cl-

When adding 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) to a pool to oxidize ammonia, every gallon of liquid chlorine will create the equivalent of 15 ounces of 31.45% hydrochloric acid.

 

[Dirk]

Oxidizing ammonia creates acid by releasing hydrogen.

More than 95% of ammonia is in the form of the ammonium ion (NH4+)

2NH4+ + 3OCl- --> N2 + 3H2O + 2H+ +3Cl-

When adding 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) to a pool to oxidize ammonia, every gallon of liquid chlorine will create the equivalent of 15 ounces of 31.45% hydrochloric acid.

I would say my pool definitely "received" a large amount of ammonia. Some people were in the pool for hours at a time, with drinks constantly in their hands (don't need any math on that!). CCs were about 0.5, before and during the day. There was never any chlorine smell. I only added 25oz of LC in the afternoon. My SWG was already running hot, which is why I started the day at FC 9. And because my pool is smallish, I can move pH with just 3 or 4 oz of 31%. So your math seems to answer the question. Thx!

Frankly, because of how bad the vis became, I was surprised I only needed 25oz of chlorine in the afternoon (to restore a drop of FC 2). I was half expecting the FC to be almost gone. In addition to the ammonia, there would have been suntan lotion involved, too, I guess. Maybe a spilled drink or two. Who knows. It survived, nobody drowned, and I'll be able to bring myself to get into it again today, it looks pretty much back to normal this morning. So... s'all good.

 

[blazer58]

Apologized to the wife for getting pool to warm.
It was 78/80, she likes 82/84 I prefer 86/88.
Turned on heat at 5 am , put on solar cover , went to swim around 1 and pool was like bath water even for me

 

[jwiegley]

In this last week I added an IC60 and borates to the pool (~60 ppm). The difference in feel is quite noticeable! Still figuring out pump run times and chlorine generation percentage.

 

[Homebrewale]

Last week I added water to the pool. On Saturday, I removed water from the pool after having 3" of rain over two days. It's supposed to reach 101F by Tuesday so I'll probably be adding water again at some point. This has been the craziest summer so far with water levels. It's either too much or not enough.

All that rain also brought out the frogs and flying ants. I removed 8 frogs. All day while in the pool, I was removing flying ants. Get rid of 3, turn around and there's 4 more.

 

[Dirk]

Does landscaping around the pool count? Or rather what I water it with? I just replaced every p.o.j. quick-connect garden hose fitting I owned. I've been using some form of them for decades, and I've been through a half-dozen different brands, dozens and dozens of purchases. Metal, plastic, all junk! Since moving here I had settled on the ones that Lowes sells, because they have to be replaced so often I figured might as well use one that's easy to find. Still junk! These guys:


Because I have been doing so much hand watering lately, necessary since my entire backyard re-do for my July 4 party, and trying to keep new and existing plants alive in our heat, I was getting more and more frustrated with the quick connects: hard to disconnect, hard to connect, fusing together, and worst of all leaking! Leaking badly and constantly. Wet hands. Wet feet, shoes and pants. Ugh.

They're not repairable, only replaceable. And I finally figured out why they're junk. They're not brass. They're plated aluminum (and/or zinc), and once the cheap plating wears off, the metal underneath corrodes. Then they start fusing together and they lose their seal against the o-ring. JUNK!

So I set out to find the ultimate quick-connect system, and I believe I have! These guys, from Eley.


SOLID brass, with a proper o-ring and stainless steel barbs. They work like butter. They connect together so easily, and disconnect so easily, it can be done with one hand. They also swivel easily, and they don't leak! At all. I also bought the repair kit (o-rings and silicon lube), which should keep them working well... well... forever. They come with a 10-year warranty. That says something. So I also bought their end-of-hose valves. They work even better!


No leaking, the valve is a joy, and the swivel swivels!!! Same brass, same warranty.

The connects are 3/4" I.D., and the valves are a little over 1/2" inside, so no flow issues at all. FULL POWER!!

I often evangelize my VOLT lighting fixtures, because they, too, are solid brass, and are still working flawlessly after 10 years. I hope I've discovered another product of equal quality with my new Eley quick-connects. But like the VOLT stuff, these Eley fittings are not cheap. I spent hundreds outfitting my entire house and yard. So far, I'm predicting it will be worth every penny.

Garden Hoses, Reels, and Watering Tools

Highest-rated hose, reels and watering tools available. Durable aluminum and brass construction. Drinking water-safe. 10-YEAR Warranty. Midwest family-owned.

www.eleyhosereels.com

 

[Orion7319]

Staycation this week. All day in the pool yesterday and all day today so far.

 

[Homebrewale]

Staycation this week. All day in the pool yesterday and all day today so far.

I have trouble making it past an hour.

 

[Orion7319]

I have trouble making it past an hour.

Well we get in and out of it all day long. Get out, hang out in the gazebo, get back in repeat all day. Just found out we got to take the dog to get groomed in a minute, so that’s probably it for today

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Does landscaping around the pool count? Or rather what I water it with? I just replaced every p.o.j. quick-connect garden hose fitting I owned. I've been using some form of them for decades, and I've been through a half-dozen different brands, dozens and dozens of purchases. Metal, plastic, all junk! Since moving here I had settled on the ones that Lowes sells, because they have to be replaced so often I figured might as well use one that's easy to find. Still junk! These guys:

View attachment 595875
Because I have been doing so much hand watering lately, necessary since my entire backyard re-do for my July 4 party, and trying to keep new and existing plants alive in our heat, I was getting more and more frustrated with the quick connects: hard to disconnect, hard to connect, fusing together, and worst of all leaking! Leaking badly and constantly. Wet hands. Wet feet, shoes and pants. Ugh.

They're not repairable, only replaceable. And I finally figured out why they're junk. They're not brass. They're plated aluminum (and/or zinc), and once the cheap plating wears off, the metal underneath corrodes. Then they start fusing together and they lose their seal against the o-ring. JUNK!

So I set out to find the ultimate quick-connect system, and I believe I have! These guys, from Eley.

View attachment 595886
SOLID brass, with a proper o-ring and stainless steel barbs. They work like butter. They connect together so easily, and disconnect so easily, it can be done with one hand. They also swivel easily, and they don't leak! At all. I also bought the repair kit (o-rings and silicon lube), which should keep them working well... well... forever. They come with a 10-year warranty. That says something. So I also bought their end-of-hose valves. They work even better!

View attachment 595892
No leaking, the valve is a joy, and the swivel swivels!!! Same brass, same warranty.

The connects are 3/4" I.D., and the valves are a little over 1/2" inside, so no flow issues at all. FULL POWER!!

I often evangelize my VOLT lighting fixtures, because they, too, are solid brass, and are still working flawlessly after 10 years. I hope I've discovered another product of equal quality with my new Eley quick-connects. But like the VOLT stuff, these Eley fittings are not cheap. I spent hundreds outfitting my entire house and yard. So far, I'm predicting it will be worth every penny.

Garden Hoses, Reels, and Watering Tools

Highest-rated hose, reels and watering tools available. Durable aluminum and brass construction. Drinking water-safe. 10-YEAR Warranty. Midwest family-owned.

www.eleyhosereels.com

Glad to hear this review. I have been on the fence about buying these.

Eley makes quality stuff. It's not inexpensive, but buy once cry once. I have a 14 year old hose reel from them. Still works flawlessly.

--Jeff

 

[Mdragger88]

Got home from a week in vegas on Sunday & hubby was filling the pool because it was sucking air (he gets brownie points for this as well as actually getting in & brushing/scooping frogs !)
Then of course , it rained hard multiple times last week. Pool skimmer poured so I went ahead & backwashed then drained some more leaving it a little high to account for future evaporation with no rain in sight till this coming Thursday (maybe).
I reinstalled the fountain since I removed it before going away & then Friday morning when the pump came on it turned wonky & was spraying the deck/yard when I went out
Needless to say, I’ll be adding more water soon.
Luckily It hadn’t been on long, lost about an inch. Just really glad I was home & noticed!

 

[JamesW]

Got home from a week in Vegas

How much was won or lost?

 

[Mdragger88]

How much was won or lost?

I fed them $20 - this is what I ended up with…

“As long as they owe me I’ll never be broke” lol
I tried to blow my last $5 bill at the smoker’s lounge in the airport on the way out but none of the machines would take my pitifully wrinkled bill!!
After the 3rd attempt I decided it was a sign & just sat & drank my coffee watching other people gamble & drink mixed drinks at 6am

 

[Katodude]

Ran a full set of test results. Broke open a new R-870. Love it when the powder is all fresh and white instead of purple.

My CYA seems to be degrading slower, but it’s still low, so going to clean the filter and add a few pounds. Looks like that Doheny stuff might be worth the price.

My TA is also down so going to add some calcium today as my CSI is a little on the aggressive side. Good news with that is no waterline scale.

 

[jark87]

Brushed, ran Polaris to pick up a few leaves, emptied all debris baskets, shut off chiller and raised FC to a precautionary level of 16 as we leave for Glacier National Park tomorrow! It’s our annual summer escape to a national park and the mountains, but our first visit to Glacier. I’ll lower the pH to lower 7s and set the pool fill station to keep the water level up.

 

[Dirk]

Glad to hear this review. I have been on the fence about buying these.

Eley makes quality stuff. It's not inexpensive, but buy once cry once. I have a 14 year old hose reel from them. Still works flawlessly.

--Jeff

I have very hard water, so my new set is going to get torture tested. The true review will be years from now, but so far it sure feels like they'll hold up.

They do have one potential flaw, that was pointed out by a review I read. He claimed that having an exposed o-ring is bad. Which made sense after I started using mine. The o-ring is well lubed from the factory, and the o-ring is on the part that goes on all the stuff you would likely want to set down, like when switching nozzles. If I put that nozzle or extra hose end down in the dirt, it's going to collect crud on the gooped-up o-ring. Now, that's all undoable: wash it off or even remove, re-lube, replace the o-ring, but it is something I didn't have to think about with my old set. The o-ring was inside, better protected.

That said, it was those internal o-rings that would fail and leak, with no way to service or replace them. With the Eley, the o-ring is easily replaceable, because it is external, and very easy to get at. Easy to re-lube as needed, to keep the fitting leak-free. So that's a trade off to consider.

I predict it'll be a non-issue, I just have to relearn how I toss around my hose ends and attachments.

Regarding the price, I look at that another way. It's very hard to find quality these days. Everything is made in China and everything is of low quality. It's like we don't even have a choice to pay more for quality, because nothing of quality is marketable, because we all want to buy the cheapest stuff, so nobody can make any money making quality stuff. The lack of quality is our own fault, because we all only buy the cheapest thing. A catch-22. So I welcome the chance to pay more for higher quality, whenever it presents itself. I can think of plenty of times I regretted buying something cheap. But I don't recall ever thinking "Gee, I wish I hadn't paid so much for this thing that has been working so well for all this time." ==END OF RANT==

 

[phonedave]

Last week I added water to the pool. On Saturday, I removed water from the pool after having 3" of rain over two days. It's supposed to reach 101F by Tuesday so I'll probably be adding water again at some point. This has been the craziest summer so far with water levels. It's either too much or not enough.

All that rain also brought out the frogs and flying ants. I removed 8 frogs. All day while in the pool, I was removing flying ants. Get rid of 3, turn around and there's 4 more.

Frogs are one thing I never get, and we have loads of tree frogs around here. Japanese beetles are my insect of choice apparently.

 

[phonedave]

So I welcome the chance to pay more for higher quality, whenever it presents itself. I can think of plenty of times I regret buying something cheap. But I don't recall ever thinking "Gee, I wish I hadn't paid so much for this thing that has been working so well for all this time." ==END OF RANT==

I get very frustrated with cheap stuff. My wife can tell when I am getting upset when working on something, and my response is usually the same each time. "I just want things to work. That really is not too much to ask".

 

[needsajet]

Doing a vitamin C treatment and 90% water exchange. A few stains have been persistent, so time has come to get rid of iron. 40% of water swapped out so far. 7:30 PM here, started the top layer of fresh water at 11:00 AM.

 

[Mdragger88]

Brushed, ran Polaris to pick up a few leaves, emptied all debris baskets, shut off chiller and raised FC to a precautionary level of 16 as we leave for Glacier National Park tomorrow! It’s our annual summer escape to a national park and the mountains, but our first visit to Glacier. I’ll lower the pH to lower 7s and set the pool fill station to keep the water level up.

Sounds Amazing