Winter Wonder Land

[Waiawa]

Hello Everyone!
I have few questions regarding winter weather, since this is my first winter with a pool.
Temps may come down to mid/high 20's (i.e. 26*-29*), but not for long, usually in the 30's and the longest about 5 days, and usually not in a row.
Average is mid 30's to mid 40's. It's going to be a low of 39* this coming Wednesday and probably for only a couple of hours.
My pump does have an auto Freeze Protect, so at least I don't have to worry about freezing my pipes and equipment.
However:

• Do I up any chemicals due to the water getting very cold? (and I don't want to test it in the very cold)
• Will I use more or less chemicals?
• Which chemicals if any, should I stock up on?
• Are the chemicals affected by the cold (bring into the garage)?

Thank you for your advice/suggestions!

 

[ajw22]

No; No; Nothing different; No

maintain your normal chemicals as long as the water is not frozen. The only test that is affected by cold temperatures is the CYA test. Let the test water warm up to room temperature before adding the reagent.

Did you enable Freeze Protection in the iqpump app?

Freeze Protection on Jandy VS Flopro pump

My pool pump went off so the pool service guy installed Jandy Pro series VS Flopro pump (1.65 HP) and Jandy iqpump01 interface. I also have RS6 controller inside the house (It does not work any more, I cannot turn on/off pool pump using the RS6 controller now as the guy told me that Jandy...

www.troublefreepool.com

Freeze protection is to protect the pump and it may or may not protect the water in the pipes.

Preparing Pool for Cooler Months - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Waiawa]

Thanks for the heads up...
Yes, the pump runs when the temp drops. The first time it did that I thought something was wrong, then I remembered it had the Freeze Protect feature. As a matter of fact it is on now...scheduled for 7hrs, it's 39*...good thing we installed solar panels!
If water is running through the system constantly, and the temps are not sub zero or even in the teens, are you saying the water in the system can still freeze?

 

[ajw22]

If water is running through the system constantly, and the temps are not sub zero or even in the teens, are you saying the water in the system can still freeze?

No, I am saying depending on where your pump control head is located it may be sensing a warmer temperature then the water in your pipes and not turn on freeze protection while the water is freezing. You need to be aware of your setup and monitor it. The freeze protection is protecting your pump and not necessarily the water in all the pipes.

 

[Waiawa]

Ahh...got it now...makes sense!
Unfortunately my pump head is in the warmest area, and the heater is in the coolest area.
The links you provided made for a good read and education...thinking of at least getting a large tarp, and IF it gets really cold a light as well. However, I'd like to see how much energy the pump will burn during this winter and see how much my solar panels will off set it.
I just need to get the inspection done this week before turning on the solar panels.
Thanks for the links and your advice!

 

[Newdude]

However, I'd like to see how much energy the pump will burn during this winter and see how much my solar panels will off set it

Most VS pumps set to low rpm (1200ish) 24/7 will cost between $10 and $20 for the month. Easily offset 10X over by the solar panels. The lowest speed you have is enough that the pipes/equipment/skimmers won’t freeze