Not my pool…but my sisters pool.

2nd opening this year for this brand new pool. Last year upon opening, it had the same crinkled liner (shown in picture). PB said it was due to sump well not being drained. The liner was fixed by PB by draining half the pool and putting the vacuum and filling it back up.

Fast forward to this year and same old crinkle in the liner. Only difference is that the sump well was being drained throughout the winter.

Is this due to sump well? Or due to improper fit of the liner? Or something else?

This is our attempt at having one place that we can view the finished product of various Plaster/Pebble/Quartz/Vinyl/FG/etc. pool finishes. Simply attach a good pic looking down at the steps and another one looking at the deep end to share how it looks at different depths. Make sure to share the Brand and type of your pool finish along with color and any extras you had added.
For specific questions please use the TFP direct message feature to the poster and not here... thanks

This will help all of our new users with potentially the hardest decision of the process. As well as show off our TFP pools.

Added by MOD:
** You need go look at a real pool, in different light, at different times of the day, to make a real decision. Morning, noon, afternoon, night, cloudy, bright, etc. Color really changes throughout the day. Maybe more so for a darker pool. So see if you can find a showroom, or if your finisher can get you in to see some of his customers' pools.

Depth is also an issue. Plaster/pebble color will look different at different depths. So your bottom step will look bluer than your top step. And your deep end will not match your sun deck! Just keep that in mind when looking at others' pools.

Not my pool…but my sisters pool.

2nd opening this year for this brand new pool. Last year upon opening, it had the same crinkled liner (shown in picture). PB said it was due to sump well not being drained. The liner was fixed by PB by draining half the pool and putting the vacuum and filling it back up.

Fast forward to this year and same old crinkle in the liner. Only difference is that the sump well was being drained throughout the winter.

Is this due to sump well? Or due to improper fit of the liner? Leak? Or something else?

Hi we purchased a home in April and it has a inground pool with a liner. The owners children say it hasn't been opened in 12 years. My plan is to take the cover of and try to shock and clean it back to life without emptying and refilling or calling a pool company. The water is full up to the cover. Any advice?
Old pictures and current added. I can take more later. Thanks everyone!

Is there any harm to backwashing a DE filter before the pressure hits the red line? Right now my pressure is about 17 and the red line is 20. At the pace the pressure is rising I will hit the red line in like 2 weeks when i'm on vacation. So is there any harm in backwashing it early? I doubt it but I wanted to check with the experts .

Well Amazon just delivered it.

It came in a box, in box, in a box. Got the Russian dolls unpacked and here it is.

Just learned about this site today. I found the responses to be thoughtful and informed, so I thought I would ask for help. Opened pool over weekend. Above-ground, 28 foot round pool. Sta-Rite motor, Raypack heater, and Pentair filter. (I put specs at bottom).Thought everything was a go for last week’s after-school visit with 2 of my 10-year-old daughter’s friends. She was so excited. Telling me how to arrange deck furniture; reminded me to start heating the pool early, so it was not freezing; helped me clean deck.

It did not go well.As you can guess, the pool was freezing. Motor keeps going on and off and heater seems to be working but water not getting hot. My other 2 kids want to have friends over. We moved here to have a pool. It’s been frustrating. Appreciate any advice and apologies for long post.

Background: Moved into house 3 years ago. Experience with pool companies opening and closing have been terrible. HEATER: First year, company broke heater…on and on. So, I’m learning on the fly. Spent all day last week thoroughly cleaning 3 year-old heater; disassembled it including cleaning heat exchanger. It’s rusting — don’t know if normal. Last year, had to have part replaced(I can’t recall) on heater; but I remember the technician saying it’s not a great heater. Pool company paid for some of it since they broke it. MOTOR: Inherited motor. Last year, motor started cycling on and off but eventually seemed to work at end of summer. Tech looked at it and did something with reset mechanism inside. It gets really hot. My electric bill tripled in the summer. FILTER: Got a new filter cartridge 2 years ago. Pool company said that filter system is old but I can’t trust what they say given the experience I have had with them.

ELECTRICAL: I am wondering if electrical is good. I tested GCFI receptacle, where heater is plugged into, and it’s good. I have a 3-prong outlet for motor. I have a dedicated double 20amp GCFI circuit breaker. Motor bonded via wire going into the soil that’s presumably connected to grounding rod or running underground to house’s ground. Heater not bonded nor any parts of pool; handrails of steps are metal (aluminum.) I had an electrician upgrade house electrical main and sub panel when we moved in but I am questioning competency as I learn more about electrical. The GFCI breaker for pool seems loose in panel. And it tripped last week when I was cleaning heater. Has not tripped in last several days but motor goes on and off randomly. It gets really hot. Maybe motor is somehow connected to timer for lights in front of house (I don’t think so but don’t want to leave any detail out). Previous owners did not mention any safety problems.

Where to start? Is the pool safe? I was told to make sure GFCI works? Yes, it does. It concerns me that metal around pool not bonded. No overhead power lines, lights - nothing. To my knowledge, no underground wiring under pool nor close to pool other motor ask spun With new motor, maybe heater will work? Filter is old but seems to work, and therefore last priority? Of course, calling a professional is warranted but I have not had good experiences and have spent thousands so far with limited results. So, I am trying to educate myself before calling anyone. Thanks for your patience and any advice.

SOLAR COVER: And the solar cover we inherited ripped apart 2 days ago. I am looking at this one but do not know anything about covers. https://www.amazon.com/Dohenys-Micr...6b9-83b7-70d75d3c468c&pd_rd_i=B086679GCW&th=1








Raypak®


POOL HEATER
Model P-R156A-EN-C
A Rheem Company
Serial 200125739
Model P-R156A-EN-C
BTU/HR. INPUT/0-1999
MIN: THERMAL EFFICIENCY
ANS: 221.56*CSA 4.7-2014
82 PERCENT
BTU/HR. OUTPUT/150,000
-OFIFICE DIMS/123,000











Sta-Rite Motor # CA8M2A24BY
Pump Model MoJWPS5YG7L-A®
HP 2
SPL - .16
5450/1725RPM 8.F.1:0


MaxAmps 16.0/3.8


115V


8042 1PH 1.51.12kN































Filter


Pentair


Pool


S5YG7L - A1


JR 3PL2SP HD


4016109070070M


20170351


Serial 02211007805RK

Hi,

We just tried using our heater and noticed it not kicking on. It's a Raypak P-R407A-EN-C. When I turn it on, I hear a louder click which I guess it he guess valve and then I hear a sparking sound which I believe is it trying to light. I usually smell gas after turning it on. Heater display shows SPK the whole time. I'm not sure where to look to see the pilot light and if it's lit. I'm also unsure what panel to remove to investigate the ignitor as it sounds likes that could have rust or some build up on it.

A few days ago when I was messing with it, the blower kicked on a couple times and then would shut off after 2-3 seconds.

Thoughts?

Hello - we have an inground pool less than a year old. We've only used it a few times this season. In the last week the lights in both the spa and the pool stopped working on the same day, leading me to believe its not a bulb issue. When I turn the lights on via the iAquaLink app, I heard something in the equipment box click, but I cant honestly say if that is new or it it has always done that. No flipped breaker. Lights around the outside of the pool that are wired still work just fine. What else can I check to get them back up and running?

I hate to be a “Karen”, but the new PoolMath update is driving me nuts and wanted to give you all some (unsolicited) feedback lol. First, I cannot tell you how many things I’ve deleted by accident due to the “Delete Log” button when I click on an existing entry to update and/or correct something. WHYYYYY?! It was already easy to delete a log entry. Example:

This was when I realized (23 hours later lol!) that I put the wrong temperature. I accidentally put 83 when I meant to put 73. I almost deleted the entire test log bc I’m not used to the big ole DELETE button being there. Yes, I need to pay attention and I’ll get used to it, but it’s still buggin me lol!

SECOND…..why why why did you take away how many gallons of each chemical when you go to the “Summary” section?! You already had it where it showed the ppm +/- total, which was cool. But it’s also nice to know how many gallons of Liquid Chlorine (or whatever) that I have used. I clicked on the little circle with the plus sign to see if it would appear there, but it didn’t. This would be a nice feature to add. Example:




I really hate to sound petty, but I do pay for the app yearly so I just wanted to give you guys my opinion on the update and whether or not there are still some things that are being worked on? Or do I need to just get over it? lol! Thank you TFP for all that you do! I really hope my constructive criticism isn’t offensive. I know you all work very hard and it’s so appreciated! Thank you for reading my little rant lol

Hi TFP Family! Hope everyone is having a great start to their pool opening season.

I need to get a new pump for my above ground pool that is 15ft x 4ft (approximately 5300 gallons). The original Pooline one cracked due to poor maintenance as a new pool owner. I used the XtremepowerUS brand last year, but after a few weeks it from quiet to extremely loud. Now, I'm looking to replace this pump again to open my pool soon. The pump will be attached with hoses and operate with a sand filter.

Can someone please recommend a good, quiet pump suitable for my pool size and set up?

Hi All,

We had a new DE filter, Salt system, pump and heat pump heater installed at the beginning of the season and it seems like the pool pump is using way more electricity than I expected.

We have a 22k gallon in ground pool. The pump is a Hayward Superpump XE 1.65HP, running @80% speed for 8 hrs. This is the lowest flow rate we can run if we want to keep the heater and salt generator running.

We turned off the pool heat pump and house AC in September and had only the pump and salt system running until closing at the end of October. After closing the pool our KWh usage in November dropped by 1000 KWh! Does this sound right? Does the salt generator use a lot of power? I’m located in Mass and paying $0.30/KWh so every little bit helps. We moved in last spring and replaced the equipment immediately so I don’t have a baseline power consumption to compare to.

Is it worth switching to a true VS pump with a higher HP rating to lower the energy usage? I read we could run a higher HP pump at a lower speed and maintain a higher flow rate to keep the other equipment active.

Thanks!

I use to have polaris booster pump and polaris 280 cleaner
I have 20K-25K gallon pool from 3feet to 12feet deep end. The walls are curvy too not 90 degree straight.
I got tired of spending for booster pump every few years and than polaris 280 cleaner.
I tried the AIPER S1 model but for some reason its not climbing the deep side walls etc .

Can you please recommended any other pool cleaner based on my pool specs?

Not much here yet. Cover still on, but peeled it back again and ran some basics. Been crystal over the winter, but added a little Cya to bump me up from 30. Added a little Acid and Bleach. As soon as my trees drop some tassels, the cover will come off.

What did you do to yours?

Hello Folks,

About a month ago, I bought a house in Fort Wayne, IN, and the house came with an in-ground swimming pool. It was not my intention to buy a house with a pool – I bought mostly due to the location. The pool was closed due to the winter -- it was winterized with anti-freeze, etc --, so the machinery was turned off and disconnected. Don’t know much about pools in general (besides the very basics), but I have a background in engineering and have many different interest (plumbing, mechanics, etc). Did not have much time to do anything with the pool, beside skimming every other day (when I am in town) and pouring a jug of chlorine in it a few times a week to minimize the problem. As of now, the pool situation is bleak and it is green and it is dirty (it gets dirty every day given that there is no circulation and filtration and also due to the fact that there are lots of trees and plants nearby). Probably has lots of stuff accumulated on the floor of the pool. Looking at the city website for permits, it shows that the pool was built in 1996 and is 21'x35' and its deep sideis probably around 8 ft deep.

It is more than time to tackle that situation with the pool, so I developed a plan of action based on some research, etc. But there are some uncertainties and doubts, and I have a few questions and doubts:

<>Firstly, the chemical test strip results (will redo it soon in better conditions):

Total Hardness ppm => seems to be low or very low (difficult to distinguish by the color), but more likely low

Free Chlorine => seems to be 1 (which according to the chart is ok). Due to the poor conditions of the pool water, I have been pouring 1 jug of chlorine around the pool about 3 times a week.
Ph is rather low: the strips indicates 6.2 or 6.8. An electronic probe device used to measure the Ph shows it as been around 6.5.

Cyanuric Acid seems to be close to 0.

Alkalinity on the other hand looks rather high at about 180. Alkalinity keeps the Ph in check (help maintains and keep the Ph level).

=> To be more effective, the chlorine needs a balanced Ph, so the goal is to increase the Ph and then superchlorinate the pool with the pump running. Then, brush the walls and floor. Next day would vaccum the floor of the pool.

Below is a pic of the pool:




<> Checked the basket inside the pump and the skimmer.

Previously, the skimmer had some anti-freeze jugs jammed into it, due to winterization -- I guess. Removed the jugs, found out the skimmer basket in a garage's closet with other pool related things. The skimmer basket seems to come along with an insert that may go inside it – heard that it act as a door for the skimmer (replacing the flap door thing). The pic below depicts the situation:




(Plastic insert thing that floats inside the skimmer and above the skimmer basket)



(Previous situation, with jugs jammed inside the skimmer)

The basket is not shown in the pics above, bu it is in good shape.

The pump had its basket removed, cleaned and reinstalled. No water in the pump as is to be expected, so it should need to be primed. Can the pump be run without any water just to test it?


Also, the connection between the main pump body and the pump multi-port valve next to the pump body (as shown in the pic above) seems to be made by some type of epoxy and resin? Is that properly done. Looks kind of flimsy.

And to make things difficult, there is not labeling in the pipes going underground from the pump. The arrows point to them. Which likely would be the drain and which would be for the skimmer?

Previous all equipment was disconnected and some of parts (skimmer basket, plugs, o-rings, etc) were stored in a closet in the garage. Below is a pic depicting the situation before all connections, etc, were done:




Today, I managed to reconnected everything. Lube all the o-rings and put all plugs in place. Once upon opening the pipes protruding from the ground, I noticed some anti-freeze still present. Could the residual anti-freeze be a problem? Below is a pic of the whole thing assembled:



Basically, the idea is to bring the Ph back to normal levels in order to maximize the effects of the chlorine (liquid chlorine jugs with 10% chlorine content). I plan on using 3 or 4 jugs of chlorine after the Ph is at a proper level. Brush the walls and floor of the pool manually. All that should be done when the pump and filter is running.

Also, threaded two small black plugs on the side of the heater (assumed it is necessary to have them once the thing is running). I was wondering if there is way, besides installing new plumbing, valves and fittings, to bypass the heater? Does the heater has the internal capability (through solenoids) to internally be bypassed?

Thanks any input.

Upon opening my pool recently, I was seeing 2 error codes and the service light on my panel. Inspection of the cell showed buildup but cleaning revealed that the center rod had fully corroded at the top plate so replacement is required. I have read that replacement of the power cord is recommended. Is this universally the case even if mine shows zero signs of wear, corrosion, etc? Also, is it recommended that the Port Sensor be replaced too? I have not pulled this to investigate its condition, although no indications of malfunction have been experienced, but want to make sure if I'm going to these lengths (and cost) that I'm getting this done right.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Hi. I am a novice in pool maintenance. We openened our pool s few days ago and our hayward salt generator does not seem to work. At the begining i was not concerned because of the temperature but now the pool is at 62F.
The computer says
csm comm errot
No cell power

What does that mean?
Our salt level is at 2800ppm

I just purchased a new Hayward salt cell to replace my old one glx-cell-5
I’m running an Aqua troll
aq-trol-rj-cul
and purchased the original salt cell from Hayward
I installed the cell and it’s keep giving me low salt reading and inspect cell after 30 seconds i already added salt to the pool my reading is above 3000ppm
I don’t undurstand why this isn’t working ?
Thank you

Hi Guys,
My pool has high CYA, ~90. The pool is 35K gallons (non Salt). Everything I have read/seen says I need to drain some water and refill with fresh water. Any ideas on how much water needs to be drained and refilled to reduce the CYA to an acceptable level?

Thanks
Don

I have a recent development where air is getting into the pump housing somehow and pushing out to the spa. I can't tell if it's coming in through the pump or elsewhere. So far I have tried different pump lids (with different o-rings), and still the problem persists. I know the most obvious answer is that the lid seal isn't solid, but I'm not sure what else I can try to get a more "tight" seal. I'm worried about overtightening and causing something to crack. I took a video showing that the water is not fully filling the housing and also the bubbles entering the spa.

Login to view embedded media

Hey everyone,

Plan on opening my pool this weekend, and was wondering about the title. On Friday can I get the hose running underneath the cover for a few hours to get the pool filled? The only downsides I can think of is my arm will be wet when I go to remove winter plugs, but I also think the positives of being able to:
1). Remove the cover easier (some debris and water on it make it heavy, higher water line means not as much distance to get it over the ledge)
2). Once the tarp is off I can get right to setting up equipment and adjusting chemicals.

Am I missing something obvious as to why I shouldn't do this? Looking into getting a net for next year to assist with the leaves on the cover as well

I bought a Jandy pool heater JXI 200,000BTU.
This year go to turn on the heater and the screen is blank and machine is not firing up. So I did a little bit of troubleshooting and noticed that the 2 amp fuse after the transformer testing the transformer I had 24 V at the transformer but at the fuse was blown so I replace the fuse and power the unit back up in the fuse blow again.

I unplugged main cable into the controller board the fuse was not blown until I plugged the main cable back into the main board.
I’m thinking the control board is bad. Would this be covered under warranty considering the unit is only a year old.

Looking forward to your response.

Thank you,
HB

Pulled the cover off to a mess for the first time in a very long time. Pool floor was visible all the way to the deep end but after adding "shock" (Sams club Dichlor) pool has gone to zero visibility with the pump running for over 36 hours at this point.. The basic test kit I have shows a high level of chlorine and lower ph 6.8-7.0 for what that is worth. Can't test for CYA until I get my new TF-Pro kit hopefully Thursday or Friday. My question is what should I do at this point while awaiting test kit? I'm familiar with SLAM but asking for help so I don't just dump more money into chemicals. I have 16 gallons of LC ready to start but thought I should wait until I have further results. Thanks

Today is May 21, 2024, Julian date 24141. I just picked up some Pool Essentials liquid bleach from Walmart with a Julian date of 24137. That’s a manufacturer’s date of 4 days ago. Can that be true that they bottled that stuff 4 days ago, shipped it from who knows where, and stocked it on Walmart’s shelf in that short of time?

I have an Aqua Logic Board and Hayward Tcell940 (2 years old)
When the clorinator count down ends I hear a click and immediately the check system light comes on.
I took the cell to leslies - PASS and it's clean
I replaced the circuit board. (same error but now with a 1 on the end "Check system no cell power 1")
I took the old circuit board to saltsolutions in tampa and he told me the board is good.
Fuses have been checked with a volt meter.
What am I missing? Please give me a clue. thanks!

Hey guys, I want to get your opinion on this. 10 days into the slam. I have done this 2 years in a row with much quicker results. Its hard for me to see any improvement. When I brush the bottom of the pool it stirs up a bunch of brownish dust. Do I just have a huge algae bloom? Or do I have a pump issue?
Our robot vacuum also stopped working so I am without it for the time being. Thanks for your help.

The last photo is from today. The first photo is right after I took the cover off. The middle photo is a few days after starting the SLAM.

CYA-25
FC-13

Hello

I have an Aqua Leader Influencer 21’ pool that’s 16” deep in the ground. I had a company come out to complete excavation and level.

We installed the pool, added pavers (levelled) them trusting the ground was set.

I put it together and when we put the liner in we could see one end was higher than the other (back higher than the front).

Now I’m very nervous on what to do… do I take it all down and restart? Or can it be off level by ‘X’ amount? I’m being told 3”.

Tonight I’m going to run a string with a level to see how bad it is. Looking for tips on what I should do. The worst thing is if I need to take it down then I need to spend a day hauling sand away too by hand.

Any tips.

I have hired a company to install omnilogic pool automatiion. Everyhing works but the heater. They are not returning my phone calls. I think i have identified the problem the pig tail hooked to the remote conection has three wires with labels. 1 spa/hotub combo (for two wire connection ) 2 common ( to be used in either 2 or 3 wire connection. 3 spa only ( only ro be used for three wire connection). They chose to hook up the number one two wire connection pool/spa and the number 3 spa only and left the common unhooked using a two wire connection. My question is does this sound right leaving the common not hooked up and could this create a sf code which i now have since this has been done. It took a week or so for sf code to pop up so that is how i know heater is not working with the omnilogic. All other functions on onnilogic work beautfully.

This is my first season with my 12,000 gallon saltwater, fiberglass pool. It was clear upon opening the first two weeks. It has been cloudy the last 3 weeks. Despite having a pool service come every other week, I am not seeing improvement. In between visits, I take the water to our pool store, and they keep telling me to add more shock. I would like to enjoy my pool, but am so frustrated. I am still learning, and from my research it sounds like I need to get my CYA in order. Please help!

After receiving a quote on a new pool and spa I decided to possibly designing and building my own as a OB. Seems like PB are still in the Pandemic pricing mindset. I have drawn a perliminary CAD drawing. I would like to get some feedback on possible issues or design suggestions. I updated plan. I moved spa into pool to save space and changed width. One question about bond beam for pool and spa. Is my design going to be an issue with bond beam and spa beam inline in the corner?