Is there BBB method of closing?

[JimK]

With summer rapidly passing by :sad: I'm considering whether or not to change my closing routine. Since 2004 I've used this closing kit purchased from a local pool shop;

http://www.nationaldiscountpoolsupplies.com/sawikitforpo.html

It contains an algaecide (looking that the label I saw no metals listed), a stain/scale inhibitor, phosphate remover, and a tablet floater with "enzymes and oxidizers". I don't have any of the bottles from last year, so I can't list specific ingredients.

The first several years I covered my pool with a mesh safety cover then switched to a solid cover (much easier spring cleanup!). If it matters, I live on the mid Atlantic coast. I usually open the pool early May and close mid to late October.

So the question is, should I keep using this kit (seems to work well) or is there a better/cheaper BBB method for closing I should consider? I read the above stickies on closing but they left me a bit confused.

Thanks.:)

[Watermom]

I keep my equipment hooked up so I can continue to circulate and chlorinate as needed until we start getting freezing night time temps which is usually sometime late November. I clean my pool and get the leaves out. I take my pH up to around 7.9 or so to give it some wiggle room to drop some during the winter. (We have acid rain.) Then, I shock the pool. (I used to add some Polyquat, but don't even do that anymore.) Then, I drop the water level below the skimmer and return and unhook the equipment. That's it. (I don't even cover my pool anymore.)

I do hook everything back up fairly early in the spring -- like mid-April. I want to start chlorinating before algae can get started and we typically get hot weather early in the spring. My pool will have a little dirt on the bottom but that is easily vacuumed up. The water is always clear though.

If you have specific questions about the stickies, please feel free to ask.

[jwhouse]

Hey Watermom, out of curiosity, do you drain your filter or store any of your equipment or do you simply disconnect and leave in place?

[JimK]

I keep my equipment hooked up so I can continue to circulate and chlorinate as needed until we start getting freezing night time temps which is usually sometime late November. I clean my pool and get the leaves out. I take my pH up to around 7.9 or so to give it some wiggle room to drop some during the winter. (We have acid rain.) Then, I shock the pool. (I used to add some Polyquat, but don't even do that anymore.) Then, I drop the water level below the skimmer and return and unhook the equipment. That's it. (I don't even cover my pool anymore.)

I do hook everything back up fairly early in the spring -- like mid-April. I want to start chlorinating before algae can get started and we typically get hot weather early in the spring. My pool will have a little dirt on the bottom but that is easily vacuumed up. The water is always clear though.

If you have specific questions about the stickies, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I believe your post was in one of the stickies?

Unfortunately, in our area, If I do like you (I did when I was using the mesh cover), I would have to close in late Nov/early Dec and open in late Feb/early March to avoid algae problems (winters can be very mild here). That's alot of months of taking care of the pool without the benefit of enjoying it.:( Even then, a couple times the pool was green upon opening. So far with the kit I've been using and the solid cover, I've not had any issues closing earlier and opening later. As a matter of fact, one season I had to wait until June to open due to waiting to get the liner fixed. Even then the pool was clear (and warm!).

I'm wondering if some of those things I'm adding at closing are completely unnecessary and I'm wasting money, or worse somehow harmful.

Keep the great feedback coming.:)

[Watermom]

I do drain my filter and cover it with plastic but I take the gauge off first. My pump gets disconnected and taken into the shed.

[aylad]

jwhouse,

Just FYI, I don't even unhook my equipment at all. I keep the chlorine in the pool where it needs to be (doesn't get used up NEARLY as fast once the water cools off--it only requires dosing every 10 days or so) and just run the pump overnight on nights when the temps are to be below 30 degrees. Otherwise I reduce my pump time to just a few hours a day, and don't get concerned if I skip a day or two. That way the pool stays clear, and is ready for swimming the minute the temps get warm enough! :)

This method does require me to replace the pressure gauge at the beginning of every season, since it only takes one good wet, cold night to render it useless, but they're cheap enough, and it makes pool care for spring startup very easy--we just turn on the pump and go swimming! :)


Janet

[jwhouse]

Janet, Thanks for chiming in. I know that you're climate is nearly exactly the same as mine. I was hoping to keep everything up and running instead of trying to store anything. I think I can afford the extra 10-15 bucks a year for a new gauge. :) I'm also thinking about adding some borates to the water to help stave off any algae that might want to attempt a coup and take over my pool during off season.
I really appreciate the info and your time in answering.

Wayne

[aylad]

Just make sure that you have the pump running during anytime that the water in the piping might freeze, so you don't have burst pipes. My pool is completing its 11th season, and it's never been closed for the winter ;)

[jwhouse]

Just make sure that you have the pump running during anytime that the water in the piping might freeze, so you don't have burst pipes.
Yeah, I got that! Ice and pool equipment bad! Cold weather and moving water OK! LOL! That doesn't happen very often and for very long periods down here though. You guys actually get colder weather than we do. I am originally from the Texarkana area and it used to sleet and ice over every winter there and even a lot in the Shreveport area while I was at Barksdale but I've seen something like that happen here maybe twice in the 16 years we've lived here. Actually still have a house close to Springhill on Lake Earling so we get up that way every year to keep pipes from freezing. ;)

[sunlove]

In East Tx here, and also considering leaving the pool "open" for the winter! Do you run the pump and filter every night, or only when weather is freezing? I guess the only maintenance would be really to net out leaves and add bleach every now and then?

[aylad]

Personally, I only run the pump/filter overnight on nights when the weather is below 30 degrees. I do try to run it a couple of hours a day 3 or so days a week, just to keep all the moving parts working. :)

And you're right-- by then, the only maintenance is netting debris and making sure the chlorine stays where it needs to be. It is very easy to get complacent about testing, because once the water temp gets below 60 or so, it takes a LOT longer for your chlorine to be used up, especially if your CYA is high, but believe me when I say that's a temptation that you must resist, otherwise cleaning it up is a huge chore! :) But it's really, really easy--I dose my pool about once every 10 days or so during the winter, and it stays crystal clear the whole time, as long as I don't get lazy about testing.......

[mroll]

BTW How much polyquat for a 15' round AG pool?? THANKS