Fun with a Mesquite tree

[PoolDoc]

I really don't have any other suggestions I can offer. I haven't seen your gear, so I have no idea what custom solutions might be possible.

I am curious why we haven't heard about this problem before. Do most folks in Arizona keep these trees away from their pools?

[BadDog]

Well,the general wisdom is, of course, to keep them away from the pools. But mesquite is a very popular ornamental tree most everywhere, so they are certainly quite commonly around pools. And for those with tiny tract homes, if not in your own yard, then you may have one next door that you can do nothing about. While searching I found a fellow desert dweller who complained of a large mesquite just past the wall next to his pool. But his focus was on the stuff going to the bottom and hot to get it out before clogging, which I've already dealt with to my satisfaction. As he noted, the only saving grace is that these do tend to sink quickly, as long as they are not dead and dry. Good for him since most of the dry dead leaves are on the ground opposite the fence, and wind won't carry too many to his pool. Not good for me with flat ground between.

On that note, I have done things to help minimize the problem before it gets in the pool. For instance, I noticed that any little ridge or obstruction causes the blasted dry leaves to congregate on the up-wind side. So I dug out a sort of shallow drain trench beside the deck so that the concrete lip went from 1/2" or so up to about 1.25". Becomes a bit more of a trip hazard, but it's only about 5" wide (hoe width), and no small kids or elderly, so tolerable. Of course that means that if there is any wind, I have to clean it out regularly or it just builds a ramp over the edge. Once a month we go through and blow out all the accumulated leaves (I can't believe there are any actually on the @$%# tree any more!) into a pile and remove. I also vacuum (yeah, I vacuum my back yard) to gather the little collections next to every semi-vertical edge where they collect. Hoses, expansion joints, planter edges, etc. So I take my shop vac and gather the piles periodically, oh joy...

[BigDave]

The Mesuite leaves don't backwash out? [edit] Sorry, you answered this in the original post[/edit]

[PoolDoc]

Dave -- you may be on to something. His pump may be (in a reversal of the normal patter) too small for his filter, OR his filter backwash line may be small or restricted.

With correct flow, those leaves SHOULD wash out, though he might have to backwash weekly, to keep them from clumping.

[BigDave]

This may be gross, but, if it takes extensive or very frequent backwash to remove the mesquite leaves, backwash into the pool through the filter sock that catches the mesquite leaves. Perhaps after a short backwash to waste for the initial rush of ickey then switch to the pool / sock. This may help if water is espcially valuable (in the desert). Maybe run the filter for a coupe extra turnovers after such an operation.

[PoolDoc]

Good idea, Dave!

You might could get a small 8' Intex pool ($45), like this:

backwash INTO it, let it settle, siphon the clear water back into the pool, and dump the leaf sludge onto your garden. You could even buy the pump ($30) and use it to put the water back into your pool after the gook settles.

(Just love how they show ALL THAT ROOM in a tiny 8' OUTSIDE DIAMETER pool! But, it holds 600+ gallons, which is more than enough for you.)

[BadDog]

For whatever reason, the leaves do not back flush out. I see maybe a few hundred in a full backwash, with thousands upon thousands staying inside. Since we put the sock in-line for the vac, I back-flush about once every 3 weeks outside the heavy leaf seasons (spring/fall), and probably 1.5 weeks during. I just go by the pressure as directed by the local pool equipment guy (not a cleaner). He seems to be ok, once I finally got one who didn't seem like a complete idiot (like the first 2).

As for size, he says it and the whole system are "adequate". To paraphrase, he said something like "It is sized a maybe bit on the shy side for a 25k diving pool, but it will do the job when running right. He was the first to show me how to manually service the filter, what too look for, and what to be careful of damaging (the laterals). His number 1 suggestion, obviously, was to "get over it and get rid of that tree". Still not on board yet, but I did have a tree guy climb up through it and "open it up". Now looks sorta like something you would see on the African Savannah, and LOTS less mess than the first spring.

The back was line is all exposed 2" PVC. There is a single "street bend" 90, and then 2 45s to get is relatively horizontal and low to the ground, followed by 2 10' sections end to end to get clear of the "pump area". From there I put a 25' 2" roll up on to get the water to a tree basin so that I get SOME use from all the wasted water. Tree (elm I think?) seems quite happy. Flow seems huge to me, and I had to construct a dispersion pad from block to keep from starting an open pit mine every time I back flush. I could back-flush 2k gallons and still not do much against the accumulation of those blasted little leaves. And I'm not kidding about the volume. Early on, in desperation before just accepting the manual clean out, I let it run a LONG time. Long after the water ran clear, dropping water level enough that the skimmer was sucking air, and still had about 2 gallons of leaf mush (almost like clay in parts) to remove by hand.

[Watermom]

I think you need to post a picture of what this tree looks like for all of us who are reading your thread. Send a pic to poolforum@gmail.com and reference the url of this thread so we can get it in the right place.