New pool owner, trying to get my chemicals balanced

[PoolDoc]

Their recommendations are about right, if your pump runs 24/7. Otherwise, not so much.

The only reason to clean the pump / skimmer basket is to keep you from dumping stabilizer out when you clean them. If you clean the pump and skimmer basket first, on most pools they won't need cleaning again till after the CYA is fully dissolved.

On a 26k gal pool, 5# of CYA fully dissolved will give you 23 ppm of CYA, so a measured level of 15 ppm is well within the range of error.

[Watermom]

If you put it in a sock in front of a return, you don't have to worry about throwing it out when you backwash.

[mitchryan912]

I bought another 5 lbs at my last trip to the store, just to save a trip. Should I put some of this in (dissolved in a sock) to bump it up a bit, or should I save it for the inevitable rain storms that have been hitting the midwest? I was told that stabilizer should last a whole season, but with all the draining and backwashing I've had to do after storms, I'm sure I've lost a lot of it.

[PoolDoc]

When you are having to drain and backwash a lot, a sock would be better, to keep you from losing it.

A better solution for you may be to buy dichlor at Sams Club. They have a 24# pack and a 50# bucket for very good prices. Each pound of dichlor will add about 3 ppm chlorine, and about 2.5 ppm of CYA . . . and it dissolves almost instantly.

[CarlD]

I find it both sad and hilarious that a pool store wouldn't see you a K-2006 even at an inflated price. I'm guessing they want you to use one of the junkier kits and have to come them for proper readings. Inane. Like a tool store recommending you buy a bargain brand hammer rather than an Estwing. That fact that they stock the K-2006 is pretty amazing but if they stock them for the pros I'm surprised they don't stock the K-2006C instead.

Just yesterday I had to buy some CYA at a local store and the young saleswoman tried to tell me the alkalinity raiser was a "special" formulation of Baking Soda, as if it wasn't NaHCO3! "Yeah, right. I just need the CYA."

[mitchryan912]

I find it both sad and hilarious that a pool store wouldn't see you a K-2006 even at an inflated price.

Higher profit margin on the cheaper ones? Thats one big reason I could see, but I suppose that they don't expect their average customer to know much (if anything) about chemistry and/or how to use a more advanced test kit.

That fact that they stock the K-2006 is pretty amazing but if they stock them for the pros I'm surprised they don't stock the K-2006C instead.

I didn't ask if they had the 2006C. I had already ordered the 2006A earlier that day, so the only thing I was concerned with by then, was what they had in stock for replacement vials for next year.

This store might not be an anomaly by carrying the K2006, as Wisconsin Dells is just 40 minutes north of here. "The Dells" is a small tourist town (population <3000) that boasts a whopping 5 indoor and/or outdoor waterparks and 2 of the top 10 largest waterparks in the country. That might have something to do with it, as where I live probably doesn't have any more or less pools, be it public or private.

[PoolDoc]

We still haven't got a confirmed case of a pool store selling either a K2006a or a K2006c .

The purpose of these kits is to enable people to bypass pool stores; it's hard for a pool store to get enthusiastic about that sort of product!

[mitchryan912]

We still haven't got a confirmed case of a pool store selling either a K2006a or a K2006c .

The purpose of these kits is to enable people to bypass pool stores; it's hard for a pool store to get enthusiastic about that sort of product!

Midwest Pool Supply in Middleton, WI
(608) 831-5957

Hopefully that's not considered spam, but considering they sell their K-2006A kits for $80, I doubt anyone is going to buy them over ordering through your Amazon store.

Anyway... for people like us, I'm sure that damn near all pool stores would rather us trust them and their in-house test measurements. For the average homeowner who doesn't have the chemistry background nor the time to deal with pool maintenance, I'm sure they'd be just fine with a basic OTO/Phenol kit. I'd guess that the average homeowner who thinks its cool to have their own pool but can't maintain it probably just hires someone to do so, right?

When we bought the house back in October, I was VERY nervous about maintaining the pool, especially the mechanical side. Once I realized it was pretty simple chemistry, I felt like I might be able to handle it. Once I realized that the stuff I'm putting in the pool isn't nearly as dangerous as my father-in-law claimed ("I put in acid last night, so you can't swim today"), I felt like this wouldn't be too difficult to do. However, let's see what happens when I have to close the pool this fall.