(Sob!) This Pool Season is Finally Over!

[CarlD]

Saturday was the day. Overnight the water had finally plummeted from 72 down to 60. So that meant close, and close now!

Did the usual--been following and testing the water for a couple of weeks, making sure it was balanced (I did get a minor bloom but stomped on that in a hurry).

Used the robotic cleaner a lot too, just to stay on top. First I used the Dolphin because a friend was interested in it, but couldn't get it to work in his pool.

So I pulled apart and found that it is FAR simpler than I expected. I also learned that the impeller motor is far smaller than the Blue Diamond, despite being a heavier unit. No wonder the BD sticks like glue and the Dolphin struggles. ALL the suction on these gadgets comes from that little fan on top.

Still, I got the Dolphin working and he tried it again, removing the floats as I suggested, and was satisfied--and I sold it to him for a song.

I've been pushing the pH level up--especially since we've had rain--to the high 7's, running the pump 24/7 (but mostly on low speed), dumped in a quart of Polyquat when it was obvious I could close on Saturday, then after FC plummeted (from the Poly) boosted it again.

We got the safety mesh on--all but the east end. I still had some leaking solar panels to replace--my panels are the deck and are 2'x4'--I have about 30 or 32 of them (I never remember).

Island Pools / Leisure Living is great about honoring the warranty on them. They went a season without any panels as their blow-molder went bankrupt and IP had troubles getting their molds back and finding a new blow-molder. But this year they got a new one and are shipping replacements. The bankrupt one apparently didn't do a great job and they had a lot of leakers. I've had a bunch and they've replaced them as they could.

Fixing the leaks is tough because they are full of water. The only leak I COMPLETELY fixed was the worst one--the special panel that goes around the skimmer actually split its seam--pool epoxy worked for one season but over the winter I pulled it out and used a plastic welder to double weld the seam. THAT held beautifully, but the surface leaks that show up are much harder to seal. First, they are VERY hard to localize unless they are leaking as they are pin-holes. Then, sealing them means trying to melt plastic into them that will hold the pressure while they are full of water, then testing, re-welding, etc. Usually, the best you get is reducing the leak to a dribble--and it NEVER looks good.

But Island Pools replaces them as need be, without question. Hoses, clamps, filler panels--those are not warranteed, but that's fair enough. It's been a much higher maintenence system than I expected over 5 season but it works VERY well and I don't have visible solar panels. Plus, the deck you walk on doesn't burn your feet in the hot sun, because the water's circulating through it.

Actually, the WORST part is blowing out the panels so the water doesn't freeze. It's been a guessing game where to detach hoses and hook up the shop vac. In the past, it's taken up to two days. Amazingly, this year it was easy --but then, several panels in the line were detached anyway.

I have quick releases everywhere so the plumbing pops off in minutes. Most is flexible PVC. I take each quick release O-ring, dry it, lube it with silicon, then slide it into a marked Zip-lock to indicate which one it is. All the zip locks go into one BIG one and all the air is pushed out to seal them for the winter. This way they last years.

The plumbing, pump and 6-way valve go in the basement, the filter is drained, then covered with a contractor garbage bag and sealed--duct tape around the tapers holds the bag tight so the wind won't make it whip, but doesn't get ANY tape on the filter itself.

The low drain is the hardest to plug--But I drop my water till it's an inch below the bushing around the returns--that's about half the water in the shallow end. I put on a diver's glove, hang onto the rail with my feet, and plug the drain--usually only my arm gets frozen, but not my shoulder. Meanwhile, the glove keeps my hand warm enough to do the work. Then a last vacuuming of the open end with the Poolbuster (ANOTHER great use for this gadget!--vacuuming after the pump is disconnected) and the pool is covered.

All that's left now is to store the LC I have left over, and remove and store the solar reel ends, and close the ends of the reel's center tube. Also all the pool toys have to be put away, and finally, take down the outdoor speakers (I don't REALLY have to do that, but it extends their life and I have all quick releases and gold-clad contacts--and the outlets on the wall for them are weatherproof boxes--regular power outlet boxes adapted for the audio connections.)

So now we plan for the fall and the holidays and dream about April and opening again!

[ChuckD]

Dear God, man! Are you retired or something?


Sorry. It's this weekend for me as well. This past week we had very little sun and the water temp nose-dived as well. I admit the whole thing was so depressing I just let the pool sit with its solar blanket on, the pump running a couple hours a day, no chlorine. And the leaves accumulating...

Pulled the cover off today to find a major green disaster and set about on a textbook, PoolForums, BBB chlorine shock treatment. Had to backwash the DE it was loading up so fast. Beautiful weather today tho.

C.

[CarlD]

Retired????

Are you kidding me? I WISH!!!!!

I'm a project manager for a CRO (Clinical Research Organization) and we support pharma companies doing their clinical trials--we manage data. An EASY day for me is 8 hours...and I don't get many of those. 9 or 10 are more typical. I run both an imaging department and now have been thrown into running all the studies for a long-term client.

But I took Saturday to close my pool because it HAD to be done...I plan for it, and every year find new ways to make it faster and easier. As my older boy grows up, he's a bigger help each season, too.

Since I've lived at a keyboard for nearly 25 years I type nearly as fast as I can speak...so it's easy to be verbose. Sorry.