Pool automation

[PoolDoc]

Thanks, Carl. That's a helpful summary.

There are Jandy ball valves designed to work with actuators, but I only see them as useful for turning solar panels on and off remotely.

Good point. That would be another valid use of automatic valves, since it's necessary to set valve position based on temperature, possible freezing, insolation, and more. It's not practical for many people to run out and make all those changes manually.

[CarlD]

Good point. That would be another valid use of automatic valves, since it's necessary to set valve position based on temperature, possible freezing, insolation, and more. It's not practical for many people to run out and make all those changes manually.

Which I always seem to be doing!

[gonzapa]

This is Awesome information. I will stick to the strips for everyother day use and once a week I will take it to the pool store which is only 3 blocks away for a real test.

I ended up getting a dolphin deluxe 4. I tried a polaris p93 which looked way cooler but it got stuck and shut down every 15 min so it was useless. The dolphin does a great job at cleaning but the bag cleanup part is just awful.

I switched from shock to bleach this week and probably will start the full BBB method once Im more familiar with it.

The other thing that has made a huge difference is the solar blanket. I gotten a 16 mil one. Over here is still in the low 60's at night and it hasnt been a day over 72 this week. Pool Water is at a nice 80 degrees so the blanket is already saving me money

[PoolDoc]

This is Awesome information. I will stick to the strips for everyother day use and once a week I will take it to the pool store which is only 3 blocks away for a real test.

Most pool stores do NOT provide a 'real' test. 'Real' tests are done with liquids, using either droppers or glass lab burets. Most likely they use 'guess-strips' just like yours, but read them electronically. This takes test results that are 'terribly inaccurate', and improves them to the point of only being 'badly inaccurate'!

There are a few stores around the country that still do 'real' testing: if you are fortunate to be hooked up with one of those, I take it all back.

I switched from shock to bleach this week and probably will start the full BBB method once I'm more familiar with it.

A *fundamental* component of the BBB method is periodic accurate testing, with reliable testing in between. Strips are neither accurate nor reliable.

You'd be MUCH better off tossing the strips, and using a cheap OTO/phenol red drops kit for daily testing, and getting a K2006 for periodic testing.
http://pool9.net/oto-kit/
http://pool9.net/tk/

[gonzapa]

Not sure what kind of test it is but they inject the water into a little plastic disk and put it into a machine that comes up with the results. This weekend when I go there I will see what the label in the machine says.

I have a real difficult time distingushing between the different shades of colors in most tests.
I have asked other people to look at the same test and most of the time im one ot 2 shades appart, so for a real test It is difficult for me.

for the quick strips I have to go as far as taking a picture of the test and then going to the computer to compare what the camera sees which makes the process quite anoying.

[PoolDoc]

The test that strips -- and dealers -- most often mess up badly is the CYA test.

See if you can find an HTH 6-way: http://pool9.net/tk-hth6/

If you can, use it to do the CYA test, and compare results. The videos for the K2006 apply to the CYA test in the HTH6: http://pool9.net/tk-guide/

[gonzapa]

To overcome what i descibed above I was thinking on getting a colorimeter for at least the PH and the free clorine.
Have been looking at the hanna ones but they seem not to be the most reliable either