The Pool

[PessOptimist]

Not sure where to put this. The pool is connected to the patio and isn’t directly connected to investing.

I have a pool. I have spoken about this before in various threads. There used to be a home repair thread though I have no idea where is was. The last several years I have had a pool service taking care of things. An agreement between me and SO about continuing to work and all the OT the company wanted back then.
I have noticed the maintenance costs have gone up a lot since I got the service. Something seems to be broken every time they come by. They claim to sweep, scoop and empty filters but evidence says maybe not. Whatever, it has become apparent that the pool techs haven’t a clue how the popup system works. Their solution to chlorine has been to put as many tablets in the floater as is will hold.
Whatever, I could go on but bottom line is the pool techs don’t seem to understand about the old Caretaker 99 popup system or purging air from the system after the few times they empty the pump filter. They have been very good about replacing said pump and controller with a county mandated variable speed pump and controller, a popup control valve and several popups in the pool floor. The cleaning heads they replaced made no improvement and had no nozzles installed and some weren’t installed properly. Pool company name available to Phoenix area people on request. The last argument with them was about an elbow to the cleaner valve. They claimed the threads were stripped. I pointed out they had replaced it 4 months previous and I had not touched it since. I also pointed out a tech swearing and getting a pipe wrench one day. They replaced that for free. Most of the cleaning heads didn’t work because they hadn’t seated them properly. The same tech who went to get the pipe wrench also complained that the only way to change the in floor valves was with channel locks. There is a tool for that, which I had to replace recently as it was no where to be found. Just saying.

No manual appeared with the variable speed motor and I had to look up how to program the controller on line. What an opportunity missed for this company, all they had to do was change the default password and I would have been stuck with them for life. Or a lawsuit.

Now that things have calmed down a bit on the work front I will start doing my own pool maintenance. I spent a couple hours the other Friday tracking down my lifetime Caretaker 99 warranty. Zodiac will honor it and gave me a customer number. Amazing. Just rebuild the whole thing. If you have never been inside one of those popup valves, they are a site to behold with all the gears and valves.

Anybody ever hear from Poolman? He was a member many years ago. He is still listed in the autotracker.
Some wonder what I will do in retirement.

PO

 

[nnuut]

I've had a pool for around 20 years, have a salt system and have learned a lot during that period. I always tell newbees that if you don't keep it up it will have it's way with you and leave you sore and broke.

 

[PessOptimist]

Well said nnuut and the source of my complaints. I was depending on someone else to keep it up because I was "too busy". You have to take care of it yourself unless you want it to go to hell or dig it up and let your "pool service" install what they want.

 

[Scout333]

PO, Don't worry SO's have a way of filling your days with lists and lists of honey dews.

 

[nnuut]

Well said nnuut and the source of my complaints. I was depending on someone else to keep it up because I was "too busy". You have to take care of it yourself unless you want it to go to hell or dig it up and let your "pool service" install what they want.

A Monkey Wrench comes in real handy when working with PVC fittings, just saying.

https://www.zoro.com/facom-monkey-wrench-11-l-steel-fa-105280/i/G4822632/

 

[Lindoug]

Feeling your pain, P/O. I have a salt water pool that got away from me some time ago because I was too physically challenged to keep up with it and the Pool service was unwilling to work with me at all. "Service" doesn't mean much anymore, does it? Anyway, I now have a frog pond shaped like a pool, but the frogs are happy and well fed by the bugs that land in the pond. My DH wants it to be a pool again, why, I don't know since he never wanted to take care of it, just wanted to complain about it. I am thinking the right answer is a full liner replacement (its been 13 years), and filter fins/pumps replacements, and a new vacuum system. Gonna be spendy, but will be a necessity if we ever want to sell. Remember when we got the pool how easy it was to care for, but several years later not so much. Think I might go with PHin service when I get everything else taken care of. Maybe I'll solicit my daughter to help out, since she and my beautiful grandchildren will be given full access to the pool in the summer.

 

[nnuut]

A Pool is a hole in the ground that you throw money in, BUT I LIKE IT!!

 

[LongShot]

Now that things have calmed down a bit on the work front I will start doing my own pool maintenance.
PO

Don't know anything about the Caretaker 99 Pop-up pool cleaner system as I have a Polaris 380 system. But I certainly feel your pain when it comes to swimming pool businesses. I could write pages about my pool builder and their shoddy maintenance practices. I should have stuck to my original plans and built the pool myself.

I had our swimming pool built the summer of '14. My go to information source for all things pool related is here. My biggest headache starting out was the chemistry part of it. I started off by taking water samples to my pool builder's business and thought their electronic analysis would be way better than anything I could come up with. As it turned out, it was just an excuse for them to sell me way more chemicals than I needed. They also had me keep my saltwater chlorinator set way higher than it needed to be to keep the water clear. So I finally took it upon myself to learn the ABC's of pool water chemistry and now use way less chemicals. And when my saltwater chlorinator finally craps out, and it definitely will, I'll save the $500 plus dollars for a new one and chlorinate myself with Great Value liquid bleach from Walmart. If the pH gets to high or low I'll use 20 Mule Team Borax or A&H washing soda in the 4lb boxes...also from Wally World. The pool store can keep they're over-priced chemicals and I'll still have a sparkling clear pool.

Trouble Free Pool also has a pool math calculator that will get you very close to where you need to be as far as how much of any one chemical you need to add based on the size of your pool. I used this starting out and it helped a lot...eventually you get the knack of how much to add. You really need to keep up with the water testing (Chlorine, pH, CYA, alkalinity, and calcium hardness if a gunite pool) until you're at the recommended levels. Then you can get by with your chlorine and pH tests as needed.

As it turns out...I do enjoy our pool these hot summer days. But since I retired in Dec '14 I do give the pool more attention than when I was working full time. And knowing now how involved it can be (especially in the fall and spring...I keep mine open year round) if I had it to do over I probably would have talked myself out of it.

Good luck,

LongShot

 

[PessOptimist]

Scout, Lindoug, Longshot, thanks for the replies. Chemistry is actually a piece of cake. Get one of these:

Not recommending any brand. It’s all you need, replace OTO and Phenol Red when it is a few years old.





If you want to get fancy get one of these:

It’s what most of the pool companies use in store.

I bought the “total calcium solids or total dissolved solids” thing a few years ago and drained the pool (can’t use the pump, gotta hire them). Afterwards the total solids was higher. I took a container of tap water that had not gone through the softener and had it tested. As expected they said chlorine was too low. Ph was too low. Total dissolved solids was way too high. Recommendation was I drain the pool and refill it. I told them it was tap water from my home. Manager came out and said I should call the water company. A couple people in line behind me left but most made comments about me being an ignorant whatever.
The tap water here meets federal standards.
If you go on line now, you are told to never drain and replace the water. Just buy chemicals.

A Monkey Wrench comes in real handy when working with PVC fittings, just saying.

A Monkey Wrench comes in real handy when working with PVC fittings, just saying.

https://www.zoro.com/facom-monkey-wrench-11-l-steel-fa-105280/i/G4822632/

Scout, Lindoug, Longshot, thanks for the replies. Chemistry is actually a piece of cake. Get one of these:

https://www.zoro.com/facom-monkey-wrench-11-l-steel-fa-105280/i/G4822632/

Nnuut. That is what started the whole problem with this Elbow between the pump and popup valve. I have been servicing the screen in this for many years. Sometimes you need a pipe wrench to loosen the couplings, A strap wrench is preferred. Once loosened use your hands. After cleaning the screen (usually doesn’t need it) make sure the rubber gaskets are intact and lubricated, start one collar by hand, leave it loose, start the other end and make sure it is started on the threads right. Tighten by hand. If all is right you need no wrench. When the tech told me he had one end on but needed a big wrench for the other end it set off alarm bells but when I suggested he loosen the first end he told me to stop interfering as he knew his job. Hence the stripped threads.
This reminds me of other “techs” over the years installing cover plates, waveguide, intake and exhaust manifolds. They tighten up the first few bolts/screws and when the rest won’t fit want to get out the power tools including the drill and tap set. No need to read the instructions. No need to understand “how it works”
You have been preaching salt system for years. Maybe someday but I doubt it. Too stuck in the current system and aware of having to remove calcium from waste water at great expense. Chlorine too.
Thanks again everyone for all the stories. Use the simple kit above to keep up on chlorine and Ph and you will be OK. If something starts growing in the pool it can usually be killed by more chlorine.
PO