Moving to AZ - research thread

You obviously take care of your stuff! You have a wetsuit for November - March?

 

would the water feature not be running during those times so it wouldn't be getting scaled up?

 

Mine was tied into the filter pump so it ran whenever the filter was on.

 

Ok, I see, I was thinking Id like mine separate so I can turn them on and off when I want.

that reminds me to look into that

I may just say fuck it, and put a whole house softener in and be done with most of the hardness stuff, that will also help my spot free rinse car wash system I have.

 

the pool lines have valves that are electronically controlled w/ the Pentair app/system. I can do the pool "jet" returns, or the waterfall.

I run the waterfall on schedule Fri-Sun evenings year round.

 

hahah in those months you can just lay on your stomach on the edge of the pool

we did a polar plunge and swam on new years day, otherwise not in the water past halloween, nor before spring break (midmarch)

 

I would think the waterfall is also nice to listen to sitting out on the patio too right? I would for sure want independent control of them though

if you keep the chemicals good, and I had a heater, can I just say fuck it, heat it for a weekend in the winter, swim, and then turn it back off or is there a difference with winter months and "winterizing it?

just wondering if like there was a abnormally warm day in November or December tor soemthing or early spring and I get a case of the fuck its with the propane, can I just use it or is there other shit to do first?

 

100% its so nice to sit outside and listen to.

I also put in some outdoor speakers (WiiM Amp) with some tunes.

 

You can absolutely heat it for a nice day in the offseason - you just have to plan ahead. Mine took about 24 hours to go 15-20 degrees.

 

awesome , thanks hauler

 

I'll again say: go with a whole house water softner. Everything will work better.

Worth a read with respect to SWG:
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/why-is-everyone-anti-uv.112682/

 

in joined that site and have a thread going , ya these dudes seem super anti uv and really against in floor cleaners , that’s what I’ve learned so far , seems like a small group though and sometimes that means they can travel in heards, just the way the internet works, there are a few people there that’s they have and like in floor cleaners

so confused lol

but I’ve decided to go with a whole house softener already though , so that’s a done deal, I just got tot all to my builder dude and see if the hoses flow from the spot where it goes as well

 

I know, I get it. I'll say I knew nothing about pools prior to owning this house and the advice on that forum has my pool pristine with maybe 20 minutes of work each week. With how hot it is here and the length of the season, you will use a lot of chlorine. CYA will build up in just a few years when using solid forms of chlorine and the only solution is to dump and refill the water. That will also be true if you fill your pool with tap water. The harness will increase and you will need to dump and refill. On the UV side, we get plenty of sunshine here...For me, time is at a premium and the SWG has it so that I do not even think about chlorine anymore.

The one spot my robot doesnt clean well is the steps. That would be a spot I would like those in floor cleaners.

I'm on the NE side of Tucson and if you want to come take a look at my setup ever

 

awesome man, appreciate the local knowledge

Keep it coming

I’ve learned a lot already over there , 20 mins a week is awesome I can handle that lol

what is cya that I keep reading about ?

 

Cyanuric acid is an additive in fortified chlorine tabs/powders. Your best to avoid the 6-in-1 crap as that comes loaded with it. Get the more expensive pure chlorine tabs or you’ll end up with all sorts of issues (I learned this the hard way…)

As for in floor cleaners and pool maintenance, I’ve been very happy with my in floor system. I’ve been less happy with my pool guy that we hired this year as he doesn’t do the shit that makes the rest of the maintenance easier, like backwashing the pool filter (DE system) and scrubbing the walls occasionally. He also seems to like to add shock directly to the spa instead of the main pool, so I have issue with that sitting on the bottom if I don’t go scrub it right away (ask the pool builder to put in floor in the spa if you build an attached one…).

 

To keep chlorine in a solid form, you need a stabilizer = CYA. It is in the pucks and powdered form of shock. This will then accumulate in the pool as it breaks down only very very slowly. With higher levels of CYA, chlorine will be less effective at disinfecting the pool. So you start adding 3.5 pucks instead of 3 per week for example. Now, even more CYA is stuck in the pool. It is like a little arms race. It probably takes a few years for this to build up. My pool was off the charts originally. I did a full water replacement because of this and high hardness.
I was using pucks for the first two years here until I started reading on that forum and honestly, the amount of time spent maintaining the pool has dropped off a cliff. The SWG was the biggest change for me in terms of less time spent and better water chemistry. Some people have run the numbers and it looks cheaper using the SWG over time.

 

so you don’t use pucks etc if you have a swg? Does that just get a setting type deal and then you raise or lower depending on the levels you need?

 

so you don’t use the robot type deal you just have a dude come and clean it? What does something like that cost out of curiosity?

im so confused on the in floor cleaners lol, how old is your pool?

 

I was paying $150/mo for weekly pool service. It was fine, but decided to save the money and DIY it.

 

No robot for us. Wife was very adamant about not having the hose to deal with. If the filter is clean and chemicals are good, a quick brush on the vertical surfaces is all we need.

Most pool guys are around $150/month from what we’ve found. That usually includes chemicals and whatnot, so take that part into consideration too. If you have the time to do it yourself it’s really not that hard. I’m helping coach our boy’s baseball team though, so free time eludes me…

 

Jinx

 

Yup, the salt cell is plumbed in just before the water returns to the pool. It has a control unit that you can change the power level to get the chlorine level that you want. I have mine on 65% power 24/7 and chlorine levels are keeping the pool very clear and most guests remark that they love the feel of the water (the salt will make it feel softer). If there is a storm that pushes organics in the pool, I will run the SWG at 100% for a day or so.

 

Guess the pricing is 150 a month here lol

ya I would rather to do it myself since I work from home and I’m always here anyways , it will be a nice break

 

This is where my robot lives and we can just move it to the side if need be or pull it out if we have many guests.

The water feature is not in use. I want to remove it at some point. I think it is ugly and just makes the water dirty.

 

that was our mentality- we're always home except for taking 2-3 vacation trips a year for a week or so. In those times we will just treat before and after.

 

looks nice

 

This is the unit I use:

https://www.circupool.com/circupool...HmKEL9-R_4BHoc63FmCQrSgk0LZkZSPZjigwHdwjnMLRr

 

do you size those for the size of the pool or just one size does it?

When I get my quote I’ll see what brand they are proposing, I asked for UV and salt water gen options

 

You should get a SWG that is rated at double the size of your pool. Its silly but that is the right approach. So as the cell slowly becomes less efficient, you just turn up the power to compensate. And a doubling of the size rating is relatively small increase in the cost of the cell.

 

Is that circupool the go to brand? I don’t like shitty equipment , but don’t need the tippy top bleeding edge monsters either lol.

need the Toyota of pool equipment, ha!