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codebrown

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  1. We had an autocover installed with our 16 x 40 inground last summer. It's probably the most important piece of the setup. I can check the manufacturer - I believe they are out of UT - but it's the only one our installer dealt with. I can't say enough about them. The amount of debris they keep out is massive. We have a few oak trees well away (like 30-50 feet) from the pool but there is so much debris in the air you never even see until the pool cover is off that you will be glad you put one in. Ours was 7K installed. You will also use a lot less chemicals. Keeping water pumped off is simple. The safety aspect, as well, cannot be overstated. If you do install one, pay attention to which end of the pool they place it, as the chamber and cover will get in the way of standing at that end. Ours is at the deep end, and it's simple to stand just behind the metal cover and dive, but if I did it again I'd place it at the shallow end where I never tend to get in from. Also, since water will enter the chamber in massive amounts when you are playing in the pool (washing over the tiled rim) be sure to plumb your drain line in such a way that the shortest distance possible is used to daylight it. They do get clogged with debris from time to time, so it's a lot more fun to run a ten foot snake in there than a fifty foot (and of course, you might just tell them to cover the drain opening with a grated cap). And even better, add an extra drain line during the build. And make the chamber as big as your installer/concrete guy can stand. Extra room in the chamber means small bits of debris wont' wash onto the cover when it is rolled up while swimming, and then subsequently drop into the pool when you cover it back up.
  2. You should assume that is total wall height unless otherwise clarified.
  3. 20-30 ounces of 6% bleach in 22,000 gallons would be 0.4 to 0.7 ppm FC. Is your pool indoors or not exposed to sunlight? That is a very low daily chlorine usage. What is the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level in your pool? Do you use any supplemental products to prevent algae growth such as 50 ppm Borates, weekly PolyQuat algaecide, phosphate removers, etc.? Chemgeek- I'm probably averaging down a bit, but the only chemicals we use are the CYA from our initial open in June and calcium. I use the PoolCalc app for the iPhone and usually checked the pH and Cl levels daily, and probably every other day added chlorine (6% bleach). Given that it was covered, and that we generally used it after the worst of the sun was gone, or early am, I think helped, as well as the fact that it was just three relatively clean persons using it. So I do know that if the kids had friends over on a hot day I probably dumped 60-90 oz in on occasion but for the most part maintaining the free Cl at 1-1.5 was pretty simple. I have not needed any algaecide or other additives. Certainly, things could change. Oh, also, muriatic acid, of course, for pH lowering.
  4. I don't have salt. I think it is oversold. My PB, in the business forty years, strongly advised against it even though they put them in for a lot of customers. I can see why. When friends come over the first thing they ask is whether it is a salt pool, as if that's the only thing that distinguishes a high-end from a low-end build. So if you have a fragile ego or know a lot of snobs it might be an issue. The thing is, adding a salt-cell is easy down the road. Just tell them to plumb as if you might add one at some point. I add a little store-bought bleach every few days (about 20-30 oz. for a 22K gallon pool). Cheap and easy. I keep the FC at around 1 ppm, have not had to shock once all season, and the kids can swim without goggles just like in a salt pool. I researched the heck out of it, and finally concluded that no one is sure yet whether or not the salt will corrode critical parts of pumps, motors, etc. It just seemed like something I did not want to hassle with until I was sure it was going to add a lot to the pool. After one season, I can say unequivocally I will never add one. Not only that, but I swim in my neighbor's salt pool and get rashes around my eyes and have to rinse the salt residue off. With mine, at a 1ppm free Cl level, I can't even tell I've been near chlorine and just feel super clean. So that is my 2cents. I know lots of other people that love their salt system. Don't sweat it either way.
  5. Personally I like the shallow end for kids and it is nice to be able to stand and talk to people. But I have a 6'6" deep end and it houses the autocover. I find myself really enjoying the ability to dive in at the deeper end and I like going deeper for the hell of it. We put swim-out radius benches about a foot deep in both corners. The cost of the extra depth and the benches wasn't very much at all. My kids love both ends. Resale? No idea. I will say the 7K we spent on the autocover is the smartest thing we did. The amount of time I waste cleaning it and adding chemicals is practically nil, if it matters. And if you are putting in a simple rectangle it makes a lot of sense.
  6. My pool is 16x40 and is 3.5 feet at the shallow end. I can't do a flip turn when I swim laps, but since I don't normally it isn't an issue. If I were lap swimming, I think I would make the ends 4-4'6" minimum ( account for variations in gunite, surface material, etc.). The midsection is not something I can comment on. Maybe there are hydrodynamic issues? You may want to make sure you get an autofill feature. They are cheap. And if it is for laps only, you might ask about having baffles along the sides to reduce the backwash and turbulence you will create in a narrow pool.
  7. Thank-you for the additional clarification.
  8. Also, as far as a cleaner, it sounds like the original builder didn't plumb for a side-pressure cleaner (I may have my nomenclature wrong). All that means is you would use one of the ones that look like a small tank, like Dolphin, etc. if you did want to purchase a cleaner. They seem to be a bit heavier and are plugged into a standard wall outlet and clean the pool in a few hours. My sense is one would rarely if ever need one if they were using an indoor pool with a cover since debris would be almost nonexistent, and you can always push small stuff toward the main drain with your brush.
  9. We opened an IG pool this summer (autocover with a Hydrazzo/plaster finish, 16' x 40', 22K gallon) and I started from zero knowledge, other than a 45" rapid-fire demo from the PB and some basic stuff I picked up here. I cannot recommend enough the Taylor test kit, as it completely frees you from the shackles of the local pool folks. I use an app for the iphone/ipod called Pool Calc, and the chore of checking/adding chems takes under 5 minutes. We opted to use straight chlorine bleach as our sanitizer. I like the convenience, and probably wind up using 1 super-size 4$ jug every 2-3 weeks on average to keep the Cl at 1.5-2 ppm. Every 2-5 days depending on my usage, laziness, etc., I scoop a few mls of water to the level indicated by the test kit, add a few drops of 3 reagents (2 for the Cl, 1 for the ph), then use the app to figure what I need to add. In fact I don't even use the PoolCalc app anymore because I can tell by sight how much clorox or muriatic acid to dribble along the return-side of the pool. I purchase muriatic acid from my local mason supplier. Home Depot no longer carries it where I live. I have not had to raise my pH as yet as long as I am careful not to lower the pH too much. The leeching of the plaster/Hydrazzo and bathers seems to push the pH from about 7.4 to 7.8 or so over about a 5-7 day period, assuming 2 kids and one adult using it about 30-60 minutes a day. About once a month I use the Taylor to check the Calcium Hardness, CYA levels. Takes about ten minutes, but basically is the exact same process (put water in the test vial thingie to a set level, add reagent drops as they tell you, do a basic calc and you have your answer). Also, you can buy the Taylor reagents online for a few bucks and get them shipped. The manuf. is back east I think and they are super nice to deal with. Even though it's less than eight miles to the pool supplier I like the ease of ordering online. I can't comment on what sorts of things are different for an indoor setup, but I suspect it isn't too much different. Also, I have not yet sunk any money into a cleaner, as I can't really determine what brand is really going to be reliable. I have almost no debris in the pool and what little does get in I just wave up into an extra net. Makes for nice exercise and gives me something to do when I want to get wet. Use this forum and Trouble Free Pool to educate yourself. I suspect that once a person reaches out to the local suppliers they are sunk. It IS daunting at first, but unless you are truly inept at basic home maintenance you can do this. It is probably about as difficult a learning curve as caulking a bathroom. I also ordered a DVD called Pool School Pro online for around 15$, but by the time it arrived I had it pretty well figured out, although the 10" I've watched are really well done, easy to follow, etc.
  10. By the way, I still don't quite get the role of the algaecide, in the sense that I've had pretty great chem control all season with the FC always around 1-2 ppm and a really clean pool. Is the algaecide just an insurance policy?
  11. Thanks for the reply. That helps a ton. So this year, we filled the pool mid-June, brought the temp up to 84 from around 65 degrees, and maintained it at around 86. We swam tonight (light rain, about 70 degrees). Our gas bill has been about $100 a month more than average I suspect. We'll probably keep heating it until it looks hopeless and cold as far as winter arriving, which never really seems to happen until October.
  12. Our pool is a rectangular 22G with an autocover and natural gas boiler, gunite IG with Hydrazzo finish. When we completed the pool in June our PB suggested that during the winter we simply set the boiler temp around 45 to prevent freezing (we are in the NW and rarely gets below 45) and do a chemical check once a week or so. I keep reading about more complex closing procedures, i.e. draining the pool below the pipes, using antifreeze, etc. Does anyone else just simply keep the autocover on, keep the temp above 40 and keep checking chemistry through the winter? Thanks.
  13. Can anyone on the board comment on the cleaning quality of this unit? I have a side-suction port, but no booster pump as yet. From what I can tell, this unit operates without any additional pump, but I assume this can only happen if one were to close off the main drain and skimmer lines during use. Even then, I am skeptical. The four reviews on Amazon seem quite positive, but I trust the counsel of the members here and can't quite figure out how this thing can suck up debris and climb walls without an extra pump. Thanks.
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