quantumchromodynamics

If the motor is overheating, the paint and label on the motor will usually begin to discolor. The motor should feel hot, but not super hot. When the pump is running, you should be able to feel air blowing out of the slots near the bottom of the back of the motor. If the fan has broken, then you won't feel any air.

I think that 100 F should be pretty safe. The key is the temperature difference from body temperature. 100 F is only 1.4 F from normal body temperature. If the water temperature were 101.4, then that would be twice the difference, and would require a reduced exposure time. 104 F is the upper limit for adults and 102 F is recommended as an upper limit for younger children. Make sure to watch children for sign of overheating or dehydration. Make sure that they have water available to drink if they get thirsty. Ask your pediatrician for their recommendations regarding hot tub use. Also, make sure to verify the temperature with two independent thermometers for safety.

You need the FAS-DPD test kit to determine your chlorine level. It can read above 20 ppm and to 0.2 ppm resolution. That way you can know what your level is, and how fast it is dropping. The FAS-DPD chlorine test will also allow you to determine if you have combined chlorine. Testing for combined chlorine is very important when using chlorine. When you were on bromine, you didn't need to test for combined bromine. You can wait for the chlorine to drop on its own, you can add a little bit of hydrogen peroxide to lower it (1 ounce per 1 ppm for 400 gallons), or you can do a partial drain and refill. I think that you can just wait. The cyanuric acid will moderate the chlorine's reaction rate, so it's not as bad as if you had 10 ppm with no cyanuric acid. If you have all of the other tests, then you can just buy the FAS-DPD reagents, R-0870, R-0871 and R-0003, and do the test according to the directions here. See the video demonstration here. Go to the bottom of the page and choose the video "To Test (Free and Combined) Chlorine using FAS-DPD [updated 3/5/10]". You can use thepoolcalculator to calculate the correct amount of chlorine to add.

It sounds like the pump might be overheating. When the pump overheats, the thermal overload turns the pump off. Once the pump cools, it will turn back on. What does the motor label say for S.F (Service Factor) and Amps? Check the voltage and current while the pump is operating.

thecanuck22 added over 100 ppm of chlorine and only measured 5 to 10 ppm using test strips. That's a pretty good indication of the reliability of strips.

You need the Taylor K-2006 FAS-DPD test kit to accurately measure your FC and CC levels. You need to determine how much chlorine to use based on the tests. See the following posts for more information: Nitro's Approach to Water Maintenance Dichlor/bleach Method In A Nutshell Chlorine Demand

That's a good point about the possible staining. For situations where scaling is a risk, such as waterfalls and SWGs, I think that trying to use a higher pH and a lower calcium level can be beneficial. I also think that a higher pH will help prevent metal corrosion.

Delair Group LLC made Esther Williams, Johnny Weissmuller, Patriot and others. They no longer make above ground pools. You could contact them to see where to get parts. http://www.delgard.com/dgcontact.htm http://fenceweek.com/releases/delair/poolshutdown.pdf

It depends on what chemicals you're using. Bromine tabs are acidic, so would require a higher TA. The primary point to remember is that the TA needs to be where it keeps the pH stable. If the pH is constantly too high, then the TA is too high. If the pH is constantly too low, then the TA is too low. When the TA is just right, then the pH will stay in the correct range with very little movement.

You are adding the dichlor too fast. You should only add enough to maintain your chlorine. With no cyanuric acid, you don't need more than 4 ppm unless you have combined chlorine. You should add enough so that the chlorine is still at least 2 to 3 ppm by the next time you test. Once you achieve 20 ppm of cyanuric acid, you can maintain a slightly higher FC level. If you are getting combined chlorine or the chlorine is all gone by the next time you test, then you need to maintain a higher level. What test kit do you have?

It will take a total of 2.1 ounces (weight) of dichlor to get the cyanuric acid to 20 ppm. You don't add it all at once. You add it a little at a time as needed to maintain your chlorine. Once you have used a cumulative total of 2.1 ounces, you switch over to bleach. When adding the Borax, I suggest that you add 1/2 of the acid, then 1/2 of the Borax dissolved in water, then the second 1/2 of the acid and then the second half of the Borax dissolved in water.

The pool builder agrees that the pool is not level. What is he going to do to fix it?

Covers are usually foam covered by a waterproof barrier and then covered in vinyl. Once the waterproof barrier is compromised, the foam will begin to absorb water. Once the foam absorbs water, it is usually best to replace it.

I don't necessarily disagree with waterbear; I just have a slightly different opinion about where the best place is for the levels. I think that the best place for the pH is 7.8 to 7.9. I wouldn't lower the pH to less than 7.8. I don't lower pH until it gets to above 8.0, and I rarely need to lower pH. A higher pH will also help prevent metal corrosion. At that higher range for the pH, you should see that your TA is higher as well. Once your pH stabilizes at 7.8 to 7.9, you should increase your calcium to get your CSI out of the negative range. I think that I would try to keep the calcium below 300 ppm. Because the temperature affects the CSI, you should anticipate the effect that upcoming temperature changes will have on the CSI. One reason I recommend a lower calcium level than waterbear is that as the water warms up in the spring, the calcium level is the hardest thing to adjust to lower the CSI. The pH and TA are easier to lower, if necessary. My recommendation for the CSI is between 0.0 and +0.3 for plaster. You have some leeway in where you keep the levels. The main point is to avoid a negative CSI. You will have to find the optimum levels for your pool and what works best for you.

You can use Borax and muriatic acid to add borates, or you can use boric acid. I think that the boric acid method is better because it is mostly pH neutral. You can get boric acid from the chemistry store online for a good price. You should get enough to do several water changes. The poolcalculator has the correct calculation for adding 50 ppm borates from Borax or Boric acid. Borates help keep your pH more stable, especially if you have a salt water chlorine generator. Borates make the water feel better, and reduce skin and eye irritation. For outdoor pools and hot tubs, borates help prevent algae.

The TA needs to be where it keeps the pH stable. If the pH is constantly too high, then the TA is too high. If the pH is constantly too low, then the TA is too low. When the TA is just right, then the pH will stay in the correct range with very little movement. It is counterproductive to add TA up and then pH down. If your pH is high, add enough acid to lower it to about 7.8 without going lower, and allow the TA to end up wherever it needs to. Don't feel like you have to keep the TA at some predetermined range. I don't know about Aquafinesse, so I cannot comment on its use. However, you should generally wait at least 1 hour between additions of different chemicals. Some chemicals need more time separation, such as calcium chloride and sodium carbonate. If you are not sure, then wait at least 8 hours between additions.

I would skip the phosphates and just use the borates. You should drain the tub, refill, run, drain again and then refill again to get all of the bromine/bromide out.

pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration. It is an inverse and logarithmic relationship. The more hydrogen ions, the lower the ph. The fewer hydrogen ions, the higher the pH. Some of the bicarbonate ions combine with hydrogen ions to become carbon dioxide dissolved in water. This raises the pH by removing the free hydrogen ions. Some of the carbon dioxide off-gasses, which causes more bicarbonate ions to combine with more hydrogen ions, which further raises the pH. HCO3- + H+ < > CO2 + H2O To reduce the rate of carbon dioxide production and its subsequent off-gassing, you need to reduce the bicarbonate ion concentration and/or the hydrogen ion concentration. You do this by lowering the TA and/or raising the pH. You should only raise your TA until your pH gets to the correct range. If your pH goes too high, then you have raised your TA too much. Next time raise the TA in 10 ppm increments until your pH is right.

Even if you get a digital reader, you should still get the FAS-DPD test. It is the best and most accurate test for chlorine, and it is easy to see the change from color to no color, for most people.

Read your first post.

For plaster, it is very important to avoid a negative CSI. What pH are you trying to maintain? If your TA is only 60 ppm, then you are probably trying to maintain a pH below 7.6. I recommend a pH of 7.6 to 7.9. Using a higher pH range will allow you to maintain a higher TA. Once you get your pH and TA in the range you are happy with, you should increase your calcium hardness to achieve at least a 0.0 CSI. What are all of you readings? pH TA Calcium Cyanuric acid Borate Temperature

Sodium hydrogen carbonate is regular Arm and Hammer baking soda. The pool store just uses the technical name so that they can charge you twice as much. Since the spa is plastered, and it is referred to as "marmolite", I am going to guess that the plaster is a mix of white cement and marmolite is the aggregate. You should maintain a neutral to positive CSI (Calcite Saturation Index) to protect the plaster. You can calculate your CSI with the poolcalculator. Be sure to enter all of the variables. What are all of you readings? pH TA Calcium Cyanuric acid Borate Temperature I wouldn't trust the acid demand titrating reagent. It shouldn't go bad, but it does not seem accurate. Get a new bottle of pH indicator. If the pH is still measuring high, add about 2 ounces volume of 31.45 % muriatic acid, circulate, and retest pH and TA in 1 hour. Keep doing that in small increments until the pH is down to about 7.8. Don't worry about the TA going too low. You should allow the TA to go wherever it needs to to keep the pH stable at 7.8. I recommend a pH of 7.7 to 7.9. Using a higher pH range will allow you to maintain a higher TA. Once you get your pH and TA in the range you are happy with, you should increase your calcium hardness to achieve at least a 0.0 CSI. What is DM? Do you mean DE?

Trichlor tabs do add cyanuric acid, and they should usually not be used in a hot tub. I'm not sure how your question is related to this post. There has not been any discussion about anyone using chlorine tabs. The chlorine mentioned is dichlor, which adds cyanuric acid, and yes, you do stop using it once your cyanuric acid hits 20 ppm. If you were intending to ask an unrelated question, please click on the "Start a new topic" button to start your own thread to help keep things from getting confusing.

What is the number one bit of advice given at TFP? Get a good FAS-DPD test kit! How many times have you seen this advice given? Yet you show up with test strips. If you had a proper test kit, you could have tested for Free and Combined chlorine. Where did you think all of that chlorine was going? Unless the tub was full of a reducing agent, such as sodium thiosulfate or hydrogen peroxide, the chlorine would not disappear that quickly. If you show up at a customer's house, you need to do a professional job, no matter what. If you cannot do that, stay home. You are the kind of person who makes many pool and hot tub owners think that most service people are ignorant, apathetic idiots. The customer asked you to add so much chlorine to his tub that it would give off toxic fumes that would make everyone sick? Wow, that's an unusual request. Was he happy with how toxic his hot tub was when you left?

As Larry K noted, there are photometer kits that read the colors for you, such as the LaMotte Color Q series.