Nextehalo

[bigkidoz]

just prove that our pool does get clean, it sure was good to hop into after the 38c we had on Thursday.

[Nextelhalo]

Niiiiice, not a leaf or debris in site, that's what i like to see sir. Is it the light or does the water always have a greenish tint? What kinda chems are you using in it?

[asbo]

A pool, 38c! I'm a tad jealous. Its about -3c here!

[xman]

BKO that pool looks near identical to ours. I'll post a photo tomorrow from as close to the same location as you have and you'll know what I mean. Mine needs an all clear from Nex as well. We should chip in a get Nex to look after these God Dam labor and money pits these things are. Won't be long before you need to be Willy Nelson to own one.

[Nextelhalo]

I can help you out with making the labor end of it easy but I really am curious to know how much the cost of chems are there compared to the States. What style of filters are you guys rocking? And what do you use to clean your pool? Speaking of money pits, i just looked at this thing last week and homeowner wanted me to turn this thing around without draining it. I thought he was full of shit when he told me it was 400,000 gallons and 15 feet deep but.......................

[xman]

Here's my pool...

And this is the pump / filter.

It's a sand filter and the pool runs a saline maker so it's a salt water pool with no chlorine. Running costs are about a dozen bags of salt a year and a shit load of power. That pool, the green alligator one you liked to Nex, you can use a product we call Flok or something like that and it will pull all the crap in the water to the bottom of the pool and then you can vacuum it out but that shit is pricy and out here, it is cheaper just to dump the water and refill.

[bigkidoz]

Niiiiice, not a leaf or debris in site, that's what i like to see sir. Is it the light or does the water always have a greenish tint? What kinda chems are you using in it?

Old pool with faded liner, we are surrounded by trees but i skim it everyday. I'm using a sand filter and 200g stabilised chlorine tablets in an inline dispenser, takes all the guess work out .
Tablets are $21 from the supermarket for a 2kg tube (10 tablets ) which last about 6-7 weeks, i let it get swampy over winter and then just shock it about the middle of November and then use a floccing agent to get heavy particulates to drop to the floor then i vacuum to waste.

[Nextelhalo]

@X-man, I like the pool sir just looks like it needs a good vac. and you'll be all set. I've used Floc many times on swamp pools and it works like a charm. Better than the cost of a drain and clean for sure. You've got a pretty good pump and filter, is that all Pentair brand equipment? It looks like it is but maybe a different name could be slapped on there. Also, for salt pools, just so you know your actually using that salt cell to make chlorine from the salt (sodium hypochlorite) so you really have both a chlorine and salt pool. It sure does make the water soft though, and you have to fight high PH alot of the time unless the water is different down there. What brand of salt cell is that? It looks like a Zodiac if i'm not mistaken.

@BKO- that's not a bad price on tabs, especially if it's getting you that far. You could look into something like Xman has and there would be no need for tabs, just occasional shock and adding of muriatic acid to keep the PH in check. I dont know if they sell this certain product where you guys are but you should look into Pool Perfect Plus Phosfree, it will eliminate phosphates in the water(food for algae) and it will break down all the enzymes from body oil and suntan lotions that usually get into sand filters and clog them up. Wow i sounded like a salesman in that last sentence but it's one of the only "special" chemicals i actually do recommend buying. What kind of algae do you guys have to deal with? Mustard (yellow), green, black?

Nex

[bigkidoz]

I've only seen green algae in my pool, salt chlorinator is the way to go but my pool is old and will need to be replaced soon and hopefully we will have moved by then. I struggled the first couple of years to keep it clean but now i have a system that works and i hardly need to do any maintenance.

[bigkidoz]

After some trouble with hardware and a seal that perished and was allowing dirty water back into the pool, 4 weeks now and the pool has been crystal clear even after being away for a week and not doing my usual leaf scooping or vacuuming

[Nextelhalo]

Niiiiice, pool looks good man. How's that little suction cleaner working out for you? Is that a Hayward navigator/ultra-vac?

[bigkidoz]

Niiiiice, pool looks good man. How's that little suction cleaner working out for you? Is that a Hayward navigator/ultra-vac?

It is a hayward "Diver Dan" which is basically the same as an Aqua bug, one of the best bits of hardware i have bought. Got it off ebay for $90 never used and it certainly has earned its keep .

[Nextelhalo]

Nice that is a steal of a price for a pool cleaner. Took this pick today, this is why you always make sure your valves are open before you turn on your pump

[bigkidoz]

Wow that pumps got some pressure to do that to pvc pipe , looks almost like it has been heated and blown like glass .

[xman]

Well my pool is done after 8 years of service. It had a 20 year warranty but actually seems warranty is so limited, may as well not have any at all so it's coming out. What started out as a small leak about 100mm from the top of the water my son spotted turned out to be a God sent. On inspecting the leak that was under the decking, I noticed a massive rust bulge in the steel wall that was actually at the bottom of the pool. It measured about 200mm X 50mm so if it let go, which would have happened this year, it would have flooded the neighbor hood and that would not have been good at all. Anyway, to turn a bad into a good, I'll take what's left of the steel wall and it can be an animal enclosure down the farm that "should" keep the Ozzy nastys away from my quails and chickens when I get them. The rest of the pool is scrap. Here's a couple of pics of the pool as is.
The blue dot in this pic is the pool liner showing through the hole my son spotted leaking.........

It was at the top of this wall and the big rust bulge is at the base of the same section of wall.........

And this is a close up of the big rust bulge....................

After I drained the water today, I pushed my finger straight through it. It really was paper thin and would have definitely let go real soon. I had been watching the "surface rust" on the other side of the pool but it simply was on the surface. This side was completely covered by the decking and couldn't be seen till the decking was removed like I had done in these pics. So now I have a pool I need to rip out and try to keep the hole in the ground dry till we organize something to go in it's place. Let's just say the new idea involves more digging and it ain't my much sort after underground bunker.

[Nextelhalo]

Damn Steve, you've got a holy pool. I bet the salt water corroded the metal and made it worse. Salt pools are known for corrosion of coping stone and old stainless steel D.E. filter tanks. That's if my memory is correct. If you go back to a metal shell i'd suggest using tablets for your chlorination to prevent this in the future.

[xman]

Arr NeX, I was a bit worried you had been cleaning pools to close to fertilizer plants in Texas sir. No in all honesty I'm glad to see the arse end of this pool plus I get useful farm parts from it like the steel wall and the pump / filter assembly. The replacement will be a concrete in-ground job and that has work starting on it in 3 - 4 weeks. I'm in the market for a pool technician with a Texan accent to look after the thing when it's done but they're as rare as rocking horse shit out here. Actually looking forward to seeing my backyard without this existing pool hanging outta the ground and something sitting "in the ground". Looking at tiling around the area and a nice "pump house". I'll throw some pics on here when it gets underway and you can give us a bit of advice. I figure anyone that looks after Willy Nelson's pool must have a bit of an idea aye

[Nextelhalo]

Ah hell yeah Steve, get you a badass inground pool. Man if the pay was worth it and I could get my car to Australia i'd do something like that in a heartbeat but I'm happy where i'm at right now. Definitely talk to me about your building plans, I can help you NOT make the bad choices that some people are pushed into.

[bigkidoz]

Mines not much better in some places but it is about 25 years old, not sure if we will replace as i would like to move within 2 years.

[xman]

Nex, I need some helpful advice of how to clean mud outta my pool.



just joking. These are a couple of the pool progress pics I took today..





As you can see, well underway. Excavation all finished today and on with the steel. Good to see others work and not me for once although I know I have all the electrics to do on it.