Pool Maintenance

Okay, so there's one instance of me definitely being a troll. I can let it die.
(But the math doesn't lie!)

 

Since when is albedo controversial?

 

Beware, this is not for the feint of heart. Let's say that for 4 hours, the sun is roughly directly overhead the pool, so that the black surface at the bottom of the pool basically absorbs ~100% of the sunlight it receives (black asphalt for example would absorb about 90%, so we aren't making a big error here). Assume then that a white surface will reflect ~100% of the energy (a very white substance like snow would reflect ~90% so we aren't making a big error here either). The flux of energy coming from the Sun is ~1400W/m^2, of which ~70% reaches the ground (the other 30% gets reflected by the atmosphere or clouds). Multiplying this by the surface area of your pool: 1400W/m^2*70%*(6m*4m+2*1.5m*4m+2*1.5m*6m)~53,000W of power that could be absorbed by your pool's surfaces. This is definitely an overestimate. Now over 4 hours, that 53,000W corresponds to 220kWh of energy. If all of this energy was deposited into the water (assuming the pool is well insulated from the ground), then this energy would go into heating the water. How much heating is that? Well, the specific heat of water is ~4000J/kg/degree C, so we need to know how much water is in our pool. The density of water is 1000kg/m^3. Multiplying this by the volume of the pool, we have: 1000kg/m^3*(6m*4m*1.5m)~36000kg. Now finally, we find that the temperature difference between a black pool and a white pool is: Δ T m a x = 220 k W h 4000 J k g ∘ C ∗ 36000 k g ≈ 5.5 ∘ C ΔTmax=220kWh4000Jkg∘C∗36000kg≈5.5∘C So, roughly 5.5 degrees of difference.

It can now die.

Or that could all be BS. Just a cut and paste job.

 

A dark colored pool is absolutely significantly hotter than an identical light colored pool.

But yes, a solar cover (with a solar roller or something similar) is a viable alternative as well. I'm about 50 miles south of the OP and my pool (direct sunlight from 9-5PM) has been approaching 90F for the past couple of weeks of this heat wave. Couldn't imagine what temp it'd be if I had a dark color.

 

Does the plane take off or not???

 

Does it have water wings?

 

We were talking a bit about chlorine earlier in this thread - FYI, Walmart.com has free two day shipping above $35.

According to the wife, the Fedex driver looked none too happy as he delivered the umpteen gallons of bleach that we ordered

 

Next time order a shitload of copy paper.
Or batteries. Or kitty litter.
They need the excercise.

 

Looks like he took his frustrations out on a couple of those boxes.

 

Cinder block stacking is NOT Broome-approved.
But I do dig the ingenuity for yard tool storage.

 

so after 2 days of filling up the pool, it looks like there may be a leak in the pipes as I can't get the pump to prime, and the water level dropped a bunch overnight

Will re-check the skimmer first to make sure that the leak is not there, but will probably just call someone in .

 

How many returns do you have? I have 2 skimmers, 1 separate line for a bottom cleaner vaccuum, and the bottom drain. I am able to isolate all of the different lines. Are you able to do that? The pool supply places have the rubber plugs with a wingnut that you can use to seal it up. Perhaps try isolating each of the return lines and try to get it to prime to see if you can find the leak? Also, if you plug all of the returns and supplies, don't run the pump, and the water level still drops, that will tell you that it's not in the plumbing.

 

My UPS and FedEx guys hate me. I order these aluminum plaques all the time and they show up in a box about the size of a large shoebox, except they weigh 50-70lbs, and there will be a dozen of them.

 

I'm not home right now, but I have 1 skimmer box that has the main drain and skimmer outlet in one. There is no bottom drain. There is one return, but it's a old style that looks like a metal flower, so not sure that can be plugged at the pool side.

Also the main drain when I took off that cap was full of sand and roots, so when I get back, I wanted to snake through it to see if it helps with anything, as that may also be the case on the skimmer side.

All of this gets annoying I must say. Like fixing a old car or bike, fix one thing, another thing pops up, then fix that and then something else. [emoji37]

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

 

I know... Ive had my swim fins and trunks laid out since June in hopes of a pool pawty!!

 

so yeah...an update....my wife and I painted the pool and patched it over the summer. Installed new sand filter, re-plumbed the entire intake line from the skimmer to the pump and all removed all hose connections from the pump to the filter with PVC. Also bought a Aquanot 400, and a solar blanket

Up and running in time for winter, but at least it's working. Right now it's a bit green from sitting with water and no filter, but just shocked it again for the second time this week, and probably one more before closing it this weekend. Only 2 years, but for less than $1500 thus far, not bad.

Future plans
add a heater, not sure if electric or gas is better
make it a salt pool
upgrade the pool pump from 3/4 hp currently to 1.5 hp (moar powa)

 

Now you're talkin', Bird. Good work!

 

Look into some kind of passive solar water heating setup. There are also ways to recover heat from the A/C and dump it into the pool.

Gas/electric are crazy expensive to operate. The gas heaters will also give up the heat exchanger pretty quickly if you’re not on top of water chemistry. Less of an issue with salt water in that regard. But if the ph drops too low it will burn up the copper in the heat exchanger.

 

Rent Bulldozer, buy a couple tons of fill dirt....dump all fill dirt in pool, plant grass, regain your back yard and make your home attractive to more potential buyers down the road.

Problem solved.

https://www.privateproperty.co.za/a...les/home-additions-that-really-add-value/1315

"Swimming Pools


While nice to have and a great facility for many homeowners, a swimming pool adds no value to a resale price at all. In fact, some home buyers spend thousands of rands to fill in a pool after purchasing a property. Expensive upkeep and the fear of liability mean that for some, the responsibility of a swimming pool will detract from a property more than add to its value."

 

my pool costs $71 / month in maintenance without me moving a finger.
it's covered with a bubble in the cold months - swimming all year round.

it comes with a full gym attached to it and is exactly 56 sec to drive from my house.