mikehart92
Oklahoma
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Joined: 06/24/2004
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Last year we spent a small fortune opening our above ground pool. This year we drained it and started with new water. Spent about a fourth the cost of last year. Glad we have it now. Cheapest thing the kids can do all summer.
Mike
2005 Chevy 2500HD.............6.6 D/A, 4x4, Crew Cab
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spkncarl
Valley of the Sun/South East Valley
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Joined: 01/04/2007
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kjames90755 wrote:Salt? 
Yep!!!
If you had salt down here in the desert...then you'd understand having to drain it every 3-4 yrs. Nothing wrong, just the way it is...and the in floor cleaning system is awesome!!!
The salt is wonderful on the skin, easy maintenance until it's time to drain, clean & replace the cell.
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Ultralife
West Coast, USA
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Joined: 12/13/2002
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Good job spkncarl...enjoy your swim.
The Phoenix Valley summers play havoc on pools. The sun that never goes away kills chlorine. The only way you can keep it balanced is adding more chlorine among the other tests necessary. The trade off is that the chlorine breaks down and loads the pool with cyanuric acid. They is no option to reverse this build up. When the limits reach 100+ ppm the only cure is to drain and refill the pool. Cyanuric acid testing is required by both Maricopa and Pinal county health, at least in the public sector, RV parks included.
I maintained a 36,000 gallon pool there for 3 years and it was an every day job. I could do a complete turnaround in 24 hrs. I did it every fall when it cooled down a little. Got to be careful with the timing. The heat can and will crack an inground pool.
Salt pools are great and are actually chlorine generators.
Where you are is where your at!
2002 Beaver Monterey 38' DP 330HP Cat
2002 New Beetle "Silver Bullet" Turbo Sport (Manual 5-speed)
Blue OX tow bar and base plate
Who says AZ summers are hot???
Don and Pat
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junmy3
Warner Robins GA
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Joined: 02/03/2004
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DW and I were spending around $500 a year on chemicals for our pool and were swimming very little. All the kids are out on their on and they would use it even less than us. It came a time that we needed a new $3500 liner. We went for the $1500 dollars worth of dirt. Now we can go camping and not worry about the pool being green when we get back home.
For all of you out there with pools enjoy it.
Jim & Junnie
2005 Sunline Solaris T-2553
Our Web Site
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spkncarl
Valley of the Sun/South East Valley
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Joined: 01/04/2007
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Thanks everyone....we are enjoying our swim (working from home is nice...). We need a break from the computer and we say "hey wanna go for a quick dip?"
Actually we should have drained it 1-2 years ago, it would have saved us many headaches dealing with the chemical issues. Now it's dialed in so we should be good to go for a couple years anyway. At least until our daughter is graduated.
and yes the salt water makes its own chlorine. Not sure if people have salt water up in the north...
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Sportsman2505qss
Winter Springs, Fl USA
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Joined: 05/03/2002
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We got rid of our salt system. It was great when it was working but in the five years we had it, within the first year we had to get a new cell cost 297.00 under warranty. Lasted two years and then they wanted 695.00 for another one and the mother board went. Would have cost over a thousand dollars so we converted to chlorine. The best thing we bought was the Zodiac Barracuda G4 to clean the pool. Got it off ebay new and 100.00 rebate. No more brushing and pool with shock once a week is doing great in the Florida heat. We do have a cage over the pool so we don't have leaves or bugs.
Barracuda
2002 KZ Sportsmen 2505qss bought in 2001 1999F-150
Gamble Rogers
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rvten
Crossville,TN
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Joined: 11/30/2000
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Biggest problem with the pool when we had it. Was going away for weeks at a time. With no one at home to keep it clean.
Now just use someone else's at a CG and let them clean it.
Tom & Bonnie
Crossville, TN.
Aspect 29H 2008
Class C passed Class A owner
(No Such Thing as a B+)Pontiac G6 2006
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HEMIDAZE
Amelia, OH
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Joined: 03/30/2004
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Best thing I ever did to mine was tear it down and set fire to the deck. I gave away all the good stuff (pump, filter and other usable stuff) My maintenance is considerablly less now but I still need a dog sitter to go camping. When you get my age everything you do to your house and property is to reduce maintenance.
2001 Salem 27BH by Forest River w/Barker 3000
2003 Dodge Ram 1500 HEMI 5 speed auto 3.92s Quad Cab 4X4
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donsm60
Florida
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Joined: 09/30/2005
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We have our first salt system pool using the Jandy Aqua-link RS automation and Aqua-pure cell and both the cell & board went out within the first week. It was quickly replaced by the area service rep and was told the average cell life is 3 years. Kind of have an uneasy feeling about the reliability, but other than that I love the system compared to our last chlorine pool that I was always fighting to keep perfectly balanced. This one is almost maintenance free and the water quality is outstanding. We are using a Hayward Ultra Vac and that too has been doing a great job.
Wasn’t aware of the need to drain the pool every couple years though and will look into that. My understanding is/was cyanuric acid ppm is the level of conditioner in the water to stabilize the chlorine produced and that level decreases from the recommended 30-50 ppm and needs to be increased 2-3 times a year? Just tested ours and it’s still at the original 40 ppm since going to salt 2 weeks after starting it up. Maybe it has to do with the amount of rain we get.
The only weekly chemical maintenance for ours is adding a 1/3 gallon of muriatic acid to keep the ph in range. Hopefully it says working well for many years to come, we swim almost every evening during the week and a lot on the weekends. Nothing beats cooling off in it after a hot day at work or working around the house!
We build pool cages and have noticed a connection between our coated fasteners corroding on salt systems in the last few years, especially when the walls close to the waters edge. Replaced some this week on a 4 year old job actually.
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Skid Row Joe
America, Tent Camping and RVing since 1960
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Joined: 04/26/2006
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Good info, Don. Thanks!
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