Tulsa Pools : Keep Up With Water
Cody: Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Dive Time Show. I’m your host [Cody Albright 00:00:05] and with me as always my lovely, amazing, beautiful, outstanding, phenomenal, extravagant …
Rachel: That’s too much.
Cody: Exquisite, extraordinary, magnificent … I don’t know if I said that one already … wife Rachel.
Rachel: Hello.
Cody: You’re so cute. Together we’re the owners of Sierra Pools and Spas of Tulsa, Oklahoma. And, you can find us online at www.sierrapoolsandspas.com or you can give us a phone call at (918) 884-8427. Sierrapoolsandspas.com or you can give us a call at nine Tulsa Pools
Rachel: One
Cody: Eight
Rachel: Eight
Cody: Eight
Rachel: Four
Cody: Eight
Rachel: Four
Cody: Two
Rachel: Seven
Cody: Boom. Or, you can contact us via Facebook. We’re on Facebook. You can send us a message if you need to or you can just go to our website. Give us a like on Facebook that’d be great too.
So, today we got a special, most amazing podcast for you today. Tulsa Pools This one’s going to be a great one. I can sense it. Do you sense it Rachel?
Rachel: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Cody: Do you feel it?
Rachel: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Cody: You feel it in your bones?
Rachel: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Cody: Mm-hmm is not a word. So, we’re not really …
Rachel: Yes, I feel it.
Cody: Okay. That’s great. I appreciate you using words. Okay, so today we’re going to be talking about equipment maintenance for your Tulsa pools. So, last time we talked about maintenance on your pool. This time we’re talking about equipment maintenance.
Rachel: Yeah, last time was specifically about water maintenance, kind of, what you have to do to keep up with the water. And, this is more about what you have to do to keep up with your equipment. So, the equipment that’s part of your circulation system, the filters, the heaters, the pumps, chlorinators. These all require regular maintenance during the swimming season. Each maintenance is different for each part of the system. But, the manufacturer should provide some instructions on how to take care of those things.
The first thing that we’re going to talk about is maintaining the pump. The pump, like I’ve mentioned before, is the heart of the pool so you want this baby to be running as efficiently as possible. It’s the life of your pool. So, what you’re going to want to do is your going to want to check and clean the strainer basket attached to the pump about once a week. This simple task will go a long way in keeping the entire circulation system in the best shape. So, to clean it you’re just going to remove the top of the pump to get to the basket.
While you have the top off, you want to check the condition of the O-ring or gasket in the lid. If it’s brittle or if it’s cracked you won’t be able to get a proper seal and the pump won’t operate properly. If your pump is leaking, it’s probably that the seal needs to be replaced. Some pump troubleshooting to help you a little bit, so if your pump is leaking, the cause could be a broken seal. And, the way that you’re going to want to fix that is to replace the O-ring or gasket on the strainer pot or replace the seal between the impeller and the motor Tulsa Pools.
If your problem is that the pump works but the water flow is low, you may have a clog preventing the water flow. So, you’re going to want to check and clean the skimmers and the strainer basket or clear any obstructions in the piping system. Another possible cause could be that your filter may be dirty. So, you’re going to want to clean that as necessary or your pump could be improperly sized for the system. Hopefully that is not the case cause hopefully we installed your pump and we make sure that all pumps are properly sized. But, if it is improperly sized, it may be necessary to install a larger pump.
If the problem is that your pump is noisy, there may be something stuck in the line so you’re going to want to check and clear that line or the bearings in the motor may be ready to fail and in that case you’re going to want to call a pool service company to come out and help you. If the motor is running but the pump does not work, Tulsa Pools your impeller may be jammed so you’re going to want to check and clear that. Those are all things that can help you maintain the pump.
Maintaining the filter, no matter what type of filtration system you have, if it’s a DE filter or cartridge or sand filter, keeping the filter well-maintained is really important. Making sure you always have clean and healthy water. There’s different maintenance procedures for each type of filter and the manufacturers will, again, provide directions on each of those. But, you will know when the filter needs to be clean when the pressure gauge on the filter rises about 10 psi above normal it’s a good indicator that you need to clean out your filter.
I’m going to go through troubleshooting each different kind of filter. Just kind of tell you different ways that you can maintain each filter. So, a sand filter is pretty easy to maintain. It requires the least amount of maintenance. Oh, I’m sorry. That is incorrect. A cartridge filter requires the least amount of maintenance. I’m looking at the wrong thing here.
So, Tulsa Pools a sand filter is a reliable filter and it can last for years but it does require some maintenance and some back washing. When too much dirt gets trapped in the sand bed of the filter, the filter is going to need to be cleaned by back washing. This is the process of reversing the flow of water so that it will move up through the sand and out the waste port. So, in order to back wash the filter, you’re going to want to shut down your pump and then you’re going to want to turn the controls on the filter to back wash. Most manufacturers recommend back washing for two or three minutes. Then you’re going to want to turn the controls to rinse which purges dirt from the plumbing and then turn the controls back to normal filtration. That is how you back wash your sand system.
Now, there will come a time when the constant action of water will round off the sharp edges of the sand making it not as effective at cleaning out the dirt so … and individual grains could erode enough to pass through the filter and into the pool. So, if you need to replace the sand bed you’re going to need to shut down the system, then you’re going to need to remove the top of the filter and if there is a mesh basket near the top of the filter, you’re going to need to clean that thoroughly using a hose. Then you’re going to want to scoop out the sand for disposal and when the filter casing is empty, you’re going to add a few inches of clean water to the bottom of the filter, and then you’re going to add the recommended amount of sand into the filter. Then you’ll reassemble the filter and back wash it to remove any debris in the sand.
A couple little troubleshooting tips on sand filters: if you have a reduced flow rate though the filter it could be that the filter media is clogged with dirt. So, again that’s when you’re going to want to back wash the filter. If you have a low flow rate through the entire system, there could be an obstruction in the system and you’re going to want to clean the skimmer basket and the strainer basket in the pump.
If the filter just isn’t cleaning the water, Tulsa Pools routine maintenance has been neglected and you’re going to want to back wash. Then you’re going to want to remove dirt from the top of the sand bed or replace the sand bed entirely like I just described. If the filter is needing to be back washed often, you’re recognizing that, man I’m having to back wash this thing all the time, the filter may be undersized so again it may be too small and you’re going to have to replace the filter. Or, careless gardening and fertilizing practices or use of the pool by pets, you’d have to just try changing the routine in those cases.
If you’re getting sand in the water this could be because the back wash valve is not reset properly. So, you’re going to want to check and correct the valve or it could be an undersized or eroded sand and filter so you’re going to want to have the pump checked by a professional in that case.
When it comes to DE filters they also have to be back washed on a regular basis but there’s some controversy on the effectiveness of back washing. Some people don’t think it’s enough cause these filters hold millions of diatomaceous fossilized plankton skeletons and these tiny particles catch and hold the dirt in the pool water. Back washing will sometimes knock off some of this filtering media which must then replaced. So, the question is how much. If you add too little DE and the grid that holds it will quickly clog with dirt forcing the pressure to build up again quickly, But, if you add too much DE, the material ends up jamming the system.
So, really, what you have to end up doing is opening the filter and cleaning them on a regular basis. In order to do that you’re going to need to turn off the pump and shut down the system and the circuit breaker. Then you’re going to want to remove the lid and be careful not to damage the O-ring cause again that can mess with your seal. Then you’re going to want to drain the tank of any standing water. Remove the nut that holds the retaining wheel in place and then remove the wheel. Then you’re going to want to remove those grids of DE as the manufacturer instructs. Then you’re going to have to hose down those grids and hose down the inside of the tank and the manifold and then you’ll reassemble the unit.
Some troubleshooting tips on DE filters. If you have reduced flow rate through the filter, your filter media is clogged with dirt. You’re going to need to back wash or turn down the unit and clean it thoroughly. If you have a low flow rate through the entire system, you have an obstruction and you’ll need to clean the skimmer basket and the strainer basket. If the filter is not cleaning the water, again, routine maintenance has been neglected. Again, if the filter needs to be back washed, it may be undersized for the pool or the swimming load. Tulsa Pools And then, if you have DE in the water this is often because of damaged filter grids or filter may have been reassembled incorrectly. You’re going to need to check your work and then replace parts as necessary.
Cartridge filters are very easy to maintain. They require the least amount of maintenance. They don’t require any back washing which is really nice. So, they are super simple. In order to maintain these filters, what you’re going to need to do is just shut down the pump, you’re going to remove the top and then remove the cartridge and hose it off, check for torn or missing filtering fabric and then just reassemble the filter. It’s really easy as that. So, that’s why these things are becoming so popular. They really cut down on maintenance time and just the complexity of maintaining the filter, they’re much easier to maintain.
Again, some troubleshooting. Reduced flow rate, you’re either going to want to look and see, again, if the filter media is clogged or if there’s an obstruction. If there is calcium deposits in the water, you’re going to want to clean the filter with TSP, then soak it in one part muriatic acid to five parts water and then rinse it. So, cartridge filters are really super simple and easy and that’s why they’re becoming so popular.
So, that is a basic overview of the equipment maintenance for your Tulsa pools. I hope you got some good information there and you definitely want to stay on top of maintaining your filters.
Cody: Yeah, awesome. So, that was great. That was really helpful of the equipment maintenance. We can apply that to your equipment and it would run more efficiently. So, good stuff. I think that’s about all the time we have for the day. Good job, Rachel.
Rachel: Thank you.
Cody: We’ll end it on that. Again, thank you. And, we’ll see you next time Divers. As always, I’m Cody.
Rachel: And I’m Rachel.
Cody: We’ll see you next time. See you later alligators Tulsa Pools.