55
Not the answer you are looking for, but:
Loud Alarms are What You Really NEED
Assuming that the premise is a sound one, that people need to be warned of unexpected/unauthorized entrance to the pool area, a loud alarm is the right answer, not an electronic notification. A few examples:
It is all too easy to ignore texts/notifications/etc. "If my boss/...
answered Nov 28 '18 at 19:20
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
53.6k8 gold badges78 silver badges165 bronze badges
46
Ask your insurer and defense lawyer
Lawyering on whether this rule is really a mandate is probably a waste of time. It's a "best practice" and one easily implemented. Which will create civil and criminal liability for you if you don't implement it.
"I'm willing to lump the risk", does your insurance company also agree to lump the risk? I bet they don'...
answered Nov 28 '18 at 23:45
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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35
PV panels are ~15% efficient. Hot water panels are much more, and probably much cheaper.
Way more efficient to just heat the water, rather than convert to electric and then to heat. Maybe with the exception of a heat pump... $$$
20
Based on your link, I'm assuming you live in Florida. The relevant statutes are 515.29 Residential swimming pool barrier requirements and 515.27 Residential swimming pool safety feature options; penalties.
515.27 list a few options to secure a pool: "In order to pass final inspection and receive a certificate of completion, a residential swimming pool ...
17
Mosquito Dunks are a doughnut shaped product for exactly your problem. They contain a bacterium toxic to mosquito larva but not toxic to humans, pets or birds. They will only kill larva.
Any adult mosquito travelling by will still be available to bite you. You might also check out designs for bat or bird houses to encourage some natural predation.
16
You are looking at a union, with an elbow to the left and a valve to the right.
Put one wrench on the biggest "nut". Put the other wrench on the smaller "nut" immediately to the right of it - you'll notice both of them are more worn than the other ones.
Hold the smaller one still while unscrewing the larger one.
Here's a cutaway view, if this image link ...
15
Copper metal.
Copper discourages mosquito larvae. I used to think that the copper was directly toxic to the larvae but experiments showed this was not so - adding copper (as metal; a piece of pipe) to a fish tank where larvae were already living did not kill them.
Copper in standing water however reduces algae growth and algae is what the mosquito larvae ...
14
...natural gas...
...I'm not sure what the different parts are here...
Those two statements together equal "call a gasfitter".
Removing the appliance will leave the gas line unsupported, and that will lead to failure at the supported end off to the right.
The cap you want to install must be properly sealed or it will leak. Maybe now, maybe later. If ...
13
This has already been said in one answer - but I want to say it again so that it is very clear. Generating electricity from solar only to then turn around and run electric heaters for the pool is not an efficient way to go at all. Overall such system will likely be less than 10% efficient in terms of solar energy conversion. Go with a solar water heater ...
12
How about you did a 4'x6'x2' hole and then get a 12'x16' waterproof tarp and lay it in the hole. Make sure the neighbors know you're not burying someone. See picture of waterproof tarp below.
11
It is a salt water system, and the pumps & chlorinator obviously cannot be operated with the water drained to this level.
Just in case you're not aware, the salt water isn't what keeps your pool clean. The chlorinator converts the salt to chlorine. You've got two problems there, in that the green stuff is algae (which is is a pain to rid yourself of ...
11
First point : Chemical warfare is the tool of last resort for pool maintenance.
Sometimes you end up in a crisis and you need to deal with it, but if you look after the pool correctly it should be absolutely unnecessary. Chemicals are a double-edged sword. They can get you out of a mess, but they come with headaches of their own. If you can avoid letting ...
10
How much energy do you need?
In four months you spend $7500, so assuming you heat using natural gas, that would indicate a consumption of about 19,000 cubic meters. At 10.8 kWh per cubic meter, we're talking 200,000 kWh; in four months that's an average power requirement of 70 kW.
Can the Sun help?
Reasonable solar output in New York is around 5 kWh/m2 ...
9
From my personal and professional experience with Saltwater Pools with "Salt Chlorine Generators" on them has always been positive. I will bullet point some information to help you ensure it's a positive experience:
Correct Installation:
The Salt Chlorinator Systems have 2 main parts.
A "Salt Chlorine Generator Cell" that is spliced into the return side ...
9
If you are really decommissioning it, a truckload of stone (or multiple truckloads of stone) will do nicely and comparatively inexpensively. Ain't nobody going to fall into it or drown in it.
If you have doubts about ever using it again (or some future homeowner doing so) then leaving water and freeze damage prevention (if a freezing climate) pillows in it ...
9
Probably the easiest method to deal with a swimming pool that is taken out of service and not deconstructed is to fill it up with dirt after opening large holes in the bottom for drainage. Leaving a large pool shell in the ground with nothing inside of it is not recommended as it could pop up in case of very wet ground or in freezing conditions.
A cover ...
8
You have a pretty big pool by residential standards but I still am surprised it is costing you that much... almost $2k per month!
Assuming a price of $.90 / therm (average in the NY area, according to some random site I found) and the numbers on this US Energy Star page, that's more than double what you should be spending for a 1800sf pool in New York.
...
8
The usual way is to use a T with the middle outlet being vertical:
With a proper fitting, you screw this hollow adapter in. Ecnerwal says in a comment it is called a "thermowell".
Fill this with mineral oil and dip your temperature probe in.
The oil transmits temperature, but the probe is not submerged in water, nor under pressure, so it can be ...
7
I would expect more water to flow unless you have extremely low water pressure. You have a 3/4" line and all the water pressure of either a municipal water system or a water pump. Splitting that into two lines will not likely double the flow rate as there is a pressure drop, but it should increase the total flow rate considerably. I would expect it to almost ...
7
O-Rings are (or should be) cheap - if they are not, try to establish exactly what size they are and shop around; you should be able to find them for a pretty low cost, and replacing them is the right approach, even for "one more year."
While you can try to get a little more life out of them by greasing them up with a pretty stiff silicone grease (typically ...
7
Might want to check with your local equipment rental companies as they may have, or know where to direct you to get a transportable Cherry Picker. These machines are not as easily transported as a vertical scissor lift, but can be stationed on the side of the pool, or even in the pool and could reach the area that needs to be repaired. Most cherry picker's ...
6
The contractor should have busted up the top of the pool sides and cracked the concrete basically everywhere else. I have filled a few pools. We jackhammer the crap out of everything. There are holes punched every foot or two everywhere. You then totally chop off the first couple feet on the sides - especially on the downslope side to allow drainage.
...
6
May not suit your needs, but if you could find a trampoline just smaller than the pool, it can be fitted and secured to the concrete.
That way bouncers (trampoliners?) could get on without having to go up a ladder.
Downside the pool below will still catch rainwater, so a sump pump could be required. Or a compromise with the other suggestions. Also ...
5
1) American house-current power is commonly described as anything from 110VAC to 120VAC.(Similarly, the higher voltage obtained by using both phases is called everything from 220VAC to 240VAC.) I believe this is mostly a historical artifact, and appliances labelled for anything in the respective range should work with any voltage within that range.
2) ...
5
A drop of 24 inches in the water level is a definite indication that your plumbing or the pool shell is compromised.
First step is to notice if the water level continues to drop while the pump is off. If it does continue to drop the leak is most likely in the pool shell or the suction side of the pump. If it is on the suction line you should see evidence ...
4
Run the pump. If you have a pool cover, put it on.
The pool itself stores a lot of heat.
Moving water is much harder to freeze than water standing still.
4
Depends on where the natural water table is and how much pressure it can put on the pool (which is a function of the porosity of the earth immediately surrounding the pool). If you know the bottom is above the water table you can leave it empty until the ground freezes. Otherwise you're counting on the water table level and surrounding soil to not exceed ...
4
There are several independent variables to manage in a swimming pool or hot tub:
pH balance
halogen balance
calcium hardness
total dissolved solids
Nearly everyone is aware of pH balance, but what most people don't seem to understand is that pH can swing wildly unless total alkalinity is increased sufficiently to provide an "inertial buffer" with total ...
4
Normally a wooden springboard is a laminate of some kind to provide the necessary springyness. It would probably be far easier to buy a board than to make one. If you do want to make one I suggest a design like this (from Popular Mechanics, 1923):
In this design the top plank has a 3-foot overhang, and the middle plank has a 4-foot overhang.
Note that you ...
4
You should dig down on the high side, instead of building up the low side. Or build up the low side in a more sound manner, though that will likely cost more than $100.
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