Pool Elements Pool Care Guide
Pool Elements Swimming Pool Chemical Maintenance Chart
Pool Elements Swimming Pool Chemical Trouble Shooting Chart
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Winter Algaecide
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Tile and Liner Cleaner
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for TA Plus
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Stabilised Small Chlorine Tablets
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Stabilised Chlorine Granules
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Stabilised 200g Chlorine Tablets
Pool Elements Chemcial Dosing Guide for Shock’n'Shine
Pool Elements Chemcial Dosing Guide for Regular Clarifier
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Regular Algaecide
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for pH Reducer
Pool Elements Chemcial Dosing Guide for Multifunctional 200g Tablets
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Floc Tablets
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Filter Cleaner
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Concentrated Algaecide
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Calcium Hardness Plus
A guide to installing a Topaz electric swimming pool reel system.
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Multifunctional Stabilised Chlorine Granules
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Concentrated Clairfier
Instruction manual for fitting a netted towing kit to a swimming pool bubble cover.
A manual for the control system of an electric swimming pool reel system for your swimming pool bubble or foam cover. (250nm)
Instruction guide to installing an Electrolyte swimming pool reel system
A guide to installing a Prism Plus 24v Electric swimming pool reel system.
Battery Maintenance
To make your battery last longer it is advisable to remove your battery at the end of the season and fully charge it using the smart charge provided. Before refitting in the spring. You can tell your battery condition by the LED light indicator on the charger.
Trouble Shooting
Your roller runs in 12V DC current and is perfectly safe for you to work on.
If your roller is sluggish or had stopped working
a) Remove the battery and check the amp inline fuse.
b) charge the battery using the smart charger provided. This will tell you the condition of the battery. Do not run the cover motor with the charger attached to the battery as this will damage the charger often beyond further use.
c) clean your solar panel with a glass cleaner.
d) check the connections to the battery, use a little vaseline on the bayonet clips to aid the conductivity.
e) If the battery is in good condition and is fully charged it may be the switch. Remove the wires from the switch (note the positions) and try them directly onto the motor. Reverse the wire to change polarity (direction). If you get a spark don’t worry, it is only 12vDC and will not hurt you. The switch is often damaged as people leave the key permanently in the switch. The water can then run down the key groove and into the switch and will eventually rust the contacts inside the switch.
f) My solar panel is clean but my battery keeps going flat. You either need a new battery or solar panel. Most people change both depending on the age of the roller (5 years). If not change the battery first as this is the most likely fault and it doesn’t hurt to have a fully charged standby just in case.
Spare parts are available from your supplier.
A guide to installing a Prism Electric swimming pool reel system.
Instruction guide for installing a Kryptonite electric swimming pool reel system
All Electrical connections must be undertaken by a suitably qualified electrician who should be Part P qualified to relevant parts of IEE regulations (Current edition).
The ELECTROLYTE Reel system is powered entirely by a 12V battery located within the support stanchion. The battery is recharged via a 12V Transfer Power Pack.
The Transfer Power Pack is charged via a microprocessor controlled automatic battery charger which should be located remote to the cover mechanism and would ideally be within the plant room and is connected to a 230v ac supply via a domestic 13 amp 3 pin plug.
The stanchion battery will provide sufficient power to enable several operations of the cover roller mechanism. When the roller starts to slow a little in rotation it is an indication that it is time to recharge the stanchion battery using the Transfer Power Pack. Simply connect the Power Transfer Pack from the battery charger relocate it in the vicinity of the stanchion, connect the out-put lead of the Transfer Power Pack to the inbuilt connector on the support stanchion. The Transfer Power Pack will charge the battery by transferring its charge to the battery over a period of approximately 6 hours.
If the roller is not in use for extended periods for example during the winter it is advisable to remove the stanchion battery leaving it on charge over the period using a suitable 12v battery charger. It is also recommended that the Transfer Power Pack is left connected to its charger over the winter period.
A useful guide to give you information on commercial swimming pool covers and rollers
A Guide to Winter Debris Covers
Instructions to attaching a roller to a swimming pool cover (3 meter straps)
Instructions to attaching a roller to a swimming pool cover (1 meter straps)
By Rick Chaplin Pool and Spa News 1.15.2010
Proper water balance will help maximize the life of vinyl swimming pool liners.
Vinyl pool liners are protected by special additives and coatings that can withstand extremes of sun, temperature and constant exposure to chemically treated water. However, even the highest quality vinyl liner is subject to staining, wrinkling, shrinking or discoloration if the pool water is not balanced and treated correctly.
This type of damage to the liner is often associated with common missteps in maintenance. Here, we look at the signs and solutions to four different problem areas in maintaining vinyl liners.
Staining
The addition of a single chemical can damage a pool liner if the substance is not circulated sufficiently. Chemicals such as chlorine can settle in the deep end of the pool and bleach the liner if they are not allowed to circulate for several hours before a pool is closed for the season.
Spot bleaching of vinyl liners can also occur if undissolved particles of calcium hypochlorite or other slow-dissolving sanitizers are allowed to settle on the bottom of the pool. This can be prevented by pre-dissolving sanitizers in a bucket of pool water and adding the solution by pouring it through a sieve.
Using large, single doses of hydrochloric (muriatic) acid to adjust pH or total alkalinity levels can also damage liners. The acid then can chemically attack the liner’s printed pattern, since it is not sufficiently blended with pool water.
When a pool is closed for the season, professionals should install a winter cover that tightly seals around the perimeter. This will prevent the accumulation of leaves and insects during the winter months. This organic debris left on vinyl surfaces can cause staining and bleaching, and fungi that produces a pink stain on the vinyl.
Bleaching
Printed vinyl liners with base colors such as white, turquoise, light blue, grey and dark royal blue have excellent resistance to chlorine bleaching. Medium blue vinyl liners are, however, more susceptible to bleaching or loss of color if exposed to high concentrations of trichloroisocyanurate stabilized chlorine. This can happen in a period as short as 6 to 24 hours.
The immediate effects of other types of chlorine such as dichloroisocyanurate, calcium hypochlorite and sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) are not as rapid or severe, as long as they are not mixed with other chemicals during or shortly after being added to the pool. Solutions of these types of chlorines can be applied directly to the liner for several hours to bleach out stains without adversely affecting the vinyl. If the concentrations of these types of chlorine are allowed to remain higher than the recommended levels of 5 ppm for superchlorination or 10 ppm for shocking for long periods of time, gradual bleaching of most blue liners will occur.
Be aware that certain combinations of pool chemicals at high concentrations can cause bleaching of vinyl liners.
Pool tar
Sticky substances, often referred to as “pool tar” or “pool goo,” can adhere and coat part of vinyl pool liners. This is sometimes caused by the interaction of quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) used in some algaecides and decaying organic material such as leaves, grass and insects.
Even chlorine can interact with quats to form a sticky material if both the chlorine and algaecide exceed the recommended levels. Quats can easily come into contact with high chlorine levels in automatic chlorinators, resulting in a gummy material being gradually fed into the pool, where it eventually precipitates on the liner.
Gummy material from the chlorinator can form when organic materials from cosmetics or tanning lotions are oxidized by high chlorine concentrations, resulting in a beige waxy substance.
Although it is not harmful to swimmers, sometimes a light coating of vinyl plasticizer material, which turns dark when contaminated with dirt, may rise to the surface of newly installed liners during the first idle period of winterization. This phenomenon is attributed to a lack of circulation, as it has never been observed in a pool that has been circulated over the winter. The material will almost always reabsorb in two to three weeks if the water is allowed to warm up (to over 21° C / 70°F) and circulate before being shocked with chlorine (at 6.0 ppm to 8.0 ppm) every other day.
Wrinkling and stretching
Vinyl increases dimensionally as it absorbs water, and wrinkles can develop even in properly-sized liners. The cause of this excessive water absorption is believed to be high levels of chlorine or bromine. If the sanitizer level is allowed to remain high, as much as five times the normal amount of water can be absorbed, which makes controlling water chemistry essential to maintaining the integrity of the liner.
Immersion testing of liner samples on chlorinated and brominated water in the 20 ppm to 50 ppm range shows that weight gains continue to climb indefinitely without leveling off, causing the size of the liner to increase by 1- to 3 percent.
To avoid stretching and wrinkling in vinyl liners, chlorine levels should not be allowed to remain higher than 3 ppm for an extended period, while bromine levels should not be allowed to exceed a maximum of 4 ppm.
Although peak chlorine levels of 5 ppm to 10 ppm are required for superchlorination, they should be allowed to return to the 2-3 ppm range by natural dissipation.
Controlling pH levels is also important in preventing wrinkling because pH affects sanitizer activity. A low pH of less than 7.0, for example, can cause a vinyl liner to discolor, wrinkle, stretch, lose tensile strength and increase in weight. A high pH level above 7.6 can lead to scaling or staining of the liner.
The information in this article is based on the strength of high quality, 100 percent virgin vinyl sheeting. Installers should always be aware of the quality of the vinyl being used in the pool liners they purchase, install and service.
Christina Connor, Pool and Spa Industry V4I4
Autumn is the traditional launch of the pool refurbishment season…
With educated estimates putting the UK Pool refurbishment spend at £500 million annually, repair and renovation offers a vital lifeline to many pool companies over some anticipated gloomy witner months ahead.
From filter changes to complete tank refits, an ageing population of pools offers a rich vein of contracts.
A whole generation of residential swimming pools, built in the ‘60s and ‘70s are now reaching the end of thier lifespan.
On the commercial front, a demand exists for modern, mixed-use leisure centres offering a pleasant environment for swimming and sprt as well as being a social hum, giving an ocean of pools that are ripe for renovation.
‘The refurbishment market is certainly busy, with a number of authorities looking at thier existing pools and making decisions as to whether to replace or refurbish.’ says Rod Haynes of Biwater Leisure.
‘Whilst refurbishments can be complicated, it is generally cheaper and quicker to refurbish than demolish and rebuild anew. Also, some buildings are historically important and listed and cannot be substantially changed or demolished.
Pool projects vary enormously in scope according to the budget available and the future reqirements of the facility. ‘A simple refurbishment might comprise of emptying the filters, shot blasting and retreating the filter lining and loading fresh media.
‘The remaining plant can be retained untouched. At the other end of the scale the whole building might be refurbished and upgraded including items such as changing rooms, receptions and the like.
‘The pool water treatment equipment may be extended and upgraded to include new inlets, outlets and additional equipment such as UV units.
Areas that are often looked at for improvement are:
Over the next few years it is anticipated that a growing emphasis will be placed on recycling and such like, especially with the ongoing rise in fule costs and the above inflation increases in water costs being requestd by water companies in the next five years. There is still a lack of awareness as to what is possible and how much can be saved and so there is little demand at present. Also, initial capital costs are important and the enhancements necessary to reduce future operating costs are often expensive, resulting in them being excluded from the initial budgets.
When it comes to refurbishment, planning and preparation is everything and it always pays to look before you leap. ‘When considering rfurbishment, clients should interview prospective contractors at an early stage to gauge potential hurdles and determine what is actually possible.’ advices Derek Barton of Barr and Wray. ‘Good contractors will be forthcoming with design information and details on the execution of pojects upfront leaving nothing to change. Of course, health and safety plays an important role as design responsibility lies with the contractor.
Inspections of outdoor pools should include the surrounding paving patios and the condition of copings. For indoor pools a quick inspection of plant room, dehumidifiers and the building itself is an important aspect. Cracks in the walls and pools, efficient ventilation and effective climate control are all key indicators.
Residential liner on average every seven to ten years. Key liner replacement indicatiors are:
Specialist subcontractors are worth thier weight in gold when it comes to the niche markets such as reinforced and fabricated pools. If in doubt seek out specialist advice.
Swimming pools and mosaic tiles go very much hand in glove but, occasionally, projects offer more scope than usual for a more imaginative approach to design.
Refurbishment gives great job satisfaction to the UK pool industry, it can be very rewarding to see a pool regain its original beauty or the water quality imporve beyond recognition. Autumn is the traditional window for refurbishment projects.
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Bromine Tablets
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Granular Floc
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for pH Increaser
Pool Elements Chemical Dosing Guide for Kleenpool Algicide
Dosing chart for Above Ground Swimming Pools.
A useful guide to fitting holding down bolts for a winter debris cover
A guide to buying a manual electric reel system for your swimming pool bubble or foam cover