Dust in your pump room seems like a small inconvenience when you factor in all the other issues you can run into from chemical storage to gas boilers, but dust …
Dirty Power in the Pump Room Part 1
Dirty power, also known as “power quality issues,” can damage equipment. Dirty power refers to power that deviates from the ideal waveform, and can include issues such as voltage sags, …
Water Auto Fill Placement
Pool Water Auto Fill Should Never be Place Before a Salt Cell A commercial swimming pool will include separate pieces of equipment all combined into one system in the mechanical …
The Cost of Chlorine
“A year after many public pools across the country shuttered due to the pandemic, some of them are being forced to close again thanks to the ongoing shortage of chlorine. …
How Does Proportional Feed Work for Maintaining pH?
Most chemistry controllers offer a function typically called “proportional feed” or “time modulation”. This function is important to carefully managing water chemistry, particularly when it comes to muriatic acid, which …
O-rings and Gaskets
O-rings and rubber gaskets are commonly used items in pump rooms to seal everything from unions, shutoff valves, UV quartz sleeves, flanges etc. I have heard arguments for using plumbers …
Pool Chemical Storage
I cannot tell you how many commercial pump rooms I have been in where the chemicals are stored right there in the mechanical room; sometimes with different types of chemicals …
Chemistry Controllers Should be Online and Accessible to Operators
We’ve reached the point in the technical evolution of pool equipment that chemistry controllers should be (I would say must be) connected to the network so that all pool operators …
What You Learn at CPO®
I have been teaching CPO® classes for close to 2 decades now and one of the constants I have heard is the 2-day course is just too short! When I …
The End of Pool Season in the Mech Room
As summer slowly comes to an end, outdoor seasonal pools will be closing down for the year. While it’s common practice to cover pools and clear the decks, what does …
Why Flow Meters are Important
As a field tech I have found that at several facilities I have recently visited the pump room maintenance staff have seemed to ignore the fact that they have no …
Bubbles in Return Flow
It looks kind of cool, especially if there is an underwater light shining at the stream of bubbles that are coming from your return lines into the pool. Actually, it …
A Note on Hand Readings
When taking hand readings from the pool side, the CPO® manual states that you should take the sample 18 inches below the surface of the water. Why? This brief article …
The Dangers of Trichlor and Dichlor in Erosion Feeders
Using Dichlor or Trichlor tabs may seem like a good way to take out two birds with one stone. Not only does it increase the chlorine, but it also increases …
A Case for Salt
The commercial aquatic industry has been using traditional chlorine for so long now that it has become THE standard method to sanitize a commercial pool; very little thought has gone …
Air Quality in the Pump Room
If your pool equipment is installed in a room with no HVAC, this will eventually lead to failure of equipment. Many pool pump rooms across the US fail to adequately …
Know Your Equipment
It’s important to keep a log of equipment in your pump room, what’s been changed, replaced, repaired and more. Over time, equipment will experience normal wear and tear. Data plates …
The Importance of Hydrostatic Relief Valves
Do you need to drain your pool? Hydrostatic relief valves help prevent pool pop.
Water Chemistry Levels
When I teach a CPO class, one question I always ask is “Can anyone tell me what the most important chemical reading in your water?” What do you think it …
Importance of Bypass Lines in a Pump Room
When we are discussing installing our equipment with a client, we always insist that the equipment is installed on a bypass line. Most of our clients “get” it but some …
Valve Sequencing Revisited
Knowing which valves you open and close in the pump room while performing maintenance is important.
Pump Room Air Quality
How is your pump room air quality? Every commercial Aquatics facility is bound to have harmful chemicals, both stored and in use, to manage the water chemistry of their swimming …
Asking the question “Have You Read Your Manual?”
Asking the question “Have you read your manual?” Perhaps one of the most important and yet least asked questions that a tech support person can ask, at least in my …
Pump Room Maintenance: What’s in Your Tool Bag?
What’s in your tool bag? Everyone has a standard set of tools they always use when working in the pump room. My tool bag has a TDS meter, test kit, …
Aquatic Facility Plans and Checklists
Everyone needs a plan. Do you have one? Here are a few important things you can use to be sure you remain on top of your Aquatic Facility. Do you …
Labor Day Approaches!
You see it? Just there…. Just flip the page on the calendar… ah ha! now you see it, there it is, LABOR DAY!!! There are only two weeks left to …
Avoiding Disease in a Cootie Filled World (RWI)
During our rising summer heats, what better place to be than the pool. As operators, we immediately feel the increase in attendance; our equipment is feeding more, chemicals are being …
Tipping the “Scales” of Water Balance
As an operator, there’s always a sigh of relief when all your equipment is working as it should and all chemistry readings are within range – the water is that …
Know When To Replace Your Chemistry Controller Sensors
When should you replace your chemistry controller probes/sensors? Ask this question to 10 aquatics professionals and you may well get 10 different answers. This may be due to the brand, …
Maintain Your Pool Cover
Automatic pool covers are designed typically to be nearly maintenance free. There are several components of your pool cover that should be looked at and inspected a couple of times …
Outdoor Pool Season is Coming! Here Is What To Do
Outdoor Pool Season is nearly upon us! It’s April! For many operators of seasonal pools around the country, this means one thing: the rush to meet the Memorial Day opening …
Does Your Swimming Pool Have a Sacrificial Zinc Anode?
In simple terms, a swimming pool acts like a big battery. A typical battery consists of an anode a cathode and an electrolyte which allows current to flow between the …
What is in Your Surge Pit?
When is the last time you inspected your surge pit? At a recent startup an issue was found with water flow and it was traced back to a problem with …
Have You Done Your Electrical Inspection Lately?
When last did you have a licensed electrician on site to evaluate and test all facets of your electrical system? By electrical inspection, I refer to all electrical connections, not …
Rubber Tubing In Your Pump Room
If you run a commercial pool you see these 3/8″ tubes running across your mechanical room, they seem kind of small and insignificant, but if you are not vigilant they …
The Importance of Valve Sequencing
After hearing about two separate pump room incidents recently involving plumbing failures due to improper valve sequencing (costing the facilities thousands of dollars), I thought it might be appropriate to suggest …
What To Do With Cloudy Swimming Pool Water?
Cloudy, hazy, dull – and no, we aren’t talking about Seattle’s weather. We’re talking about cloudy pools. It can happen without warning, one day your pool is perfect, properly balanced …
Electrolytic Cell Maintenance Calcification Tips
It is very important when commissioning a new cell or a replacement cell for your chlorine generator to take voltage and amperage readings and log them for future reference. Also, …
Pro Pool Maintenance Tip: Using Clamp On Meters on Generator Cells
It is important to understand how and when to clean your chlorine generator cell and having the correct tools to do the job helps. The number 1 tool I use is …
Ed’s Basic Winterizing Tips
When preparing an outdoor pool for winter it is important to start with a clean and balanced pool. To prevent broken pipes and or equipment due to expansion from freezing. …