auxadrets

Oh goodness. Sorry. I didn't mean to do that; just wanted to illustrate  a Frenchman about to throw up. Angela (83)

The laptop is now in intensive care. The guru made  noises when I said it was Nortonised. We are hoping to receive a favourable bulletin soon. Meanwhile we are fighting over this PC. Angela

We are running Windows XP home edition. Angela (83 and feeling it)

Thanks for your thoughts Cooperlola. We've never had any problems with Norton and can't think why a trip to Oz would have triggered something. We too will be off to our own guru soon if nobody has any ideas that might help - when our heads get back into the right time zone, that is. The change in temperature is a bit of a shock too. Angela (83)

We and our normally well-behaved Dell laptop have just got back from five weeks in Sydney. Since our return a few days ago the laptop is taking 10 minutes to load Windows and be user-ready. It will then work, but not as fast as usual. Skype is particularly painful. It is on a home network with a PC, which is behaving impecably. I've done full scans (Norton 360) and found no viruses or other nasty stuff. Has anybody any suggestions as to how to cure its apparent jetlag? Simple suggestions would be appreciated. Angela (83)

Suggest you 'Google' TNT SAT, there is quite a lot of info. Even a company selling the system in England and a forum with adverse comments.

If I remember the scale on the Easytest strip correctly then you have at least 10ppm free chlorine. Is that correct? Alternatively can you tell me the volume of your pool and the amount of Easy-Clear-C (I assume this is what you have used to shock the pool) you have added. If you prefer we can continue the communication via private e-mail. 

What do you mean by astronomic? More or less than 10ppm? Have you already drained some of the pool to reduce the stabiliser content? Do not put the cover on until the chemistry is sorted out. Do you have sunny days at the moment?

During normal operation (and particularly on a sunny day) the ultra violet part of the sun's spectrum breaks down the chlorine compounds which you are using to keep your pool sterile. The stabiliser (cyanuric acid) is use to slow down the rate of decomposition of the chlorine compounds and thus maintain a higher concentration for longer. With a cover in place the sun is obscured, therefore the decomposition is slowed down and the chlorine concentration in the pool decreases only slowly.  Your additions do not need to be as frequent. I would urge you to get an electronic meter for checking your pool chemistry since the other types of testing ( drops and litmus paper are not very reliable). Perhaps you have pool shop, with an electronic meter, near you that can confirm your results. Regards. JB

Yes it is possible, but I agree with John, why change? It is possible to automate the dosing of the pool with either sodium hypochlorite (l'eau de Javel) or calcium hypochlorite and the results are better than with salt. The water is more pleasant and there is no need to shower every time you finish swimming. With all these systems it is necessary to keep the pH in the range 7.2 to 7.5 for optimal sterilisation. Regards JB.

I use a Cool Pooltester. There are two versions pH,Cl, and alc. or pH,Cl and stabiliser (cyanuric acid). See www.palintest.com  JB

In July I exchanged a few thousand 'sMiles, collected over several years shopping at Géant and Casino, for two FREE return tickets on the TGV from St Raphael to Lyon.  So it's not just small things you can get for your 'sMiles! Angela (83)

Hi Londoneye, I'm serious, unlike the jokers above, though I did smile at the idea of WD40. Sorry to hear about your arthritis, no wonder you want your pool to warm up. I have arthritis in the hands, wrists and one foot (so far). The rheumatologist here prescribed chondroitine, which started to help after two weeks, but then I got very bad headaches because it is of bovine origin, and I can't take dairy or beef products. Then I tried a product based on rose hips, but it didn't seem to have any effect in spite of much positive praise in the media. I'm now going back to a combination capsule of glucosamine and chondroitine of marine origin. Watch this space! Maybe one of these would help you, and there's always Ibuprofen for any pain. I really urge you to go back to your doctor. Recently I was diagnosed (by a radiologist) as having fairly serious osteoporosis, but when I went to the rheumatologist he calmed me down and sorted me out and all I need is one tablet a day. So your diagnosis might not be as dire as you fear. Good luck. Mrs Auxadrets  (alias Angela in 83)

If I remember correctly Easy Pool 2 comes as a 2-box pack. Each box contains 8 sachets and a container of buffer solution, For a 50 m3 pool the dose is 2 sachets. In our pool (50 m3, 30 deg C, pump running for 16 hours/day) each dose lasted approx. 10-11 days. So the total pack would have lasted for about 3 months under the above conditions. I only used one box because around that time I also ran into pH problems. The lack of proper analysis prompted me to buy a Cool Pooltester with which I found that the cyanuric acid content was 75 ppm. So I then changed to the Poolguy regime after draining water to dilute the cyanuric acid.  Londoneye – your usage seems to be about the same as mine. Please check your pH regularly, every couple of days, during the start-up period. Check your stabiliser content every month. If I assume a 50 m3 pool then I would estimate your stabiliser level might exceed 50 ppm after 3 months, depending on the amount of dilution due to back-washing.  The water flowing over our skimmer flap is also about 1 cm deep. JB

Interesting answer, would you please clarify the ref. of your machine. Do some HD machines have the same function? JB 

So, this thread is producing some interesting comments! I think the Waterair chemicals are fine, provided that you control the levels as recommended. As I said before, the copper problem is an accumulated dose problem, and there is plenty of information about it on the Internet (copper toxicity). The cyanuric acid effect on the liner is also long-term, depending  on concentration, temperature and exposure time. Waterair recommends removing one third of the pool water on an annual basis, but how do you legally dispose of this water? You still won’t know the actual concentrations of chemicals. When I first operated our pool (50 m3) the cyanuric acid concentration rose from zero to 75 ppm in 4 months, using Easypool 1 and 2  without backwash. This is what prompted me to change to the Poolguy regime of eau de Javel and sulphuric acid, while keeping the stabiliser concentration at 25 ppm. This season I am using calcium hypochlorite and sulphuric acid, with the cyanuric acid at 25 ppm. I am experimenting with this combination because I think there is less of a problem with water disposal. So, to answer the original londoneye question, it is possible to change from Waterair chemicals, but be careful, as supermarket/brico hypochlorite brands also contain stabiliser, and there are various other chemical regimes which, as Poolguy indicates, are not compatible with the Waterair system.   Poolguy – calcium hypochlorite is stabilised by cyanuric acid, so it can be used in an outdoor pool.

Please take care! Easy Pool (if still available), Easy Pool 2 and Easy Quattro contain stabiliser. The buffer solution of Easy Pool 2 seems to contain copper (it’s a nice cupric blue), while Easy Quattro seems to contain copper chloride particles. Copper is toxic to algae, but also to plants and humans, depending on the accumulated dose. If you have a Waterair liner then their recommendation is to limit the stabiliser content to 25 ppm. Excess levels of stabiliser will damage the liner. The only way to reduce stabiliser content is by dilution, which entails removing water from the pool. Once you have stabiliser in the pool at 25 ppm you could follow Poolguy’s recommendation and use eau de Javel which is a solution of sodium hypochlorite in sodium hydroxide (no stabiliser). This has the advantage of being cheap and fairly easy to automate, depending on your pool configuration. The disadvantage is that it has a fairly high pH (about 13) so you will use more pH minus or acid. Also, because of the sodium content, it is not so plant friendly in case you recover pool water. The alternative is to use calcium hypochlorite (e.g. Waterair Easy Clear C). This is in granules, which need to be dissolved in warm water before being added to the pool, so is not an automated process. However, it is also possible to buy calcium hypochlorite in compressed stick form, which you put in the skimmer and allow to dissolve by erosion. Each stick, about 300 g, seems to last about 6 days at a water temperature of 28˚C. The pH of calcium hypochlorite is about 9 so you will use less acid than with eau de Javel, and calcium is more plant friendly. You will also need calcium hypochlorite granules for adjustments I would suggest that you buy a Cool Pooltester which, with the appropriate tablets, will allow you to measure pH, chlorine and stabiliser with accuracy and repeatability. It might seem an expensive investment, but you would be able to control most of the pool chemistry and probably use less chemicals. Using calcium hypochlorite, I am not sure about an upper calcium limit, since I think that at high concentrations it might start to precipitate out and scale up parts of the pool. I am still investigating a possible limit. Maybe Poolguy can offer some advice?  JB

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! She's fixed it and feels ridiculously pleased with herself. Thanks for your suggestions. The System restore suggestion (mine) didn't work. It was a Norton-related problem. Laptop no longer considered PC to be 'trusted'. I bravely tweaked my firewall settings and everything is now sharing and printing in harmony again. Happy Angela (83) PS My son (36) was just trying to help his old Mum and is back in Holland feeling very guilty. I'd better drop him a note.

Until last week we had a perfectly functioning home network. PC plus printer for him, laptop for me, all completed with a router modem and WiFi. From the laptop I could print and access My Network Places. I can still get on the Internet, but whatever I try (Wizards and things as suggested in the archives) I can't communicate with Him Downstairs' PC and My Network Places is empty. Now, my son has been here recently and downloaded some Norton add-ons onto the laptop, but not the PC. Is it possible that Norton is stopping us sharing? My next step is to try System Restore, but would that be safe in the hands of someone who is unsure of what they are doing? This is keeping me awake, believe it or not! Angela (the one in 83)

  We also have a Palin Cool Pool Tester which works very well. The results seem reproducible if the "test-tubes" are keep clean. Does anyone know where it is possible to buy the reagent tablets, particularly for cyanuric acid, here in France perferably via the Internet ? Thanks also to Poolguy for all his posts, I wish I had found them before we decided on a pool, the result might have been more user friendly. John and Angela. (Var)

Hello Alma, I've had a Tele2 mobile for more than a year and have been 100% satisfied. I received a brand new Nokia plus 30 minutes a month for 14 euros. I find that more than adequate. I had to wait several weeks before it arrived,  but that was the only down side. My husband originally had a one hour deal with SFR, but when that 24 months contract ran out he converted it to SFR Accès which gives you 10 minutes a month for 7 euros. Plenty of time to phone me from Castorama and say he'll be late for lunch! Calls to and from 'abroad' plus texting are obviously charged extra, so that's used sparingly.. Angela (the one in the Var)

Hi Rob, As Frederick says, you need a timetable, so have a look at http://www.ter-sncf.com/paca/V2/index.asp which gives you timetables and routes along the Cote d'Azur. Hope it helps. We've been to Nice by train from La Napoule and by bus from Nice airport. We've never gone all the way by car as the traffic and parking are so horrific especially with the tramway work going on. And on and on....... Angela (83)

Hi Angela! I'm the only grey-haired woman in the village. And I'm English! I often get compliments on my hair colour from French friends, so I wonder if I might be starting a new fashion. The Other Angela (83)

Andy is close, but not quite there. It seems that in the past you gave a third party power of attorney over your account. That was only valid for three years and they want to know if you wish to prolong it. Hope that helps. Angela (the 83 one)

We were all sat down last night at 9 o'clock CET, ready for the first episode of Bleak House, when we were quite surprised to see last week's episode of Spooks appear on our screen! Was this a general phenomenon or just a local aberration? Even the TVGuide was expecting it, so where did it go? We are going to sit and wait optimistically for episode 2 at 9.30 tonight. Wish us luck. Angela (the 83 one)