Simon

Sounds to me like the pump is "siezed" as the humming means that the electricity is getting to the pump. This can often happen after a period of inactivity such as winterisation.  If you can get to the pump shaft or the parts that rotate, use either a spanner or screwdriver to try to rotate the pump manually as this should "break" the siezure.  If it is too difficult to rotate by hand or is extremely stiff after manually rotatating then you may have a bearing failure, but this is more likely to happen during operation than as a result of winterisation. Rgds

Jerry I would only put Javel in. The problem with any multifonction tablet is that it does raise CYA which, whilst stabilising Chlorine loss, does mean the higher the CYA the more Chlorine you need. I always keep 2-3 20 litre bidons of Javel just in case. This year I turned up and the pool was green. I put 20 litres in and within 2 hours the pool was blue, but cloudy. Javel really is the way to Choc. Search this forum and you will find tables showing for a given level of CYA how much is required for a Choc - some of the ppm numbers are really very high. Rgds

Got to the Pool Friday for a mid-summer check and it was green in spite of the pool-man supposing to have checked it. So in goes loads of Javel and, pretty quickly it's back to blue, but a cloudy, turbid blue. After 24hrs (pump on all night) I had to leave, but it was still blue but cloudy (I did 2 backwash cycles during this period). Normally the pool is sparkling - so what's the problem? Is it just the dead Algae which need to break down and it's just a matter of time, or is there something else. pH was around 7.4/7.5 when measured after the Javel was added. Thanks

Many thanks Théière. I get a Total Chlorine reading on the Scuba+ (around 1.5ppm), and, if I add Chlorine (Javel directly) this will go up (eg I had 4ppm after adding Javel last week) but have not been able to get a Free Chlorine reading at all (it reads "Lo"). You mention the probes need replacing - how often would I need to do this? Thanks

Two questions really: 1) What is the Javel concentration to get a 650MVa reading on the Chlorine sensor I have (it's a Procopi but not sure if this is relevant). The reason is the doser is now acting very temperamentally and I need to be sure it's calibrated correctly). Also, as an aside, do the sensors need maintenance or replacement. Ours is currently 4 years old. 2) Can CYA disappear/breakdown. Last year I had too high CYA, but this year there is no CYA measured on the Scuba+ tester. There has been rain etc and backwashing but not enough to replace all the pool water. Many thanks in advance....

Theiere's comments, I believe, are all correct - I certainly meant Sodium Bicarbonate for the TA!  As for CYA "lock" Theiere is correct - you do have to put more Chlorine in the pool - as we found out when choc'ing......... There are other posts which reference a table to show how much Chlorine is needed at different CYA levels.   Chlorine / CYA Chart). One other thought I did not mention - I believe it is essential to get a good pool testing kit.  I think without this I just would not have been able to get accurate figures for the Pool Chemical Readings and hence would be "flying blind". I have both the PoolCool Cl/pH/TA and the Scuba+ Cl/pH/CYS and can recommend both.

After 4 years of pool ownership I thought I would share my thoughts on this forum, hopefully so that others may benefit from my experience.  I’m not a professional pool expert, but did do a lot of research before deciding on what type of pool and what type of equipment to get installed.  The pool is in-ground, 10mx5m vinyl liner and is in the Var region so has hot summers and cold winters.  I’m not going to focus on what type of pool we chose and why, but on the key issue of keeping the pool clear and refreshing – especially as this is a Holiday Home and we are not there for many months at a time and also as this seems to me to be one of the most contentious areas (certainly going by this forum). For sanitation, it came down to an automatic “Salt Water” Pool or an automatic electronic “Chlorine” dosing pool.  This was not an easy choice, but I am glad we went for an automatic electronic Chlorine dosing pool.  As this forum attests, there is a lot of information (and emotion) out there – particularly regarding “Salt Water” Pools and “Chlorine” Pools.  So this is where I’m going to spend a few moments sharing my thoughts and experience on this. First of all let me say the Chlorine dosing system we have is electronic and fully automatic.  That is, there is an electronic probe that determines the Chlorine content (ppm) and a pump that will operate if the Chlorine is too low by injecting small quantities of Chlorine (Javel/bleach which is sodium hypochlorite) until the level of Chlorine is correct.  This is not a system that uses Chlorine Tablets and/or Choc, and as such is more expensive initially to install.  It is this system I am comparing with a “salt water” pool. Now for an important fact: a “salt water” pool does not sanitise the pool by having salt in it (if it did then you wouldn’t need the additional equipment required).  One of the (IMHO) myths of much of the debate between these two systems is that they are different in how they sanitise the pool.  To be clear, both “Salt Water” and “Chlorine” systems sanitise by using Chlorine – in the case of a salt water pool by converting the Salt (NaCl) into Chlorine (Cl) to get to the right level of Chlorine and in the case of a Chlorine Dosing system by pumping small quantities of Chlorine directly to get to the right level of Chlorine.  Both systems, if working correctly, will provide the correct level of Chlorine in the pool (I run my pool at 2-4ppm).  So why did I choose a direct Chlorine dosing system?  Ultimately my rationale for choosing the direct Chlorine dosing system was the KISS principle – if each system provides Chlorine to sanitise the pool why choose a system that is more complex (IMHO) by taking a chemical (salt) and converting to Chlorine when one can just apply Chlorine directly?  I also had some concerns that a Salt Water system might not produce enough Chlorine and whilst this was unsubstantiated it was a niggle in the back of my mind. Now there are those who claim that a “Salt Water” Pool feels better or is better on the skin than a “Chlorine” Pool.  I cannot comment on whether this is true or not, but if it is true then it is definitely not due to Chlorine (or the lack of it) as both are present in both types of pool at the same levels using these systems.  It is also claimed by some that with high temperatures and/or high bather load the “Salt Water” pool equipment that produces Chlorine from Salt just cannot keep up with the Chlorine doses required – again I cannot comment.  My rationale was, as stated – Keep it simple. I should also say that the system I have has automatic pH control.  This uses a probe to test pH and if it gets too high (Chlorine will raise the pH) it doses Sulphuric Acid to bring the pH down.  I did try Hydrochloric Acid but this is horrible stuff that gives off noxious fumes – at least Sulphuric Acid is fumeless – or appears to be. (Yes - a pool does requires nasty chemicals but at the low concentrations in the pool will not cause harm, just don’t spill any or let children and (some) adults near them!).  Again these nasty chemicals are required with the “Chlorine” system whilst a “Salt Water” system would not require them so this is a definite advantage of the “Salt Water” system. Another area is Total Alkalinity.  In the first year the pool had 0 TA which is way too low (should be about 100).  However, it didn’t appear to make any difference to the quality or look of the pool, although someone suggested that I was getting through too much Javel (i.e. Bleach/Chlorine) as a result.  I’ve since added Sodium Bisulphate to raise TA to around 100 (buy it in the UK from a Chinese Supermarket for a few quid rather than a Pool shop for £20+) but I have to say I’ve not noticed much difference with the amount of Javel I get through – and the pool is still crystal clear. The final pool chemicals area is Stabiliser (Cyuranic Acid - CYA) – and this is where it does get a little more complicated – but the bottom line with stabilizer is you want some, but not too much.  The reason for this is that at low levels CYA helps to reduce Chlorine loss caused by sunlight (hence “stabiliser”), but that at very high levels will “lock” the Chlorine rendering it useless and your pool turning green!  And this is where the “gotcha” is – because if your system fails (as ours did – see below) using Chlorine Tablets (Gallets or Choc) will add CYA every time and the CYA eventually becomes too high, the Chlorine locks and the pool turns green (as ours did – twice!).   We therefore “choc’d” using Javel directly into the pool to get to a high level of Chlorine (16ppm)without adding CYA and as you can only get CYA down by dilution, emptied some of the pool and refilled.    We also have a good circulation system with a Hayward 1.5HP pump and separate sand filter.  We do clean the pool regularly and back-wash regularly as well.  When we change the sand then we will probably go for Zeolite, but I can say that at the deep end (1.8m) I could read the details of a Euro coin on the bottom so the sand filter appears to be working fine too.    So, does my pool work? – In a word yes.  There is no chlorine smell or taste.  The water feels nice and refreshing and looks refreshing too.  That’s not to say that there have not been problems (as indicated above), but these are to do with a couple of feeder pipes splitting and therefore the doser pump couldn’t get the Javel to pump.  Once this was addressed (long story but not really relevant to this post and a breakdown could happen with Salt Water systems too), then all was back to normal and a nice clear, easily maintained pool.

I used Moneycorp for the purchase of the house and for buying more than £10K of Euros.  Very good, very transparent and no hitches at all. I now use a Caxton FX Euro Currency Card - excellent for day to day cash and you can load the card and find out the balance using a mobile (TXT messages).  I've also used Caxton FastPay for smaller transfers to my Britline Account in France. All in all a very easy and stress-free experience with all these companies. BR 

'You've all done very well' !!!!  - (anyone remember that phrase ? !!!) Are You Being Served - Mr Grace I think? A rather tedious BBC Sitcom with jokes based on crude innuendo (Mrs Slocombe's Pussy etc.)

I will not be able to test as I am currently in the UK, but will test and keep a record when I am there again in August. Many thanks for all your help.  According to the Pool Cleaner the Chlor is still quite high and he didn't get a proper reading as he didn't dilute the sample, but the pool is now clear and clean. BR 

Theiere The pool is a vinyl liner pool - 3 years old. BR

1) How long, on average, should a (Hayward) circulation pump last?  We use it for 10 hours in the summer per day and 4 hours in the Winter per day.  Given we have guests and it is 3 years old I'm thinking of investing in a spare 2) How often should you change the Sand in the filter?  I intend to change to Zeolite when I do it (perhaps this winter), - any distributors in the Var region?  Does it require a more powerful pump? Many thanks

Hi Latest readings (Monday) are Chlor = 6ppm TA = 110 pH = 7.2 CYS = 54 Pool is now almost clear and no green at all. Should TA be higher? Many Thanks  

We have got a green pool. Cyuranic Acid = 62pmm Chlor = 7ppm pH is low but we are adding pH+ to get it to 7.2. Any ideas?  It looks like it's getting better but if it doesn't clear at pH 7.2 what should we do? Many Thanks

I posted a request some time ago about Procopi requesting help for my Procopi Chlor dosing pump that wasn't working properly and it was generally felt that, as a large reliable business I would have no problems.  Well............. I successfully contacted the Procopi UK and they were quite helpful - initially.  They suggested that as they did not have this pump in the UK I contact Procopi Germany and the UK Procopi gave me an email address. I sent off the email - no reply...... ......so I contacted Procopi UK again.  Success!  They gave me a diagram of the pump and said if I identified the spares they could get them.  I did so and thought I needed spares at around £100 so sent off an email to confirm prices and order - no reply....... ......so I phoned them again and, as requested, sent another email......no reply. I went to Procopi's website and sent an email to Procopi in France in Le Muy (Var)......no reply I then took the pump back to France and went directly to Procopi in Le Muy where they couldn't do anything because I needed to go through the installer - who no longer were in business. So I came back to the UK and followed up my previous emails to Procopi UK with another........no reply. Looking on the Procopi website, there doesn't appear to be a head office contact or MD contact details so I am now struggling.  Apart from the fact that this is incredibly poor service (doesn't anyone want my business?), does anyone have: 1) Procopi Head Office contact details and MD/Principal details where I can contact them 2) Recommendations for a good reliable(!) Piscine Company around Lorgues/Cotignac/Brignoles/Le Cannet des Maures area that I can contact. I am a great fan of dosing systems as they work really well - when working, but this is rather frustrating to say the least.......! Many thanks for your help in advance.      

We have received an enquiry for 4 weeks let from middle of Sept to middle of October (this would be our last let of the season) by a family with 2 small children.  All looks OK, but should I be concerned about a potential problem if the renters refuse to leave?  I'm sure I've read somewhere about a law that does not allow you to evict people during the winter.  We always have written contracts and T&Cs and get payment in advance. Many thanks  

Following a spectacular thunderstorm and 5cm rain in 2hrs during August, hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of black millipedes appeared around our house for 2-3 days - most of which appeared intent on drowning in the swimming pool!  The next door neighbours had a similar problem, but couldn't offer advice on how to treat.  Is there anything we can do to stop this happening again - maybe some form of insecticide that will kill the eggs/larvae before the rain? Many Thanks  

Our Procopi RH220 Chlorine doser needs repairing as it doesn't hold the liquid chlor (appears there's a small air leak in the unit somewhere).  Has anyone got advice on this?  We've brought it back to the UK, but the UK company don't know the product - although they did give me a German email - from which there has been no reply...... Many Thanks  

We have a Summer/Winter safety cover that we use when we are not at our House for several days or weeks.  In addition we have an alarm (the pressure type) which we use when the house is occupied either by ourselves or guests.  We cannot put the cover on with the Pool Alarm in place as the cover supporting rods would damage the Alarm when it is put on or removed. Therefore because we want the flexibility to put the cover on easily we have not screwed the alarm to the margelles so we can easily place it there or remove it when we use the pool cover.  Our house managers do not seem to be happy with this arrangement and want it screwed to the margelles - and left there throughout the season - even when there are weeks where no one will be there (and without the pool cover).  They are stating that the Law states the alarm must be fixed to the margelles. My view is that having the easily removeable pool alarm, so that we can put the cover on when the house is empty is infinitely safer than a pool alarm - as there is then a physical barrier.  In addition I beleive the Law requires an alarm to be fitted - so the key point is what does "fitted" mean?  Is it OK for the alarm to be placed on the Margelles without screwing it to them? Your thoughts fellow Francophiles!  

hi hurry up harry There are lots of threads on water testing which will give you the answers.  The best testers are digital - either the Scuba+ or Palintest.  It's good to look at threads before suggesting us out there can't be bothered to reply......    

My Total Alkalinity is too low.  To increase it I think I  need to add Sodium Bicarbonate.  How do I get hold of this in France (what is it called) and how much do you put in per M3? Tks

What are the rules regarding Gas Barbecues in the South of France - are you allowed to have one in the summer?  We've got a new house in the Var and would like to know if gas barbecues are allowed.  Many houses appear to have "summer kitchens" with gas hobs and looking through holiday rentals on the web many places advertise BBQs. Any advise appreciated.... Tks  

I use a CoolPool Tester. They are about £70 incl P&P for a tester and tablets you use. Put in Coolpool Tester on the internet or go to palintest.com/products/cool+pooltester. You can go direct to the supplier or poolguy (who recommends them I think) supplies them too. Rgds  

Depends what you want it for and where you are. We made it a condition of purchase that we had permission from the Marie to build a pool, but we are in the Var region and with daytime temperatures in the 30C's in summer it was a necessity.  In addition, we wanted to rent out the property and a pool adds about 100% to the rental. Total costs (but it is built into a slope and required extensive digging into solid rock) were about £20K.  Worth every penny. Rgds   

I promised in a previous post to give an update on our new steel liner pool which has an Auto-Chlor  and pH- peristaltic pump control system (as opposed to a Saltwater system).  The filter system is sand and the pump circulates the water every 4 hrs (I think).  The pool is approx 10mx5m and average 1.25 metres deep. Poolguy (I believe) recommends the Auto-doser system (although I think he prefers a different (vacuum?) type of pump) - however assuming the pumps work then the process (and results) should be the same.  We left the system unattended and with a summer/winter security cover on for 4 weeks between beginning of Juy and beginning of August.  Removing the cover was was a surprise - the water was very clear although there was a film of slippery deposit on the floor.  The Auto-chlor system appeared to have tripped out at some point with a "max dose" error as had the pH-. I cleaned the pool floor and sides and over the next 3 weeks tested the pool regularly.   The Auto-chlor system kept failing with a "max-dose" error and we seemed to be getting through a lot of Javel, but I "choc'd" the system a few times to get some stabiliser into it (I now understand I can get the cyuranic acid directly ("stabilant") during the time we were there.  I think we went through about 30 - 40L of Javel 9.6% whilst we were there.  The bottom line though was throughout the 3 weeks we were there the water was sparkling, we could easily see the bottom and the water did not have a "chlorine" taste or smell.  I had to clean the floor a little but not too much as the slippery film (which looked like extremely fine sand and I assume is some form of Algal growth) appeared about 4-5 days after a floor/side clean. I have a Coolpool tester and would thoroughly recommend this as it is very easy to use and indicated the level of Chlorine and pH. For the auto-dosers I have now re-programmed these (after reading the French instructions) so that there is no "trip" for max-dose and hopefully this will manage the process better (rather than me having to re-set it) when we are away. We have now covered up the pool again and left it for 4 weeks again, so hopefully the results will be better if the chlorine level is maintained. I still think I need more stabiliser in the pool and I definitely need to increase total alkilnity which tested "low" on the Coolpool tester. However, I am (so far and early days) pleasantly surprised by how easy it is and the fact that you can leave the pool to itself.  Admittedly with the cover on this will exclude most light so the chlorine should not be eaten up by the UV and will help with reducing algae. Of course the best bit is diving in when the temp is 35C.  But I guess that's why we have a pool. Rgds