Skimlite Carbonlite pool pole review

Skimlite has been making professional pool poles since 1954 and they have been my go-to pool for years. The Carbonlite is their first 100% carbon fiber pole and although this sector has some great poles already in it, the Carbonlite may be a pole to keep on your radar. Below are some of their upgraded features.

Handgrip:

Easily remove the handgrip with the push of a button for quick replacement or alternative tool attachment. Once the handgrip wears out simply push in the V-clip and snap off the old hand grip. It couldn’t be easier. The grip is decent and serves its purpose.

Decagon Tubes

Internal 10-sided decagon tubes for superior strength and grip. I like this unique inner tube and I did find the grip superior. It is the same design found in their Snaplite series and it is a great feature. The Decagon shape prevents the pole from twisting while in use. This is of course ideal for maneuvering heavy vacuum systems like the Riptide without worry.

Quick Lock Lever

Ambidextrous lock lever! Easily reverse it if you are left-handed or leave it in the factory setting.  Simply change the lever to either side of the pole to fit your cleaning preference. The lever lock is not bad and seems to be very well-built. Extending and retracting the pole is smooth although not the fastest of the Skimlite poles. The twisting cam lock of their Dually poles is faster but the locking levers work well. 

Carbon Fiber

Skimlite's Carbon Fiber is the only 100% carbon fiber pole in the industry. Made with only carbon fiber (with a steel tip attached) making this one of the lighter poles in the carbon fiber category. Carbon fiber is 3X stronger than aluminum and one of these poles will last you for years to come.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel tip that accepts all industry standard tools. This is a must for a carbon fiber pole as it makes the tool end much more crack resistant. Not that the carbon fiber is brittle but the tool holes that are made directly into the carbon fiber weaken and crack over time. Having a solid stainless steel tip at the end ensures years of use. The stainless steel tip is held on by two screws making it very easy to replace in the future if needed.  The stainless steel tip is equipped with a 4-hole drain for quicker removal of water.

This pole is ideal for anyone who uses a heavy vac system or is looking for a stronger AND lighter pole than the industry standard. A pole made for the dedicated service professional who is willing to pay for the best.

All Lengths Available:

CL8 (8’ extension)

CL6 (6‘ extension)

CL612L – 6’-12’

CL816L– 8’-16’ – shown in the video

CL617L – 6’-17’* - shown in the video

CL823L – 8’-23’*

* 3-section poles

They have other custom sizes available as well but these are their standard sizes and the most practical sizes for the pool pro.

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eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

How Green to Clean can Boost your Pool Service Business

Green pools can be a big money maker for your pool service route in many ways. The initial clean-up of course can bring in a good profit and more than likely the client will want to hire you for weekly service. After all, you will look like a miracle worker if you do the green pool clean-up correctly and it turns around in one week. Below are the easy-to-follow steps for you.

Green Pool Clean-Up Step-by-Step:

Make sure the pool can be cleared up vs draining it and refilling the pool. A rule of thumb is that if there are more than 4 inches of sediment on the bottom, draining may be better. This would be a lot of algae and dirt on the pool bottom so more like a pool that has been sitting unattended for over a year or more. Generally, a pool that has only been green for a few months can be cleared up with just chemicals and algaecide. Also, make sure the equipment is in good working order.

Step One: Scoop out all of the leaves and debris from the bottom and surface. Don't worry about stirring everything up, you will vacuum at the end of the treatment.

Step Two: Brush the pool as best as you can. Some of the algae might be tough to brush off. If you have a plaster or Pebble Tec Pool a Steel Algae Brush will help. But a lot of the algae will be loosened once you add the chemicals to the pool. 

Step Three: If you have a D.E. Or Cartridge filter take it apart and clean it. The filter type is usually on the label on the filter. 

If you have a Sand filter you will just be Backwashing it during this process. For a D.E. Or Cartridge filter, you probably will have to clean it again at least one more time or more. 

Step Four: Bomb the pool out. You want to bring the chlorine level up to 30-50 ppm to start to kill the algae. A lot of the chlorine will be destroyed by the algae and other organic material in the pool in the first 24 hours. A shorthand guide:

14,000-gallon pool: 14 gallons of 12.5% liquid chlorine or a combination of that and 1 lb. Bags of shock. 

20,000-gallon pool: 20 gallons of 12.5% chlorine.

30,000-gallon pool: 30 gallons of liquid chlorine. 

I suggest using Sodium Bromide to help kill the algae. Sodium Bromide is very effective, however, it does “use up” some of the chlorine so don't overdo it. I suggest one capful added with one gallon of liquid chlorine. So, if you are adding 8 gallons of liquid chlorine, 4 capfuls of Sodium Bromide should be sufficient. You want some of the chlorine to be active, so you don't want to add 8 capfuls of Sodium Bromide to the pool. Each Capful is about 4 oz. 

Step Five: Run the pool for 24-48 hours straight during the process. You may have to add more chlorine after 24 hours and clean the filter again. No need to vacuum the pool yet. Let everything slowly settle to the bottom first. This may take a couple of days. 

Step 6: After the pool has cleared enough for you to see the bottom, you can manually vacuum out the pool. The stuff on the bottom will be dead algae and other organics like dead mosquito larvae and other bugs and plants. If you have a sand filter or a D.E. Filter with a “Waste Mode” vacuum the pool with the Multi-Port Valve to that setting. If you do not have a backwash valve with a “Waste Mode” you can vacuum directly to the filter. Note that you will need to clean the filter after vacuuming if you do not vacuum to Waste. 

A portable clean-up pump comes in handy here, but it is an investment of about $200. If you plan on using it again it would be a worthwhile investment, otherwise, just vacuum the filter and clean the filter.

It may take a week or two weeks to completely clear up but the pool will eventually turn back into a crystal clear blue pool. 

FLOC?:

Using a pool Floc has its benefits and you might want to purchase a bottle or dry container of Aluminum Sulphate (Floc) to help accelerate your pools recovery. The Floc will help to clump up all of the dead algae and organic particles and sink them to the pool bottom. Generally, you will leave your pool off for 24-48 hours for the Floc to be more effective. Once everything drops down to the bottom the pool will be much clearer, and everything will be easier to vacuum out. In most cases, you need to have a filter with a multiport valve so you can vacuum to “Waste.” Or you can use a portable clean-up pump if you have one.  Floc is optional but can help to clear the pool up faster, especially if you have an inefficient filter type like a Sand Filter.

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BWT PK Turbo Large Capacity Rechargeable Leaf Vacuum

 Battery Powered Leaf Vacs have come a long way over the years and the PK Turbo is the latest generation of portable leaf vacs designed for the pool owner. For pools with a lot of leaf debris, the only options on the consumer level were devices like a leaf bagger or leaf master which are powered by water from a garden hose. The PK Turbo gives you a great option for a Havy-Duty large-volume rechargeable pool vacuum. 

It has an amazing 20-inch cleaning path much like a large manual vacuum head. The swivel handle makes turning and maneuvering the PK Turbo a breeze. This is important because if you have ever used a Leaf Master (Leaf Bagger) type device the garden hose as well as the design of the body of the leaf vac hinders your cleaning ability and speed, Not so with the PK Turbo. You can easily whip around a pool and vacuum up leaf debris with ease.

The power rating is 600 and to translate that into simple terms, the PK Turbo is powerful and you will have no issues picking up piles of leaf debris. The power of the garden hose-type leaf vacuums is dependent on the home's water pressure. Not so with the PK Turbo. The Lithium-ion battery provides plenty of power for the motor. It also comes with an impressive 75-minute continuous run-time between charges. 

There is a nice included storage bag and the wings on the PK Turbo need to be removed before storage (it won’t fit in the bag otherwise). You can also use the PK Turbo without the wings in tight spots like an above-ground hot tub. This is a very versatile vacuum for sure. 

It comes with two debris bags which are decent in size. One is a standard 250-micron bag and the other is a 75-micron bag. It also comes with a cartridge filter bag which is rated for 50 microns. I think the cartridge filter bag still needs some refining but the two other bags will be perfect for all of your cleaning needs. They are durable and pick up a good amount of leaves and dirt (75-micron bag).

One thing to note that is not highlighted in the manual is that the PK Turbo will only turn on when it is completely submerged in water. So you will need to turn the unit on and then drop it into the pool or spa. Within 3 seconds the motor and propeller will engage. Just in case you think your unit is defective as it has a water sensor and only again will activate while in water. 

To order the PK Turbo:

https://www.poolzoom.com/bwt-kokido-pk-turbo-125506576-heavyduty-large-volume-rechargable-pool-vacuum.html

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Swimming Pool VS Pool Pump Sales Tips

 The pool pump can be the highest energy hog in your house, passing your Air Conditioner and Refrigerator just by the sheer amount of hours it runs each day. If you have a 1 ½ or 2 HP pump installed and you run it 8 hours per day, not to get into complicated conversions of kWh (Kilowatt Hours) and how you are charged each month by your Electric Company, just imagine it as having on Twenty 100 watt light bulbs every hour it is running. That is a lot of electricity each day and if your bill is tiered by usage, meaning the more you use the more you are charged, your bill can get very high very quickly. On average a pool pump will be about 40% of your total electricity bill each month.

The best way to save money is to cut into your monthly electricity bill and that is exactly what a VS pump does. Simply put, your standard pump runs at 3450 RPM (Rotations Per Minute) which is about 1800-2000 watts. A VS Pump can be set to different RPMs and at every lower RPM, the total wattage used is lowered. So just lowering the VS Pump down to 2100 RPM, cuts the watts down to 685 watts. At 2100 RPM the water will appear to flow just as strong as a standard pump running at 3450 RPM. Cut it down even lower to 1200 RPM and you are down to 165 watts. So instead of having twenty 100-watt light bulbs running you only have a little over one light bulb running each hour. This is the reason your electric bill can be cut almost in half by simply installing a VS Pump.

If your pool equipment pad runs off of 115V (120V) then the best VS pump for you will be one that matches your old 1 hp pump. Let me unpack this for you a bit more. VS pumps feature Dual Voltage which means that the pump will automatically recognize if your equipment is running off of 115V or 230V and modulate the voltage. If you install say a 2.7 THP Hayward TriStar VS pump on a 115V equipment pad, it will modulate the voltage to 115V but it will also downgrade the total horsepower to around 1.85 THP. So why pay extra for a 2.7 or 3 THP VS pump when a 1.5 or 1.65 THP pump will suffice?

To make things even more complicated let's say you have a Jandy Aqualink automated system and you want to replace your single-speed pump with a VS pump. I highly suggest that you go with a Jandy VS pump and not even consider Hayward or Pentair. Not because a Jandy VS pump is better, but because it is logical to match the VS pump to the same brand automation. Just like if you were remodeling your kitchen and you purchased a stainless steel LG oven, LG microwave, and an LG refrigerator it would make sense to get an LG Dishwasher. If you have a Hayward or Pentair automation the same concept applies, go with a Hayward VS pump or a Pentair VS pump respectively. 

Let me step back to the THP of the VS pump and say you do not have an automated system. Matching your existing pump HP with a VS pump's THP is a pretty good rule of thumb. If you are replacing a 1 hp single-speed pump you can easily go with a 1 THP. 1.5 THP or 1.65 THP Vs pump. If you have a 1.5 hp single-speed pump you can go with a 1.5 THP, 1.65 THP, or a 1.85 THP VS pump. If you have a 2 hp single-speed pump you can go with a 2.7 THP or 3 THP VS pump. In the first two examples, a Pentair Superflo VST could be the best choice for you. The Pentair Superflo VS is one of my favorites as it is easy to program and very reliable. If you're looking at a 2.7 THP pump you may want to consider Leslie’s Jacuzzi JVS 2.7 THP or a Pentair Intelliflo 3 THP pump. 

A VS pump will save your customer money and will pay for itself in 2-3 years or less.

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eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

How Important is Swimming Pool Circulation?

How important is it to run your swimming pool for a set number of hours each day? That question has an easy answer: it is very important to run your pool pump and circulate the water long enough to make the pool safe to swim in, prevent algae, and make the chemicals you add effects. How long is long enough is a tough question to answer as each situation is different.

If you are using the pool frequently in the Summer you would want to run the pool pump as long as possible to ensure safe swimming conditions. You will also want to adjust the pool RPM or speed up accordingly to get proper circulation. Since pool size, time of the season, pump RPM speeds, and usage are all factors the exact amount of time to run it is hard to say. I would use a commercial pool like an apartment complex as your baseline. That pool will be running at 3450 RPM – full speed for 24 hours a day. So adjust down from that depending on your situation. 

To calculate a cycle of water you usually need a flow meter attached to your pool equipment. As a rule of thumb 50, GPM is about the average with a single-speed pump running at the full 3450 RPM. You can get a ballpark and use this formula if you do not have a flow meter on your equipment. 

Pool size/ 50 Gallons Per Minute/ 60 minutes. Here is an example with a 20,000-gallon pool:

20,000 Gal / 50 GPM /60 minutes = 6 hours and 30 minutes

So a cycle of water will go through the pool once every 6.5 hours. But how much pool water actually will go through the filter and then back into the pool? Here is the study abstract for you.

"The primary objective of this study was to conduct a quantitative analysis of the hydraulic efficiency of a 1:25 bench-scale swimming pool and to determine whether the recirculation efficiency could be increased by modifying parameters such as turnover rate, inlet/out configuration, and extent of mixing within the pool. Salt tracer studies were conducted using KCl to determine the residence time distribution and describe the hydraulic characteristics of the pool. The results indicated that the removal of the tracer always followed an exponential decay curve, i.e. 63, 86, and 95% for the first, second, and third turnover periods, respectively. In the majority of experiments, the exponential decay rate matched the inverse of the theoretical hydraulic detention time of the system. The results showed that none of the investigated parameters had any significant impact on the tracer removal efficiency. Increasing removal efficiencies of current treatment technologies such as sand and cartridge filters from approximately 25–90% would provide significant improvements in the rate of removal of Cryptosporidium-sized particles. Improving the treatment efficiency beyond 90% would have little additional impact, but further improvements could be achieved by decreasing the system turnover rate."

Read the full study here: https://iwaponline.com/jwh/article/16/3/449/39100/A-quantitative-analysis-of-swimming-pool

Does this mean we simply give up on the one cycle through the filter since it only gets 63% of the water through and will never really reach 100% (based on the study only 95% can be reached)? Certainly not. Since the whole reason for circulation is to prevent bather to bather disease the longer you can run your pool increases the prevention of disease. You also prevent algae and poor water quality (cloudy water) by running your pool as much as possible each day during the season.

This study just shows that you need to be aware of the fact that short run times are not effective for your pool. The longer run times the better. If you are worried about electricity costs switching to a Variable Speed (VS) pump would be a smart thing to do. 

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BWT PK Giant Corless Pool & Spa Vacuum with 50-micron Fine Filtration

The BWT PK Giant with the dual 50-micron filters is a real game changer for the pool industry. It was pure genius to add fine filters to the impeller area. In the past, any dirt that got through the fine filter cone would just be returned to the pool. But with the fine 50-micron filters on the sides, the dirt is trapped and does not return to the pool. Meaning that the PK Giant can vacuum up leaves and dirt equally well. 

Here are some of the features of the PK Giant:

Filter Capacity: 3L or 0.79 Gallons

Power Rating: 500

Medium to Large pools

Max Depth: 9.8 ft

75-Minute Run Time

Storage Bag included

250 Micron internal filter cone

50 Micron external fine filters

Quick water drain valve

Led Charge indicator

Cordless

Simple open latch

Connects to a standard pool pole

The power of the PK Giant is pretty impressive. I would say it is one of the most powerful portable vacuums I have tested. The large 0.79-gallon chamber will allow you to pick up a ton of leaf debris and the fine filters on the side will capture dirt down to 50 microns. So you get two different types of portable vacuums in one machine. 

It also has a 75-minute run time which is one of the longer run times in its class. This means you can technically use it to vacuum a medium to large pool a few times over before needing to recharge the cleaner.

Order here:

https://www.poolzoom.com/bwt-pk-giant-dual-filter-rechargeable-pool-vacuum.html

I would say that BWT has raised the bar with the PK Giant. This would work well for a homeowner who wants to vacuum their pool or spa each week with very little hassle. It is cordless and very powerful. For the pool pro, this would be excellent for spas as well as for spot vacuuming the pools on your route. 

BWT PK Giant

The following music was used for this media project:

Music: Cinematic Strings  by Rafael Krux

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5478-cinematic-strings

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/

The following music was used for this media project:

Music: Action Strike  by Rafael Krux

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5300-action-strike

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Keys to Success in the Pool Service Industry with Scott Roberts of NPRS

What are some keys to succeeding in the pool service industry? Scott Roberts of NPRS touches on a few for you in this podcast. Here are some more key points for you.

Treating your customers how you want to be treated extends further than just the pool service company. It all boils down to relationships. How you want to be treated and how you treat others. Being successful means that customers will refer you to friends and family. One way to gauge your success is by looking at a pie chart of how you land new customers. If over 50% of that is referrals you are winning. 

People skills are essential because you are running a service business and are providing specific “work” in return for payment. You are not selling a product; the product is you and the service you provide. So, you will make mistakes and customers will get mad and you will need to develop good people skills.

Good solid business skills are essential. You are in business to make money and you are not just out there “spinning your wheels.” So, you need to learn how to draw up a business plan which includes charging enough per pool so that you turn a profit. Service prices vary from region to region so it is up to you to set the best price for your area. 

Getting your finances in order is a fantastic way to get your business finances in order. A great resource that I used successfully was the Dave Ramsey plan to become Debt Free myself. Learning how to run your finances is critical and if you can't manage your finances you certainly won't be able to manage your business finances.

Be an honest person. Being a person of Integrity takes a lot of effort. I was never taught as a youngster the value of being honest, so I had to learn it as an adult. If you lie to your customers and they find out, your reputation will be damaged. And in the service business, your reputation is everything.

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eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook