Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Category: House

  • Honeywell VisionPro 8000 t-stat

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    I just installed one of these to replace our existing Honeywell t-stat, which was a T8600 series (badged as a “Chronotherm IV Plus”). As part of our big boiler job, we’re splitting our main floor into two heating zones, and I’ll use the old stat for the new zone. The new VisionPro 8000 has a humidity control that will run the A/C when the humidity goes above a preset value. This is the first thermostat I’ve seen with this feature. I’ve always thought it would be a great idea, especially on cool, humid days when the A/C doesn’t run much and the house feels damp and clammy. It doesn’t take much A/C to lower the humidity in the house; just a few minutes to circulate air through the condenser. When you’re trying to change the temperature, you have thermal mass to deal with; that’s not the case with humidity. So, thanks to the new stat, we can have a comfortable house on cool, humid days, without using much extra electricity.

    Aside from the humidity control, the VisionPro has a number of improvements over the old Chronotherm IV line. Among others:

    • A much more installer-friendly mounting plate. It has holes to fit a standard electrical wall box. Also, the wire entry opening is in the middle, with mounting holes centered on either side of it. The Chronotherm IV’s mounting holes were off-center, making it a pain to put one where there was previously an electrical box (I know this from experience).
    • One single model handles multiple powering schemes. The Chronotherm IV had three separate models: A power stealing type, a battery powered model, and a direct-wired version that used a common wire. For the VisionPro, they’ve dropped the power stealing option and included both battery and transformer options on the same model. If both are used, the batteries are used for backup power. To me, this makes sense and I’m sure it reduces manufacturing overhead costs.

    Add to that a nice, slick touch-screen interface, and it seems like a great thermostat. We’ll see how it does over time.

  • Pool coping project underway

    Pool coping project underway

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    Today I officially got the pool project underway, after 6 weeks or so of procrastination. After a week of foul weather, I finally got a decent day, so I took off work and rented the concrete saw. It did the job quite nicely, and quickly enough that I only needed a 4-hour rental.

    It took a bit of time to get the hang of the saw, but it was very easy to use. The blade had no problem cutting through the entire slab. The water feed did a great job of keeping the dust to a minimum, and it probably sped the job up by keeping the blade cool. I was not able to cut any of the curved areas, which I sorta expected. Not sure how I would handle these. A 7″ angle grinder might work for the area around the steps, but the corners are a little too tight for any kind of rotary blade.

    Next I need to clear the joint and clean up the mess, which figures to be more time consuming than the cutting. The wet concrete dust forms a kind of pasty mud, which sticks to the deck and won’t fully vacuum up. I’ll probably end up using my pressure washer to clean it off the deck.

    With the joint partially cleared, I can see that a lot of the fill around the pool has eroded over the years, from water seeping into the joint. I’m not planning on doing anything about it, as I’d need to demolish the deck (that’s a job for the next owner of the house). But, once I caulk the joint it’ll stop any further erosion.

    Once I’ve cleaned the joint I may go ahead and fill it (at least partially) with backer rod, to keep junk from falling into it before it’s caulked. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish prepping the joint over the long weekend; then I can focus on re-mortaring the loose coping stones.

    Oh, and the stupid Tulip Poplars have already started dropping leaves, and it’s not even July yet. It’s going to be a long summer..

  • The paradox of pool solar covers

    The paradox of pool solar covers

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    We have a solar cover for our pool. It’s essentially a big, plastic sheet of bubble-wrap that sits on the pool surface. To remove it, we crank it onto a big reel — it’s pretty much a necessity to have a reel for these things, particularly with a large pool like ours.

    After 5 seasons of dealing with solar covers, I’ve learned quite a bit about them. Contrary to what one might initially think, they don’t increase heating during the day when the pool is exposed to sun. In fact, they actually reduce daytime heating by blocking sunlight. There’s a bit of a greenhouse effect that heats the top foot or so of water, but the rest of the water sees less sun so doesn’t heat up as much. One desirable side effect of this is that it reduces chlorine usage during the day. So.. if you’re going on vacation and want to cut down on chlorine demand, put the cover on.

    The biggest benefit of a solar cover is that it reduces heat loss and evaporation at night. So for the warmest water, you want to cover the pool in the evening and uncover it during the day.

    [More:]

    The drawbacks of solar covers are subtle and a bit paradoxical (hence the title of this post). The biggie: You’d think that using a solar blanket to cover a pool would keep the pool cleaner, but it doesn’t. In fact, you could argue that it actually makes the pool dirtier. It’s true that when the pool is covered, stuff will fall on the cover instead of into the water. And sure, you can even use a leaf rake to clear the larger debris off the cover before you remove the cover. But when it rains, the dirty and untreated rainwater will collect around the folds and creases of the cover, and then when you remove the cover, the dirty water (along with whatever debris is still there) all falls into the pool and fouls the clean water. Then, because most of the debris is already waterlogged, it immediately sinks down to the bottom of the pool. Contrast this to when the pool is uncovered: the skimmers collect all the debris before it sinks, and the rainwater immediately mixes with the treated water rather than puddling up on the cover.

    Solar covers (like any cover) also encourage neglect of the pool. When the pool is covered, I find myself more likely to skip chores like adding chemicals, brushing, emptying skimmer baskets, running the automatic cleaner, etc. When you combine this with rain and extra organic debris, it can lead to an algae bloom pretty quickly.

    Conclusions: Unlike conventional covers, these things really are not meant to keep stuff out of the pool. Use them only for their thermal properties (chilly nights etc), and keep them off during the day and in particular, when it rains. If you must use the cover when it’s raining to conserve heat, uncover the pool as soon as possible after the rain stops.

    I’ve often thought about getting a leaf net cover to keep out debris. I think it would complement the solar cover nicely, and in certain instances the two could be used at the same time. I hesitate because I’m not sure how much trouble it would be to put on and take off, and how I would anchor it down to keep it from blowing away, falling in the pool, etc. When you think about it, another tradeoff with covers in general is that they are an impediment to getting in the pool. It’s much easier to go swimming when the pool is uncovered and ready to go. No one wants to spend time fumbling with a big, unwieldy cover beforehand. Still, in the late summer and early fall, when we’re swimming less frequently anyhow, the leaf net may be worth the hassle.

  • Pool coping project — getting started

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    Time to get started on the pool repair project.. better late than never I suppose. I’ve blocked off this coming Thursday to rent a concrete saw and cut back the expansion joint. Also, I’ve been thinking a lot more about what to use to mortar the coping stones in place. Terry Tamminen’s excellent book, The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual, includes instructions for making what he calls “patch mix”, using white portland cement and sand. He uses this same stuff (possibly with different ingredient ratios; I don’t have the book here to confirm) for patching plaster, anchoring coping stones, and grouting stones and tile. I think this might be the way to go, rather than buying premixed bags of mortar as I was originally planning. Just need to find a supplier. I’m not too confident that the big boxes will stock white portland. If not, I’ll try my favorite lumber yard. Will work on researching this over the next few days. (Update 6/22.. no sign of white portland at Home Depot).

    Oh, and the loose strip of waterline tile in the deep end fell off all by itself two days ago. I had to dive in to fish it out. Remarkably, it stayed completely intact, leaving me with a roughly 2-foot strip of mortar and pool tile, and the beam behind it is fairly clean too. I need to decide if I want to try to re-attach it, or just start over and retile (I have plenty of extra tile, so either is an option). This is the last step of the project, and won’t be happening until fall when I can lower the water level, so I’ve got plenty of time to think about it.

    [More:]

    6/21: Informative posting on poolforum.com about setting pool tile.

    6/22: Well, I decided to scrap my plans for the day due to unfavorable weather. However, I did go to Home Depot to take a better look at the concrete saw. I found out:

    • They supply all the fuel mixture I need (it’s a 2-cycle engine as I suspected)
    • There is roughly 5-6 inches from the blade to the outer edge of the dolly wheel on one side. This should be sufficient clearance to run the dolly along the pool coping edge. It will be helpful if the wheel height can be adjusted independently on either side to accommodate uneven surfaces.. but, I didn’t think to ask.
    • The saw includes a water feed, which is great because it should really help cut down on dust.
    • I don’t think it’ll fit in my car, so I’ll need to borrow my parents’ pickup.

    Now, I just need to wait for the weather to cooperate, so I can get this done. Based on the 5-day forecast, I might be waiting awhile..

    6/28: The crappy weather is finally moving out of the area, so the job is back on the calendar for Friday. Fingers crossed.

  • Finally got in the pool

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    Better late than never, we took our first swim of the season today. It’s nice to finally be using the pool, because it makes the hassle of maintaining it seem more worthwhile. It’s not quite worth all the effort and expense IMHO, but still, it is nice to be able to hop in the pool on a hot day. And when it’s not full of leaves and other assorted crap, it’s nice to look at too.

    I got a pleasant surprise when I uncovered the pool this morning.. the algae clinging to the diagonal hopper walls was almost totally gone. So, it appears that repeated brushing and superchlorination is the ticket to getting rid of this stuff. Apparently I don’t need a steel-bristled brush after all (although it may hasten the process, so I may pick one up anyhow). In future years, I’ll try to be a little more faithful with the off-season chlorination so the algae won’t take hold like it did this year.

    Also, I made a test cut in the pool deck with my new diamond blade. And I must say, it cuts very easily — much more easily than I expected. As I suspected, the circular saw doesn’t cut quite deep enough. However, I can now go ahead and rent a larger concrete saw with the confidence that it’ll do the job. The current plan is to take a day off this week (work schedule permitting) and do it. Still not quite sure how I’ll do the curved sections. I’ll figure something out I hope.

  • New Boiler

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    So it looks like we’re going to take the plunge, and get a new boiler put in. Several things are driving this. For one, a detailed heat loss calculation has revealed that our current boiler, while reasonably efficient, is about twice the size it needs to be to heat the house. It has always short-cycled, which has a bunch of undesired effects.. uneven heat, loss of efficiency, bad for the boiler, etc. A properly sized boiler will save money and keep us more comfortable — an unbeatable combo.

    The real, black-and-white measure of efficiency for an oil heat system, is the number of gallons of oil it consumes per heating degree day. This isn’t too difficult to measure empirically, using data from the oil company and the National Weather Service. Read your latest receipt from the oil company to see how many gallons were delivered at the last fill-up. Count how many days passed since the tank was last full, and divide by the number of gallons delivered to get the number of gallons burned per day. Then, go to the National Weather Service climate page, click on your state, and download the “Preliminary Climatology Data” for the time period in question. It’s published monthly. Add up the total number of heating degree days for the period, and divide by the number of days in the period, to get the number of heating degree days per day. Then, divide gallons per day by heating degree days per day, to get gallons per heating degree day. In theory, the lower this number, the better. I’ve been keeping track of our gallons per degree day usage with the current boiler, and it’ll be really interesting to see what effect a new boiler has.

    [More:]

    In an ideal test environment, gallons per degree day will give a perfectly accurate picture of a heating system’s efficiency for a given house. Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that skew the measure, which make it hard to compare numbers from season to season. Among these are

    • Varying thermostat settings;
    • Other oil-fired appliances (in our case, a water heater);
    • Solar gain or lack thereof (not accounted for in the NWS data).

    So it’s impossible to get a really precise measure, but this is about the best approximation we have. In our case, in just over 4 years (including 5 winters), we averaged 0.2 gallons per degree day. Our usage has trended down over the longer term, as we’ve added insulation and tightened the house up with new windows etc. However, this past winter our usage was up somewhat (roughly 0.03 gal/hdd difference, which doesn’t seem like much, but translates to 150 extra gallons over a 5000 hdd season). I’m not sure why this is — we even had our boiler downfired (from 1.25 to 1.10gph), which I would think would reduce our usage.

    Our attempts to improve the house’s efficiency have had less of an effect than I had hoped, netting us maybe a .03-.05 gal/hdd difference or so per winter. I think (hope) a new boiler will have a more pronounced effect. We’ll see I guess. In any event, it’ll hopefully get rid of the uneven-heat problems which have plagued us all along with the current boiler.

    Followup 7/25… Details on our new system.

  • Pool’s open… don’t everybody jump in at once

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    Yesterday we finally uncovered the big concrete hole in the backyard. The water looks pretty good, but due to my neglect over the spring, I’ve got a bigger problem with surface-clinging algae than in past years. There was the usual green stuff on the bottom which easily vacuumed out, but the steps and the diagonal hopper walls have this better-established stuff that doesn’t want to come off. However, the stuff on the steps cleared right up when I flooded it with 12.5% hypochlorite from my siphon hose, so I superchlorinated yesterday evening. This morning I noticed that the areas I had brushed yesterday were clearing up, so I went ahead and brushed the entire pool (clouding it up beautifully, of course). Cl was 8.8ppm. Tonight I’ll add more, until all the muck is gone.

    [More:]

    Still haven’t started the coping repair project. Today (Friday) I picked up a 7″ dry-cut diamond blade for a cool $50, and I’m going to see how it does at cutting the concrete decking. It’s not big enough to cut through the entire slab, but the hope is I can make a cut around 2″ deep and then knock the rest of the piece off with a cold chisel. If it works well, I’ll go ahead and rent a larger saw to do the complete job. Whether it works or not, I’ll still end up with a nice diamond blade I can use for future projects.

    The fun never ends..

    6/12: The crap clinging to the diagonal hopper walls is proving to be very tenacious. It will not brush off easily in spite of repeated superchlorination. I can’t seem to get enough force on my brush to attack it effectively. I think I’m going to need a stainless steel brush for this. Before I try that, though, I’m going to try flooding the area with chlorine. It worked with the steps, so hopefully it’ll work with the hopper walls. Only problem is, I could reach the steps easily with my siphon tube, but not so with the hopper walls. So, I’m going to try a slightly different approach. I went to Home Depot and bought 20′ of food-grade tubing (1/2″ O.D.). I’ll use wire ties to attach 4′ or 5′ of hose to the bottom of my telepole, then put the pole in the water and start a siphon. I should then be able to siphon chlorine from my jug and direct the flow wherever I want. I will probably want to do this with the pool pump off, and somehow attach the tubing to the chlorine jug so I don’t inadvertently pull it out. We’ll see how it works.

    6/14: Tried the above last night. It works, but it’s a little cumbersome. Attaching the siphon tube to the chlorine jug is an absolute must. I used an Irwin Quick-Grip clamp. Still, I lost my siphon and had to re-prime several times. It would also be handy to have some way to easily interrupt the flow while I move the hose to different spots. I suppose it would work to pinch the hose, or I could use a spring-loaded clamp. Still, this whole thing seems like too much hassle compared to using a steel-bristled brush, assuming the brush will work. I’ll try to get to a pool store and pick up a brush in the next couple of days.

  • Next year’s pool project

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    I’m already thinking about next year’s pool project, and I haven’t even started this year’s yet…

    For next year, I’m considering adding an automatic chlorine feed using a chemical metering pump, similar to the setup described here. The main goals of the project would be:

    • Save work;
    • Save money on chlorine by matching the supply more closely with the demand;
    • Provide a continuous feed of sanitizer, thereby eliminating the need for cyanuric acid in the pool.

    If I go ahead with this, I’ll probably also move the pool’s electrical controls indoors, which I’ve always wanted to do for convenience more than anything else. I’d also need to run a dedicated 110VAC circuit to power the metering pump, so while I’m at it, I’ll install a convenience outlet near the pool equipment. Right now, I only have 220VAC there.

    The metering pump can be had from Grainger for around $300, but I’m watching eBay to see if I can get a new one cheaper.

    I’ll add random notes to this entry as I think about this one.

  • Leaf Blower/Vacs: Echo vs. Toro

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    Here we have it: a head-to-head comparison between the Toro Super Blower/Vac and the Echo ES-210 Shred ‘n Vac. I’ve used the Toro for 3 or 4 years now, and recently bought the Echo. First things first: I’ve always liked the Toro. But, it’s electric, and the cord has always driven me nuts. One of the things I use it for is clearing around my swimming pool. And, corded tools and swimming pools just don’t get along well. Half of the time is spent routing the cord so it doesn’t fall in the pool or get snagged on stuff. And then, the cord is never quite long enough to go everywhere I need to use the unit. So, my primary motivation for buying the Echo was to get a unit that performs similarly to the Toro, sans cord. With that in mind, here’s how the units compare in various departments.

    [More:]

    Performance: Both units have about the same amount of power, that is to say, they’re both adequate for clearing paved surfaces, which is my primary use for them. The ES-210 has Echo’s smallest blower engine (21.2cc). It’s not going to move big piles of wet leaves in tall grass, but that’s not what I bought it for. Vac performance is similar for both units as well.

    Controls: The Echo is a little more versatile in that it has a gas engine with a variable throttle, so I have more control over the blower velocity. The Toro has a two-speed motor (although there is a different model available, the “Ultra Blower Vac”, with a variable speed motor).

    Ergonomics: Being gas powered, the Echo is heavier than the Toro, with a dry weight of 9.7lbs plus the weight of the gas. That’s a tradeoff you have to make with gas vs. electric. Operator fatigue will become an issue with any handheld blower after a certain amount of time which varies inversely with the weight. However, for the length of time I typically use the thing, it hasn’t been a problem for me. FWIW, 9.7lbs isn’t too bad as far as handheld gas blowers go — Echo’s next model up, the ES-230, is almost 2 pounds heavier.

    In vac mode, the Toro’s ergonomics have always seemed a little awkward to me. The Echo is better in this department.

    Convenience: For blowing, you can’t beat a gas blower for convenience. Just take it down, start it up, and blow away. No cord to unspool, set up, and put away when you’re done. Of course, that convenience goes away if the blower doesn’t start easily. With two-cycle gas engines, it’s worth it to pay a bit more and get a brand like Echo or Stihl. The payback is an engine that starts reliably every time, and saves countless hours of aggravation. Don’t waste your time or money on cheap two-cycle engines.

    With these particular units, another important convenience aspect is the ease of converting from blower to vac and back again. The Toro has the edge here. With the Toro, I can convert in just a few seconds. All of the pipes have quick release tabs, so it’s just a matter of pulling off the blower pipes and snapping on the vacuum pipes and bag. With the Echo, I have to twist the blower pipe on and off, which is harder to do than with the Toro. Then I have to secure the vac pipe to the unit, which requires a screwdriver to tighten a band clamp. Tho whole process takes a couple of minutes, which is still acceptable, but it’s slow and cumbersome compared to the Toro.

    Maintenance: Another department where the electric wins, for obvious reasons. A gas engine requires periodic maintenance while an electric one doesn’t. Of course, there’s not too much that needs to be done with a two-cycle blower.. very few moving parts, no oil to change, etc. End-of-season maintenance shouldn’t take more than 10 or 15 minutes. In my case, I already have 6-odd other gas engines that I maintain, and taking this one on wasn’t really an issue for me at all.

    Price: Toro: $60. Echo: $200. Nuff said 🙂

    In conclusion: It’s hard to go wrong with either unit. The deciding factor is the cord. If you can deal with the cord, buy the Toro. If not, buy the Echo. Of course, you may think you can deal with the cord at first (as I did), and then find that it’s too much of a hassle. In my case, it’s also a potential hazard. So, I switched to gas and I’m happy. YMMV!

  • Pool still covered

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    Yesterday was supposed to be the big pool-uncovering day, but it didn’t happen. The original plan was to open it early so I could get my coping project underway. But, yesterday it occurred to me that I could get started with the cover still on, and just pull the cover back to expose whatever area I happen to be working on. At that point it became a no-brainer: Leave the cover on for now and avoid the hassle of keeping the pool clean in late May when no one is using it.

    I already had my help on the way over, so instead of uncovering the pool, we tackled the time-consuming job of scraping the old caulk out of the coping expansion joint. This was fairly easy to do with box-cutter type utility knives and plenty of sharp blades. However, on the decking side, it left a bit of residue because of the roughness of the concrete. I may try wirebrushing this area to get the last bit of caulk out.

    Next up is to rent the big concrete saw and cut a true expansion joint (removing the caulk revealed that, as I expected, the joint is non-true around the entire perimeter of the pool). My current plan is to take a day off work and do it the week after Memorial Day. I’d like to get it done before my Vancouver trip; otherwise it’ll have to wait until June 10 at the earliest. Come to think of it, I suppose there’s nothing stopping me from doing it this week, either.. To deal with the dust, I’ll try duct-taping a tarp to the coping edge. With the cover still on, it’ll support the tarp and keep it from submerging. It might work.

    I did my first water test yesterday, and surprisingly the numbers weren’t too bad: Free Cl 1.4, Combined Cl 0.2, pH 7.7, Alk 80, Hardness 170, CYA under 30. Water temperature was 63°. I’ll probably add some chlorine today.