[timothyaw]

I'm looking at a vacation home in the 89129 area which has a pool. For the most part I won't be in the home too much; just long weekends throughout the year and a week long stay sometime during the year.

First pools, I'm thinking of changing the pool to a saltwater pool. Not being there a lot, can I get away with just a pool cover and this system? Or at least have a pool company come by every so often? I'm not exactly sure what kind of system the pool currently has, but it seems like an older one. I'm sure I'll be looking at a variable speed pump for better efficiency. Do I get a timer since I'm not there much to be able to set how long I want the filter to run? It has a heater as well, I guess for the built in spa I assume. I searched and some of you recommended Steve from AA Pool, but I couldn't find his contact information. Please send me other suggestions as well of other honest and reliable companies. It seems to be hard trying to find a reliable pool company.

Cooling - It is a two-story, so it has two systems. The one for downstairs is pretty new 16 seer, the one for upstairs is older and I'll most likely replace it for better efficiency. I called NV energy and the power bills in the summer were like $400 for July and August last year. I'm sure some of that was from the older upstairs air conditioner and from running that older pool pump. What is the recommended temperature to set the thermostat in the summer while we're not there? 90? Will it harm anything?

I will have a security system, automated lights etc. Thank you ahead of time for all your help.

[bledsoe3]

I leave my AC at 90* while I'm not there.

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by bledsoe3

I leave my AC at 90* while I'm not there.

That's what I've heard, thanks. Since you have two places, what other things do you do? Other tips etc?

[Tires]

What do people do who own vacation SFHs (especially when not in a guard gated community) to deal with solicitors' cards, free newspapers, pizza coupons hung on the front door knob, flyers, telephone books and other unwanted junk dumped on your property when you're away?
Do you rely on neighbors to do you a favor of picking it up for you? Rely on a personal friend or relative to go to the home to clean up the debris on a schedule?

[MomMom]

Originally Posted by Tires

What do people do who own vacation SFHs (especially when not in a guard gated community) to deal with solicitors' cards, free newspapers, pizza coupons hung on the front door knob, flyers, telephone books and other unwanted junk dumped on your property when you're away?
Do you rely on neighbors to do you a favor of picking it up for you? Rely on a personal friend or relative to go to the home to clean up the debris on a schedule?

Yes....

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

That's what I've heard, thanks. Since you have two places, what other things do you do? Other tips etc?

If you cover the pool with a good cover you can get by with very low chemical use and pump running. If nothing gets into the pool it stays a lot more in control...and with no sunlight pretty much no algae. I run my pump about 2 hours off season and 4 during the heat...but it is covered all the time.

Get steve to come by once a month and check on things. Probably the eaiest way if you are seldom around. Steve is AA702 on CD. You can send him an email though he is active here.

[bledsoe3]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

That's what I've heard, thanks. Since you have two places, what other things do you do? Other tips etc?

I plug all the water drains to prevent roaches from coming up.

[007 license to sell]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

I'm looking at a vacation home in the 89129 area which has a pool. For the most part I won't be in the home too much; just long weekends throughout the year and a week long stay sometime during the year.

First pools, I'm thinking of changing the pool to a saltwater pool. Not being there a lot, can I get away with just a pool cover and this system? Or at least have a pool company come by every so often? I'm not exactly sure what kind of system the pool currently has, but it seems like an older one. I'm sure I'll be looking at a variable speed pump for better efficiency. Do I get a timer since I'm not there much to be able to set how long I want the filter to run? It has a heater as well, I guess for the built in spa I assume. I searched and some of you recommended Steve from AA Pool, but I couldn't find his contact information. Please send me other suggestions as well of other honest and reliable companies. It seems to be hard trying to find a reliable pool company.

Cooling - It is a two-story, so it has two systems. The one for downstairs is pretty new 16 seer, the one for upstairs is older and I'll most likely replace it for better efficiency. I called NV energy and the power bills in the summer were like $400 for July and August last year. I'm sure some of that was from the older upstairs air conditioner and from running that older pool pump. What is the recommended temperature to set the thermostat in the summer while we're not there? 90? Will it harm anything?

I will have a security system, automated lights etc. Thank you ahead of time for all your help.

Before you change to a salt water pool you may want to read up on them first they can cause allot of problems:
Here is a link to an article addressing salt water pool problems.


Salt water swimming pools are costly chlorine generators ...

It is also illegal to convert swimming pools connected to the sewer system to saltwater pools. A violation of the ordinance banning saltwater pools is a ...

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by 007 license to sell

Before you change to a salt water pool you may want to read up on them first they can cause allot of problems:
Here is a link to an article addressing salt water pool problems.


Salt water swimming pools are costly chlorine generators ...

It is also illegal to convert swimming pools connected to the sewer system to saltwater pools. A violation of the ordinance banning saltwater pools is a ...

I'd take anything written by a company selling a product that directly competes with salt water chlorine generators with, ahem, a large grain of salt.

If you want trusted information, from knowledgeable owners on the pros and cons of salt water pools, go to the forums on troublefreepool.com.

As far as putting salt down the sewer system, let's see, the average Las Vegas home probably puts what, maybe 300lbs of salt down the drain from their water softener every year. That's about the total amount of salt you need to add to a 15,000 gallon pool to raise the salinity to 3000ppm. With a salt water chlorine generator you're not going to be adding CYA to the water anymore (because you've stopped using stabilized chlorine in puck or powder form), so your need to drain the pool regularly is drastically reduced. So the impact on the sewer from salt water pools is not nearly what your uninformed quote above seems to suggest.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

First pools, I'm thinking of changing the pool to a saltwater pool. Not being there a lot, can I get away with just a pool cover and this system? Or at least have a pool company come by every so often? I'm not exactly sure what kind of system the pool currently has, but it seems like an older one. I'm sure I'll be looking at a variable speed pump for better efficiency. Do I get a timer since I'm not there much to be able to set how long I want the filter to run?

The only problem with a cover is that depending on wind exposure, you may find it getting blown off, or even out of your yard completely, on the windiest days of the year. My pool is free form, so I can't have an automatic cover, and the ones that anchor into the deck are mesh, not solid. Every year I have covered my pool there has been at least one day, and usually more, where the wind has ended up blowing part of the cover off, and one or more of the water bags or concrete blocks holding down the cover ended up in the pool. I have a mesh pool fence completely surrounding the pool too, which partially blocks the wind, but even with that, the pool cover still comes off.

There probably already is a timer on your pool pump, though it may be a mechanical timer with little "dogs" that you attach to a wheel to control the run times. At a minimum I'd recommend upgrading to a digital timer. Intermatic makes nice ones that you can program with up to eight separate running times. I used to have a timer with freeze protection, but since it kicked in at air temps as high as 40 degrees F (even when the thermostat was set to the coldest setting), it was often running when it wasn't necessary.

If you're going to be absent a lot of the time, you should look into automated devices that you can control over the internet. This might be a piecemeal approach (separate systems for HVAC, irrigation, pool automation, etc), or more of an integrated whole-home approach.