Backyard-pool experiments from Houston: water chemistry, temperature, circulation, cooling, and pool-volume estimates. I try to keep the photos, measurements, calculations, mistakes, and follow-up checks instead of stopping at “it worked.”
Measured every 5 GPM from 30 to 65. The final 45-GPM setting keeps practical surface flow at the skimmer and a continuous spa spillover while cutting pump energy from 949 to 366 W—about 2,554 kWh or $383 per year.
Read more →Measured 18 L/min flow and retained a single 0.30°C per-pass temperature reading, then reconstructed jet velocity, flight time, and a simple evaporation sanity check. The stream cools, but the whole pool barely moves.
Read more →Surface area, measured 3 ft / 6 ft depths, and a separate spa calculation give about 15,972 gallons. Because the depth assumption can shift the result by hundreds of gallons, I use 16,000 gallons as an approximate working baseline.
Read more →I compare the strip with the bottle chart, keep uncertain readings as ranges, and use AI as a visual second opinion rather than a measuring instrument.
Read more →New articles will be added from real pool problems, with measurements, calculations and adjustments kept separate from assumptions.
Coming soonTest-strip readings, pH and alkalinity adjustments, aeration, circulation time, and pool-volume estimates. Photos and calculations are useful tools, but I keep measured values separate from estimates and visual interpretations.
