discolored pipe in generator system

[poolbee]

Thanks. Do you mean the screen that I am supposed to clean periodically? I want to make sure I have the right thing so I don't screw up the unit!

[tenax]

yep, that's what sean means...you should see a red "error" light on your control panel on the flow display, but don't worry about that..after you have done what sean said, take the plastic covering the flow screen off, the flow to your autopilot will resume as normal. it's also a good check to see if your autopilot is shutting down due to a no flow condition as it should!

[poolbee]

Thanks. I'll try today.

Tried it but didn't do much. I saw another post while searching info on this. In it, Sean, you mention it you could see inside the PVC pipes they should be white. When I did my purge of the regulator, I noticed the PVC was very yellow, almost brown. I could scrape it off with my fingernail though, and it is white under that. Could that still be from all the dirt we had around(my Dolphin is still picking up tons of polymaric sand 3 weeks after the patio is finished) or could I be looking at an algae problem? The top 2 stairs are yellowish but that comes off easily with a Magic eraser and it is not slimy. Pool water is crystal clear, as well as pool walls.

At first I thought of copper corrosion, but I'm thinking the yellowing would not scrape off it it was. I check my pH every other day and have only once lowered it too much, but added borax right away to increase it and that was quite a while ago.

[poolbee]

Just a bump.

[Poolsean]

Sorry for the slow response...busy week and even busier upcoming two weeks. I have to work Phoenix, Monterey and Maui. It's a tough job and I can't get anyone else to go for me. ; )
The yellowish/brownish staining is usually metals (iron) in the water. It may be so, especially if you use well water to top off your pool, or if you have had metal problems in the past. I would recommend wiping the brown off with a rag with a very mild acid and water solution. Then use a sequestering treatment to filter out the metals.
This may not completely prevent the staining of the pipes from reoccuring, but it will keep potential metal staining in the pool.

[poolbee]

Hmm. I use regular tap water for my pool, but there was some staining of the liner as my pool builder used table salt for the SWG and I understand that has iron in it. As I added salt as needed during the summer I used solar salt.
I am bringing my water to the dealer for a final test before closing. I'll be sure to have the iron tested. They usually only test for copper-which last test was 0.1.
Thanks for the info. Maui huh? Tough job! But I guess when it is work-it's work!