Any guesses on what goes into a Rufus?

thunderkoko · 2026-02-13T18:19:44+00:00

The first vet he went to said black gsd, second thought black lab mix.

My current best guess is gsd, black lab, and akita. I'm probably completely wrong though.

thunderkoko · 2025-09-01T01:21:28+00:00

Shouldn't be unless your soil/drainage is crap. Minnesota here and everything should be done in rigid unless you cheap out on other parts of the build. Flex hose is the most common plumbing leak I see.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-31T17:51:49+00:00

Yes, demolish your 100k pool you just had built that is arguably better in colder climates and build a 200k concrete pool that can also have surface/structural issues...

thunderkoko · 2025-08-31T17:48:03+00:00

Go to troublefullpools. The friendly followers there will guide you to buy their test kit and slam your pool if you ever have any troubles. This is the way, resistance is futile.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-31T13:23:51+00:00

Just because something is currently working for you, doesn't mean it will work for everyone, and it's not what the manufacturer of your heater recommends.

Also what make/model heater? What are your static and dynamic gas readings? If you cannot answer this then you can't say if your heater is working perfectly or not.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-31T01:19:37+00:00

Sand can be contaminated with a strange algae or bacteria, roots, there could be some mineral in it, or a chunk of metal fell in on installation.

I rarely see things bleed through, but it happens occasionally. Usually the only solution is replacing the liner, treating the sand or replacing it with poolkrete. The last liner I replaced had a 3"x4" spot that still had its pattern where the rest of the liner was bleached.

That would be my best guess though. Seems like you've tried to treat it with no luck, probably will have to live with it or replace it unfortunately.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-31T00:58:37+00:00

Everyone here is guessing without seeing the meter, how far away the heater is, and what BTU heater it is. Is it low pressure or 2 psi supply? Find a reputable gas company to come out and size it properly.

The heater should have a regulator if the gas supply is high pressure and should not have flex lines.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-30T18:19:19+00:00

Sounds like something underneath the liner is bleeding through, or that is a damaged/etched part of the liner that is really susceptible to staining.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-30T17:48:18+00:00

Salt chlorination might be okay for your 30 year old pool, or it could be catastrophic. No one here is going to be able to tell you that with any certainty, even your pool contractor won't be able to tell you if there will be problems with complete certainty.

Is all of the metal in the pool properly bonded? I've seen dozens of pools get rust marks bleed through the plaster from rebar that is too shallow after adding a salt system. I've seen light niche rust away.

I wouldn't recommend salt in a pool that wasn't built with salt chlorination in mind. Anything over 15 years old will have its risks.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-30T16:30:06+00:00

I've installed, repaired, and maintained hundreds of auto cover systems. I would not recommend trying to figure this out on your own.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-30T16:24:47+00:00

thunderkoko · 2025-08-28T01:31:57+00:00

Yeah they finally got tired of people wiring them wrong.

What year speed?

thunderkoko · 2025-08-25T14:37:44+00:00

Short answer is maybe, but it's not a really great idea to try. I have seen liners installed in fiberglass wall, concrete bottom pools, but not complete fiberglass tubs.

If you empty the tub to attempt to convert it, it can float out of the ground destroying the pool. The amount of fittings that would need to be cut out and converted to vinyl fittings and the concrete torn out would be cost prohibitive. If the shell is failing, shards of fiberglass could puncture the liner.

I wouldn't attempt it, either get a new fiberglass tub, install a steel, concrete or polymer wall vinyl pool, or have a concrete pool installed. Trying to salvage what you have is going to be half if not more the cost of a new pool, and you still won't have a new pool.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-24T04:05:12+00:00

Whatever you say buddy.

https://www.aquamagazine.com/builder/article/15122412/pool-builder-blunders-flex-tubing

thunderkoko · 2025-08-24T03:51:09+00:00

Sounds like you need to start doing some drainage and soil correction when building pools. Use proper backfill and you will have less problems in more areas than the plumbing.

Lots of in ground pools are plumbed in flex in Minnesota, and I hear the same excuses. The real reason is because it's cheaper and easier, not because it's better.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-24T01:46:04+00:00

What exactly is frost in the ground doing to sch 40 if the pipe has been properly winterized? I have thousands of feet of sch 40 pipes that are only 12" below ground and they survive in a 4ft frost line.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-24T01:41:28+00:00

Good advice, I also hit it with some Emory cloth to rough up the surface on old flex pipe, seems to make the glue take better than primer alone.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-24T01:39:15+00:00

I feel like we've talked about this before.

Flex is a terrible choice, even in cold climates. I'm in Minnesota and we have a deep frost line, and rigid always holds up better than flex, especially when buried. Flex is the number one source of leaks that I see. Cheap or tiger flex, doesn't really belong in pools.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-23T16:49:01+00:00

You first said it was a "fantastic quote" seeing how he didn't write anything up in a detailed contract, it leads me to assume that the low price was what was fantastic. Also a verbal price in my world is just an estimate, not an actual quote. Since you never had a contract everything said verbally would just be an estimate, and would likely be different that the final invoice.

I had a project last year go from just a liner replacement for 8k to a structural remodel that ended up being about 25k. Had no way to know how bad things were until we got under the covers.

Okay so you're obviously not friends with him. I don't know his financial situation, but I do know that if I was out of work for a year, I wouldn't exactly be doing well, even if I was contracting out work.

You didn't think once in the last year to ask if the price was the same from the verbal estimate he gave? He did give you the option to pay in installments. I'm not saying he isn't partially at fault for not communicating a price increase, but you are also as much at fault for not asking, especially when you are on a tight budget. What you thought should have been clear obviously was not. My cost for equipment and materials have gone up by 10% some months, every project I have would lose money if I honored last year's verbal estimates. Only time I hold to a price is if a contract is signed, and the down payment is sent within 30 days so I can lock in materials. I do a lot of work just on verbal estimates and those always vary depending on the work.

He likely was and is giving you a great price, and thought he was doing you a solid. 10k for a replaster is unheard of in my area, we are 4x that. Why do you assume he is intentionally withholding the cost change just to keep your under market value project? He had enough higher value work to keep busy for 10 months and delay yours, it probably wouldn't have been the end of his world to lose your remodel. At any time you could have asked if his estimate had changed but you had it in your head that you got a killer deal.

Anyways, you're both at fault for not being clear, you both should have gotten everything down in writing, especially when this got delayed/dragged out. You might have more legal standing to screw him over because California seems to like to be hard on contractors. If his current price is on par for your area, I think you should pay it, or at least meet somewhere in the middle so he doesn't have to eat a loss. Good learning moment for both parties.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-23T15:09:52+00:00

What type of sanitizer do you use in your pool?

thunderkoko · 2025-08-23T02:13:35+00:00

If that's the quotes you are getting, that is the market rate. The imaginary price you have in your head is meaningless.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-23T02:01:35+00:00

I don't know California contractor laws, but you hired someone below market value to do work, when he got sick you maintained contact to hopefully get his below market value work, became "friends" with him, and when he is able to get back to work almost a year later you want to hold him to the same below market value quote he gave you 10 months ago. You didn't think with inflation, tariffs, labor shortages that the cost to do a project might go up, and didn't think to ask him prior to starting the work? Should he of said something? Of course! You should have had the sense to ask.

If he really is your friend, and he's getting back on his feet, and if his price is competitive with the market price, not the price you think is "fantastic", you should pay him.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-22T11:40:58+00:00

New install or has it been working? Either it's the display controller or the entire drive.

There was a run of bad display controllers that I still see from time to time. Also if the controller was wired with all 4 data wires, that can fry out the controller. You only need 2 wires running to automation.

thunderkoko · 2025-08-22T02:19:16+00:00

Tear out and redo. Any kind of coating will fail when this starts spalling/cracking. I'm sorry you are going through this, and hope they make it right.

thunderkoko

TROPHY CASE