Running Linux On Your Swimming Pool

Forkenhoppen writes: "Ever considered having a computer look after your swimming pool maintenance? Check out this project by Richard J. Kinch. Mr. Kinch uses a Linux box configured with several shell scripts to control the chlorination levels of his pool."

Comments

Re:Oh good God!

[heliocentric]

What next? A device that runs Linux so that their toilet flushes? :-)

Hmmm... will you settle for one running slackware here -

http://tbp.berkeley.edu/~harlan/projects/ToiletPap er.html

What theme is he running?

[WIAKywbfatw]

I'm willing to bet it's Aqua.

how about those pool robots?

[OmegaDan]

this is cool, but ... I always loved those pool cleaner bots that drive around the pool bottom and pick up debris. Could we get a rediculously complicated computer controlled one? let it be run by perl scripts and have a mysql database to log the ammount leaves picked up and ammount of urine in the pool. This will be served from the pool robot itself running a custom apache rig via an 802.11 underwater access point :)

this would be a proper geek project

Dem pesky neighbours

[LadyLucky]

try {
PoolState poolState = pool.getPoolState();
if( poolState.getChlorineLevel() < MIN_CHLORINE_LEVEL ) {
dispense();
}
} catch( KidPissedInPoolException kpipe ) {
MainsPower.reRouteTo( pool, MainsPower.MAX_VOLTAGE );
}

Sorry. I just had to.

a Linux zealot's pool party

[nomadic]

"Thanks for inviting me to the pool party!"

"No problem, Ed."

Ed enters the water.

"Ahhh! It burns!"

"That's impossible, Ed. You see, the chlorination levels are controlled by several scripts running under Linux. It's Open Source, so it's stable and it can't help but work."

"For the love of all that's holy, someone help me!"

"You see, with open source any bugs that would have cropped up would have been immediately been fixed by the many independent programmers around the world who check the source code."

"Oh the pain! My skin is being flayed from my body!"

"See the neighbor's kid over there? The one in the Limp Bizkit t-shirt with the baseball cap? He's one of the many open source coders around the world who maintain the system I use to automate my pool. Don't let his age, lack of education, or immaturity fool you; because he's an open source coder he's far superior to any corporate drone with a masters in CS. Now don't you feel better?"

"Oh, the pain! It's like acid!"

"Ed, the chlorine level is precisely monitored, as I've been telling you. Whatever you're feeling is most definitely not the result of chlorine."

Ed finally manages to crawl out of the pool. His skin is an angry red, and his hair has turned white.

"Ohhh...someone...help..."

"Ok, I see how it is, Ed. You're one of those Microsoft supporters, just trying to spread FUD about the open source movement. I think you should leave."

Interesting slashdot effect

[flacco]

When I try to load the page, all I get is a blank screen with this across the top:

Swimming poo

Ick.

Overkill

[tkrotchko]

The problem with this system is that its automating something that is more easily handled by cheap mechanical devices. Mechanical autochlorinator technology is cheap and works.

Most people think a pool with too much chlorine will have a "chlorine" smell and will irritate your eyes. This is a fallacy; pools get that funny smell because the available chlorine has been turned to chloramines. The only way to get rid of the chloramines is to add more chlorine. So ironically, a "chlorine" smell in a pool is a sign of poor maintence and NOT ENOUGH CHLORINE! Your eyes will not be irritated, your skin won't turn red, you won't be harmed by too much chlorine in a pool.

Besides this is attacking the wrong problem. Keeping the proper chlorine levels in a pool with the proper chemistry is simple. Combined with the mechnical device I've already mentioned makes checking the chlorine levels a once-a-week chore for a residential pool. Its the least bothersome part of running a pool.

The tricky part is the rest of the chemistry (particularly total alkalinity and pH). It can be done via automation, but there's no particular need to have a computer do it. Again, its a once-a-week check, and then you add small doses of chemicals at that time if it needs to be balanced. But the balance is critical to everything about the pool and the health of the people in it.

The bottom line is that you have to check it once a week yourself anyway, regardless of the automation system. Spend your time swimming, not inventing the equivalent of an electric dog polisher.