Maintenance with my Chevy Equinox
When I bought my 08’ Equinox in 2014 one of the selling features was the fact that it didn’t require an oil change every 5000km, it had a OLM or Oil Life monitor installed in the computer system so on average I was getting 11000 km between oil changes for about a year owning it, that was so great! Huge money savings right? Wrong!
I learned this the hard way. See GM had issued a recall to reprogramming of the ECM that shortened the OLM oil change intervals back in 2013 after reports of timing chains stretching, (I didn’t get the recall notice) GM noticed a flaw in their design that in that prolonged oil changes the engine would naturally consume about 2.5 L of oil leaving your engine to starve for oil right around 30% oil life, the oil would be so low that the oil pump would suck in air when turning a corner and cause the oil pump to cavitate, (like a pool pump with air in it) when that happened to my engine the timing chain tensioners would lose their tension due to the lack of oil pressure and caused my my timing chains to slowly stretch over the 8 years or 128000km causing a huge headache for my Wife and I this winter. Moral of the story is we sometimes think maintenance is a sensor or a check engine light appears to tell you to change/replace/check on something or to service soon, but sometimes we can’t wait to have that sensor to tell you that something is wrong. Maintenance is important always.
Swimming pool heater maintenance:
Monthly checks on your water
We recommend having your water checked monthly to insure your waters PH/alkalinity is on the right parameters to ensure your heaters heat exchanger and internal components are not being calcified or eroded away, this a huge requirement to anyone who owns any kind of pool heater.
Getting your water checked after a rain storm or after large pool party is a good way to stay on top of your water chemistry as these parameters can change in a matter of days, at Aqua Tech this is Free of Charge if you own a in ground pool in Winnipeg and surrounding areas, so get your water checked often!
Do not forget to check your water weekly with your testing strips!
Maintaining proper flow to your swimming pool heater:
Checking your pool’s filter is a must, Backwashing your sand filter to ensure proper flow to your heater, or rinsing your filter depending every time your pressure gauge gets high this will ensure proper water flow to your heater to always operate smoothly.
At Aqua Tech we offer professional cleaning of modular media filters this will ensure your filter has a fresh start each season.
Inspection of your pool heater:
Have your heater checked by a service technician twice a year. Once when the pool is opened to check for any issues from the elements of winter or from a nests from rodents (kaaaboooommmm!! If you don’t) and can you save you from any huge expensive hiccups.
Secondly, inspection should be right before you put your heater to sleep for the winter. We can test your heater for proper functions to make sure it doesn’t have a hitch in spring. The reality is your pool heater is not like your household heater, it has 3 times the BTU of your houses furnace and is exposed to the elements that can throw at your appliance and needs some extra TLC, also really its hard to gage the lifespan of your pool’s heater because of variables just due to the fact of where you live, kind of heater, Built in diagnostics, redundant safety circuit’s, electronic igniters, hot surface igniters, last but not least, Preventative maintenance…(story of my life-HA!)
Happy swimming!
