Search results

I don’t use my spa/pool heater often. After all, Tucson has been over 100 degrees every day for weeks now. But today I turned it on. It fired up as normal, but after about a minute or so it sounded like someone was feeding gravel into it. It was so violent it was shaking the entire unit. I...

After many years of service my Pentair 011018 Intelliflo pump has just died. I don’t need or want a pump with any additional features. I still want the power and control I had since I have the solar system. So my question for our pump experts is: What model number should I be looking for to...

I will start by saying that I have been using 50ppm borates in my pool for years, with little or no consideration for any safety issues. My pool is almost always used by adults or school age children. No dogs and no very young children. But recently, a friend was teaching my grandkids and a...

On April 28, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall of approximately 4,721 StaRite and Mastertemp pool heaters sold in the U.S. and Canada. The affected pool heaters include the HTR 250 Mastertemp LP, HTR 250 Mastertemp NA, HTR 300 Mastertemp NA, HTR 400 Mastertemp...

My AquaRite AQR-15 is now 15 years old. It has given me excellent service with only one $2.50 repair. For the third time, it is now in need of a new cell. Last time (2016) I bought one it cost a bit over $400. Now I’m seeing prices in the $600+ range. At that price I am considering just...

My Aquarite reads a salt level of 3600, and when I reverse polarity it reads 2800. I just cleaned the cell due to a “check salt” light. The higher reading is closer to the actual salt level. I know the unit can vary from test reading by as much as 300-400, but with near 1k variance in the two...

I have a Hayward DE 6020 filter and want to go to cartridge. Since the outside shell is the same as the C5030 cartridge filter and that’s by far the most expensive parts, can I just replace the insides? It looks like it would be a few hundred dollars vs 1k or more. Has anyone done it? What...

I received an email today from photobucket. Photobucket has reconsidered. It looks like they are going back to free hosting of third party photo posting on their website. They say they will just add a watermark logo to any free third party photos that are posted. Now let’s all watch to see...

I just spent the last few days completing my Alexa controlled pool and patio system. I can now turn on or off all of the following devices, either by voice command using Alexa, or via an iPhone app from any location: Spa pump Heater Spa light Pool light Patio light Barbecue light. The total...

I’m currently investigating the use of WiFi enabled smart switches (that don’t require a hub) to control lights and some pool functions. This would allow me to turn things on and off either with my iPhone or just tell Alexa to do it. This looks like a very inexpensive way to automate some...

My SWG check cell light came on yesterday. I keep my water well balanced, so that every time I check it, it’s spotless. Checked it, sure enough, clean as can be. Today the unit comes on and after about two minutes, shuts down with the “check cell” and “check salt” lights lit. The instant...

A set of four (4) Pleatco PA100n filter cartridges for less than $50. These fit the Hayward Swim Clear 425 sq ft filter and other 400 or 425 ft filters. Each cartridge is 100 sq. ft. and there's four in the set. A Hayward set lists for $250. Other brands $125-$200. I don't know why these...

Backstory, I switched out my old Hayward Super Pump 2 hp for a Pentair Intelliflo 011018 3 hp pump. Works great, and I'm very happy with it. My son has a pool with a similar Hayward Tristar 2 hp pump, but his pool is about 1/2 the size (about 10k), no spa. It does have a Paramont infloor...

Any pictures posted by embedded <img> links to photobucket will be blocked, unless you have a PAID photobucket account. I just got the email from photobucket saying all my photos would no longer be shown that way unless I pay their ransom. Went to my old postings, sure enough....blocked...

I've been around here several years now, and now I'm baffled at my latest testing. A little backstory: We had storm go through and I didn't get out and clean everything up right away. Temps have been record highs (110+). When I did clean up, there was a clump of debris on the sun shelf...

A bit of background. I have a SWG and my fill water is usually high TA and high CH. Before finding TFP I had problems with rising pH and consequently scale. After some study, I lowered the TA and added borates to help with pH rise. I began closely monitoring and controlling my CSI to prevent...

I know that the new extended life cell is rated by Hayward to produce up to 725 lb of chlorine over its life, vs the T-5 580 lbs., and a four year warranty vs three. My real question is if there is any real differences between the T-15 and the T-15w, other than a three year vs a one year...

I have a Hayward Pro Grid DE-6020 60 sq ft DE filter. The top half of the shell has a tiny crack. To replace just that part is about $300. I've always been satisfied with the filter and the bottom half of the shell was replaced a couple years ago. The grids were all replaced last year. So for...

I have a SWG pool and thought it might be a good idea to help protect the equipment from corrosion with a sacrificial zinc anode. My thought was to connect to the bonding wires near my heater and bury a zinc bar as a sacrificial anode there. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I see now that Pentair has come out with their "new, improved" Intelliflo 2 VST pump, the warranty on the 011018 model has been changed from 3 years to 2 years. Only the new, top-of-the-line 2 VST pump now qualifies for the 3 year warranty. Maybe we will also see a drop in the prices on the...

I was using the fiber and I liked the way it really polished the water sparklingly clean. In fact I was advocating for it with others on the forum. But then I left it a bit longer between backwashing. It became a gooey mess that wouldn't just backwash off. I had to do a breakdown clean on the...

Solar system experts here's your question. I have Heliocol solar system on my roof to heat the pool. I have recently switched to a VS pump which also handles circulation in the solar system. There is a relief valve at the top of the solar panels located furthest from the riser to the roof...

Background: my pool is a 36x16 play pool, so the depth goes from 3.5, 5 ,4. Not very much slope, basically a flat bottom. I have an A&A infloor cleaning system. The surface is pebbletec. I have to get out the manual vacuum about twice a week to get rid of the small leaves and debris from the...

I'm in the process of lowering my TA, so I stopped at Leslie's Pool Store. Here in Tucson they have the lowest price on 31% MA, a two gallon box for $11.49. So I asked for three boxes (this will likely be my only chemical purchase for the year). Clerk says "that's a lot of acid to buy at once"...

I just bought the Pentair Intelliflo VS 011018 pump for $835 w/ free shipping, no tax. You can also get a $100 pre paid Visa card as a rebate from Pentair and an extended 3 yr warranty if you have the pump professionally installed. (That is in addition to any rebate you may get from your power...

I just installed a new Intelliflo pump. Since the pump is now controlled by its own on-board timer system, the old timer is now bypassed. This means the Aquarite control box is powered up at all times. The only thing that turns the cell on or off now is the flow switch. Should the flow switch...

I was planning on having an RO treatment done to reduce my CH level, which had gotten over 1,000. The local company after giving the run around for a month called last week and said the pump was out on their equipment. They would have to reschedule, date unknown. I tested my tap water (as the...

A bit of background I have very hard water. The fill water CH varies between 150 and 250. Evaporation rates can be an inch or more daily during the summer. Pool stays open and uncovered year round. The net result is my CH levels get very high. My current CH current level is 1,050. I have...

I have a SWG pool, so my system generates chlorine gas. I know that some large pool complexes and most water treatment plants use pure chlorine gas for chlorination. There is one pool service company here in Tucson that offers chlorine gas chlorination...

Do I have a problem? Most here seems to have pressures at the filter around the 15-20 psi range. Some even in the single digits. My pump pressure is usually around 30 psi. I do have an in-floor cleaning system and solar heating. The solar collectors are about 50 ft away and 1 1/2 stories...