Hi all,
I just moved into a new house that has a 15 year old in ground vinyl pool. I know nothing about pools besides what I have read here (and its great by the way, thanks!) and talking to a few friends / family that have pools. I will be closing the pool in a few weeks for the winter and would like to start planning to replace some equipment in the spring so I am looking for advice / recommendations on equipment and setups. I am fairly handy and could probably do most of it myself with the help of a few plumber friends.
The pool is 18x36 and 8 ft deep on the deep end. I havent measured average depth but my guess is its about 25,000 gallons based on other people's similar pools. The previous owners use trichlor but I want to convert to salt. Ive read reviews on haward and pentair SWCGs.
The pump is a pac-fab/Centurion and has a loud whining noise. the pool inspector said the motor bearing is shot and the motor needs to be replaced. I would like to get a whole new pump system and either get a variable speed or two-speed for the energy benefits. I believe it has 220v going to it because I have 220v coming off at the timer. I just havent had time to trace the wires yet to confirm. Either way I have read a bunch of posts here describing different variable speed pumps vs two speeds. Whatever I get I would like it to be easy to install and operate. I plan to run the pool like the rest of the northeast from Memorial Day to Labor Day so about 3-4 months per year if that helps.
The filter is a Purex Triton FNS Plus 36 DE as seen in the photos. I have no idea what condition it is in and I can open if up after I close the pool if I need to get an idea. If it isnt broken I dont see a need to replace it but I can if it turns out I need to. It says "fresh water only" on the side and I would like to go salt. If so, should I go Sand, DE, cartridge? I have read up on the differences and it looks like DE provides the best filtration, while sand is the easiest to maintain?? Also, the plunger for the filter seems that it doesnt seal correctly so I have water coming from the bottom tube (I think that's the backwash) so I plugged it with a plug one day after it started gushing for no reason. It closes up when I apply pressure but either way I think that whole assembly needs to be replaced. Also there is water leaking from under that pipe maybe at the joint or a crack somewhere. I found that whole assembly on Amazon for $60.
The valves are old but they all seem to work. If I am going to replumb the whole thing should I get new valves? The easier the better though...
The natural gas heater is old and the bottom is rusted out but it does fire. Im not looking to use a heater though and I could remove the whole thing when I rebuild next spring if it is just going to take up room.
All-in-all my budget for this is about $2000 if I do it myself. I could spend a few bux more if I really had to but dont want to if I dont have to. If the filter is good I could probably get this done for under $1500 (salt water and new pump)?
So basically I am looking for advice on:
Thanks a ton. I really look forward to all the helpful information on this site!
I just moved into a new house that has a 15 year old in ground vinyl pool. I know nothing about pools besides what I have read here (and its great by the way, thanks!) and talking to a few friends / family that have pools. I will be closing the pool in a few weeks for the winter and would like to start planning to replace some equipment in the spring so I am looking for advice / recommendations on equipment and setups. I am fairly handy and could probably do most of it myself with the help of a few plumber friends.
The pool is 18x36 and 8 ft deep on the deep end. I havent measured average depth but my guess is its about 25,000 gallons based on other people's similar pools. The previous owners use trichlor but I want to convert to salt. Ive read reviews on haward and pentair SWCGs.
The pump is a pac-fab/Centurion and has a loud whining noise. the pool inspector said the motor bearing is shot and the motor needs to be replaced. I would like to get a whole new pump system and either get a variable speed or two-speed for the energy benefits. I believe it has 220v going to it because I have 220v coming off at the timer. I just havent had time to trace the wires yet to confirm. Either way I have read a bunch of posts here describing different variable speed pumps vs two speeds. Whatever I get I would like it to be easy to install and operate. I plan to run the pool like the rest of the northeast from Memorial Day to Labor Day so about 3-4 months per year if that helps.
The filter is a Purex Triton FNS Plus 36 DE as seen in the photos. I have no idea what condition it is in and I can open if up after I close the pool if I need to get an idea. If it isnt broken I dont see a need to replace it but I can if it turns out I need to. It says "fresh water only" on the side and I would like to go salt. If so, should I go Sand, DE, cartridge? I have read up on the differences and it looks like DE provides the best filtration, while sand is the easiest to maintain?? Also, the plunger for the filter seems that it doesnt seal correctly so I have water coming from the bottom tube (I think that's the backwash) so I plugged it with a plug one day after it started gushing for no reason. It closes up when I apply pressure but either way I think that whole assembly needs to be replaced. Also there is water leaking from under that pipe maybe at the joint or a crack somewhere. I found that whole assembly on Amazon for $60.
The valves are old but they all seem to work. If I am going to replumb the whole thing should I get new valves? The easier the better though...
The natural gas heater is old and the bottom is rusted out but it does fire. Im not looking to use a heater though and I could remove the whole thing when I rebuild next spring if it is just going to take up room.
All-in-all my budget for this is about $2000 if I do it myself. I could spend a few bux more if I really had to but dont want to if I dont have to. If the filter is good I could probably get this done for under $1500 (salt water and new pump)?
So basically I am looking for advice on:
- Replacement pump - Something that is energy efficient
- Replacement Filter if needed.
- Advice to re-plumb for new pump and SWCG.
- Salt Water Generators models / specs.
Thanks a ton. I really look forward to all the helpful information on this site!