Which autofill to get?

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M

mschmidt33

0
Oct 30, 2010
96
Highland, MI
All,

We are putting in an IGP in the spring and I'm trying to plan out all the details now. We live in SE Mi and would use the pool maybe 6mo out of the year. We have quite a few friends with pools and a few of them complain about always having to drag a hose around and fill the pool. They lose water from the kids horseplay and evaporation. The pool location gets a lot of sun, same as an open field.

At a minimum our builder has agreed to run a water line out to the pool so we are not dragging a hose through the fence. Do I need an autofill? If so which one do you recommend? We are trying to plan this pool to be as maintnance free as possible as both my wife and I work full time.

Mike
 
There are several you can get - highly recommended and wish I would have got one plumbed into my pool. I have a wireless one now, but wish I would have gotten one as part of the initial plumbing. Having a line into the pool helps, but you need to be there to turn it on, and more importantly, to turn it off!!! This is where the autofill is really nice - not forgetting four hours later that you started filling the pool.

As far as brands, there are several - the ones I see the most (cant remember the brand right now - letro?) go into a skimmer-like container next to the pool, and have a little toilet-like float-valve.

Also, ask him to plumb in an overflow into the pool - you won't regret that either when you get 4" of rain in a single day.

- Jeff
 
Perfect! http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/poolsupp ... /letro.htm

$65 plus since I will have a water line run out to the pool for feet washing, shower, etc. it will be easy to tee into. I will have him add a valve as well.

Our water is pretty bad and high in iron. Should I have him run this through our water softener?

Also, what do you recommend for an over flow? I assume this is as easy as a port in the wall run into the yard?

Mike


taekwondodo said:
There are several you can get - highly recommended and wish I would have got one plumbed into my pool. I have a wireless one now, but wish I would have gotten one as part of the initial plumbing. Having a line into the pool helps, but you need to be there to turn it on, and more importantly, to turn it off!!! This is where the autofill is really nice - not forgetting four hours later that you started filling the pool.

As far as brands, there are several - the ones I see the most (cant remember the brand right now - letro?) go into a skimmer-like container next to the pool, and have a little toilet-like float-valve.

Also, ask him to plumb in an overflow into the pool - you won't regret that either when you get 4" of rain in a single day.

- Jeff
Click to expand...
 
Be cautious on the auto-fill... Many of these, and the most common ones, are simply toilet-tank type valves that get installed in container in the deck. Often, even a small amount of ground movement binds the float against the wall & renders the autofill useless. I don't know brand names anymore, but this might be worth doing some research on.
Yes, the overflow is that easy, just make sure he sets the lowest edge of the autofill about 1/2-3/4" above the mid-point in the tile.
 
I had to change the elevation of the float because when the auto fill was installed, it was installed lower because I have a concrete lid. I had to make a bend to the threaded rod so it would level correctly and not stick to the wall of the bucket.

Hope I explained that well enough!
 
The "toilet bowl float" ones also come with an overflow already in the unit. You just have to remember to have the landscaper attach it to a drain line.

If you have dogs that shed, lots of dirt or debris, these units can be problematic and stick. If the o-flow is hooked up and the unit sticks, you won't know it until you get your water bill!

Just remember there really is no "maintenance free" pool. The more stuff you "ignore" the bigger the opportunity for a problem! There are a lot of convenience products (like an autofill), but it does require occasional observation.
 
I've never seen anything get stuck inside the "skimmer" portion of of auto-fill - but to simicrintz other point, if it's not adjusted correctly (any type of autofill), you can "drain" all of the "perfectly balanced CYA/Bo/T-A adjusted" water with tap in a relatively short time, especially if the pool has an inconspicuous overflow built into the side - without even noticing. Been there, done that.
 

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Our builder attached a water line that is linked with the sprinkler timer. We never have to worry about it sticking. We makes 2 adjustments a year. 1 in the summer and and once more when it cools down. 7 minutes every other day in the summer and 3 minutes in the winter works great.
 
salp said:
Jandy (Zodiac) Levolor Water Leveling ( http://www.jandy.com/html/products/waterleveling/ ) is what I have seen on some of the higher end pools. I have the old toilet bowl solution that I modified and it works fine for me. I just make sure I shut it off every three months to make sure I "do not" have a leak in the pool! Otherwise :goodjob:
Click to expand...

We have this Jandy Levolor, and so far, it seems to have been a good addition. I like that it has a feature--is it the "lockout"?--that limits how much it will fill at a time.

When we backwash a dirty filter or vacuum to waste, we can lose quite a bit of water in a short time (not great). So when the autofill kicks in to fill the pool, it does run only for a limited time. The "Filling" light is green. When a certain amount of time has gone by, the Levelor stops filling, the light turns red, and I go and cycle power to get it to fill some more. The second time around, the Levelor decides that it has reached its ideal mark and shuts off the water fill.

When left alone, it has always done its job.

Thanks for the tip on shutting it off every now and again to check for leaks!

Lana
 
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