Hello fellow TFP-ers:
Looking for some friendly advice from this group regarding all of the gear on my pool pad. For some history, I bought my house about 4yrs ago and inherited the pool, and stumbled on the TFP site and educated myself on what to do. I had an issue with my 1998 heater recently which caused me to think it might be time to do some updating. I'm interested to know the group opinion of if I should replace all the gear on my pad (with new valves & piping) or if I am overthinking all of it, and simply continue to patch when needed and keep trucking along. I'm also considering doing all the work myself, but not sure if this too ambitious - yes I know how to pipe gas and pvc/cvpc and run/handle electrical. I've done enough self-repair already at this point on several of the parts and feel confident. However, hiring a pro could save me some serious time and possible frustration, so I'm not unwilling. Cost is important to me, but I'm willing to spend where it makes the most sense. Pool is 15K gallon white plaster with 1K connected spa, no water feature. That said, here is my setup and some question:
1) Pump - Challenger 1.5HP 2 speed, I just replaced motor in 9/2016 as previous was a single speed. Would like to continue using cause it works just fine. Sometimes get air pockets in pump basket when skimmer sock is full.
2) Triton TR100 - replaced sand about a year ago. Always have issue with sand blowback only after backwash or when getting a significant amount of air into filter. I hardly ever backwash as I use a skimmer sock. I also add DE to filter after every backwash. Have plunger style backwash valve and backwash tied to city sewer, wish I had visibility on pipe to know when water is clear, but since I went to the sock, I almost never backwash.
3) Pentair Minimax NT TSI 400K - surprised this thing still works. We only heat the spa about 5-10 times a year, so this hardly gets used. Has run issue free until last weekend when I had to replace the the fan run capacitor. A good amount of rust on the unit, so I know I'm on limited time here until needing a replacement.
4) Stenner pump - I installed 9/2016 along with a check valve to protect the [pretty rusted] heater.
5) Switch - replaced 2 yellow analog Intermatics with Intermatic P1353ME to handle 2 speed pump and stenner.
So my thinking is I have some pretty old gear and piping and it may need a refresh. But, not being an experienced pool person, I may be trying to crack a walnut with a sledge hammer. Here are my questions:
So in short, everything works right now but my curiosity of the heater age got me thinking to hit the reset button on it all when it actually dies. Thanks for the thoughts and feedback.
Looking for some friendly advice from this group regarding all of the gear on my pool pad. For some history, I bought my house about 4yrs ago and inherited the pool, and stumbled on the TFP site and educated myself on what to do. I had an issue with my 1998 heater recently which caused me to think it might be time to do some updating. I'm interested to know the group opinion of if I should replace all the gear on my pad (with new valves & piping) or if I am overthinking all of it, and simply continue to patch when needed and keep trucking along. I'm also considering doing all the work myself, but not sure if this too ambitious - yes I know how to pipe gas and pvc/cvpc and run/handle electrical. I've done enough self-repair already at this point on several of the parts and feel confident. However, hiring a pro could save me some serious time and possible frustration, so I'm not unwilling. Cost is important to me, but I'm willing to spend where it makes the most sense. Pool is 15K gallon white plaster with 1K connected spa, no water feature. That said, here is my setup and some question:
1) Pump - Challenger 1.5HP 2 speed, I just replaced motor in 9/2016 as previous was a single speed. Would like to continue using cause it works just fine. Sometimes get air pockets in pump basket when skimmer sock is full.
2) Triton TR100 - replaced sand about a year ago. Always have issue with sand blowback only after backwash or when getting a significant amount of air into filter. I hardly ever backwash as I use a skimmer sock. I also add DE to filter after every backwash. Have plunger style backwash valve and backwash tied to city sewer, wish I had visibility on pipe to know when water is clear, but since I went to the sock, I almost never backwash.
3) Pentair Minimax NT TSI 400K - surprised this thing still works. We only heat the spa about 5-10 times a year, so this hardly gets used. Has run issue free until last weekend when I had to replace the the fan run capacitor. A good amount of rust on the unit, so I know I'm on limited time here until needing a replacement.
4) Stenner pump - I installed 9/2016 along with a check valve to protect the [pretty rusted] heater.
5) Switch - replaced 2 yellow analog Intermatics with Intermatic P1353ME to handle 2 speed pump and stenner.
So my thinking is I have some pretty old gear and piping and it may need a refresh. But, not being an experienced pool person, I may be trying to crack a walnut with a sledge hammer. Here are my questions:
- Piping/valves - does everything usually get replaced when you put in all new equipment or do you simply adjust to fit the new equipment? All of the valves work fine. My only concern are the 2 suction side valves (red handles coming out of the ground) as they are metal - could they be corroded on the inside? They still open and close just fine and don't leak. Should I replace them? If so with with valve? I have no water leaks anywhere except at the union at the sand filter, which I know to fix would likely mean alotta work in emptying/moving the sand filter to replace the gasket. The water loss is very small, so I'm not worried about it.
- Backwash plunger - seems awfully flimsy. I broke one already and had to buy a new one, but still, I feel like I'm going to break it every time I have to pull it back into position.
- Heater - I know I'll have to replace soon and I think this seems like an easy do-it-yourself project. Question here is, I understand the general consensus is Raypak, although I don't think I could find a dealer here in Houston. Is there another brand recommendation? Is this a do-it-yourself project? I understand there is a possible loss of a warranty from the manufacturer, right? Read something about ensuring install a bypass, but not sure why I would do that.
- Pump - is hard piped in, which so far hasn't been an issue as any pump leaks, etc. I can get to. If I do repipe, can I union this so I can get the who pump out easier? Are unions more leak prone if near the pump?
- Filter - I realize I may have a cracked lateral inside which is causing the blowback. My research of this forum shows people all over the place in sand vs DE filter vs cartridge. Other than the little blowback (which my 1Cup of DE add helps with), my water is sparkly blue, so I'm not sure why I would change. I have a screened in cage over my entire pool so debris is never an issue. I do get the dirt that makes it through the screen, but my robot cleaner gets that. Should I consider a different filtration? When does a sand filter need to be replaced? Mine has some black spots which you can see in the pic, but no cracks anywhere.
So in short, everything works right now but my curiosity of the heater age got me thinking to hit the reset button on it all when it actually dies. Thanks for the thoughts and feedback.
