I have a Pentair IC60 that generates chlorine when initially turned on, and then a couple minutes later flashes "inspect cell". I've had it for about 3 seasons. It was doing the same thing toward the end of the season last year, but the water was pretty cold and I dismissed the issue due to cold water. It seems somewhat insane that it will produce chlorine when initially turned on, but then go to "inspect cell" after a couple minutes and stop generating chlorine.

Any way to fix this problem, or does this mean I need a new SWG?

The Easytouch manual doesn't address how to connect this particular pump nor does the pump manual.
I have a Easytouch 4. 2 relays are available. I have the RS 485 black cable with 8 pins.
On page 6 of the pump manual it explains how to connect the pump via "External Control via Digital Inputs and on page 7 it explains "Using an External Input Signal".
I'm not sure which method of connecting the pump I use.
Thanks for any help.

Hi All - I haven’t updated my signature with pool size, equipment, and all other necessary things but I will eventually.

Anyhow, we’re having an issue with our heater, it’s a new Raypak Avia 404, that shuts off after roughly 10 min. The digital screen says two things:
Flue Extremely Low
and
High Flow Fault

I called Raypak yesterday and the tech that I spoke with said that those are indicators that the water flow through the heater is too high/fast for it to heat it properly.
He asked what pump size we have, told him it’s a 1.5 HP for an 18x36 pool.

He said to:
1. Install an external bypass with a ball valve to slow down the flow.
Or
2. Switch to a variable speed pump to slow down the flow.

I haven’t done either yet, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking that this is a large heater, why couldn’t it handle the flow from a 1.5 hp pump or even a larger pump.

I'm in the middle of relocating my pool pump, filter and SWG that have been out in the yard about 10 feet off the corner of the house, approximately 10-12 feet in order to be up against the end of the house, so that I can add a pool heater to the mix, and have the natural gas more readily available, as well as have everything out of sight.

The entire pool was plumbed with 1.5" PVC, so that is what I've kept at the pump and filter over the years, even as I went through different filters and pumps. There are two supply lines - one from a skimmer and one from a main drain - that come in to a 3 way valve, then that goes to the pump. The Variflow multiport valve on the side of the Hayward DE filter has 1.5" threaded fittings, currently with 1.5" PVC glued into male threaded adapters. There is a SINGLE 1.5" return back to the pool, to supply two return jets - one at the deep end and one at the shallow end. From my digging, it appears that the 1.5" return line splits under the concrete pool deck somewhere, likely at the deep end return, then runs around the end and side of the pool to the shallow end return.

The new pool heater - a Hayward 250k BTU unit -has fittings for 2" or 2.5" pipe, depending on whether you use the outside or inside of the fittings. But I am plumbed to 1.5".

I realize I could buy replacement union/fittings for my pump, about $80, and switch the pump over to 2" pipe. I could replace the 3 way, and have the two incoming 1.5" lines go out in a single 2" from the 3 way to the pump. BUT there are still a 1.5" retriction at the DE filter's multiport valve. And even if I use 1.5" male thread to 2" PVC adapters, and were to replace the slip nuts on my SWG cell housing, eventually that return line will be a restriction, even if I bury the 2" to 1.5" transition 10-15 feet away.

So my question is - is there any point in trying to change any of the plumbing to 2" while I am moving things and putting the heater in? Or should I just put a 1.5" to 2" PVC adapter before and after the heater?

A second question I just thought of - how hot is the water coming out of a pool heater? I know PVC is only rate to 140F, but surely pool heater output is much lower, as I sure don't think you want folks getting scalded at the return jets?

Thanks!

History of my interest in this question:

1. I found that after 6 months my salt cell was full of calcium deposits.
2. After cleaning it I measured the Total Alkalinity (using TF-100) and found it to be 180
3. Over the course of 3 weeks I added acid daily to keep pH at 7.2 until the TA was down to 70

How did this work?

• My understanding is that the pH in my pool rises every day due to aeration (there is a spillover from a raised spa and the lower pool.) I have been led to believe that this happens because there is an equilibrium between carbonic acid and dissolved carbon dioxide. As dissolved carbon dioxide is removed due to aeration this equilibrium drives carbonic acid levels lower thus raising the pH.
• The pH in my pool goes back down when I add hydrochloric acid.
• Somehow (I don't quite understand the chemistry details...) the lower pH reacted with the TA reducing it over time.

Questions:

• General Pool Care: Now that I am "done" reducing the TA I am now maintaining my pool's pH at 7.8. Every 2-3 days after adjusting pH to 7.8 I measure it at 8.1/8.2 again. Does this mean that I am continuing to reduce the TA (though slower than I was at pH of 7.2) as a side effect of maintaining the ideal pH? Is this normal?
• Academic / Curiosity: If aeration raises pH by removing dissolved carbon dioxide and I lower pH by adding hydrochloric acid, then how does this not get out of control? I'm adding extra chloride ions and aeration is removing carbon dioxide. Won't I eventually run out of dissolved carbon dioxide / carbonic acid if there isn't anything replenishing them? Won't I eventually have a HUGE surplus of chloride ions unless there is some mechanism removing them? I'm sure I'm missing more elements of the chemistry at work here (presumably something to do with buffers?)

Hopefully someone can help me understand what I am missing from my understanding.
Thank you.

I am new to pools, owned one since Feb. Pump pressure was consistently around 40psi. So I decided to clean the filter. Attached is what it looked like when I opened it up.
My pool company claim to have washed the filter in March.
My question: is could it have got that bad in six weeks?
Cheers

I live in the woods in northeast MA and have plenty of wood. I am thinking of a wood fired swimming pool heater. I have a propane heater. But the price of propane and electricity these days is ridiculous.

Pool is inground 20x40 approx. 30k gallons. I have a solar cover as well.

Does anyone have any experience or familiarity with the below brands? Or does anyone want to share their experiences with wood fired heater?




Any insight is appreciated.

Matt

I am getting the “IF” error code and trying to figure out how to fix my Hayward gas heater. I took the gas valve off and the piece in the picture fell out of it. Any idea what it’s for?

I recently purchased a home with a ~50 year old concrete pool in west michigan that has had multiple owners over the years. The former owner left no instructions/guidance, but I had their pool guy show me around during the purchase (before I knew what questions to ask). I'm mostly figuring it out on my own. I'm looking to install a new variable speed pump and salt water generator before opening the pool for the season.

Below is a picture of the current setup, it's all 1.5" plumbing. I'm not sure where the pipe with the broken red ball valve goes, but it looks like it hasn't been in use for a long time. Also, don't be alarmed, I took the dead front off the electrical panel so I could see how everything was wired, but everything is off.

As a newbie, I was just hoping for some feedback on my plan (positive or negative) and any additional considerations I should have. Here are my goals:

• Repipe skimmer and main drain pvc after ball valves, adding Jandy 3-way valve and repositioning new pump to ensure the minimum ~10" of straight pipe before intake (Is it overkill to repipe the return lines and should I just reuse the existing pump location? There's currently a tee right before the intake which seems bad)
• Repipe after heater with check valve > flow switch > swg and remove chlorine inline feeder
• Remove booster pump, add another Jandy 3-way valve after the swg to split between original return line and repurpose cleaner/polaris return
• Should I consider adding unions to the pipes exiting the sand filter to allow for replacing the media? Is it safe to assume that's never been done since there currently aren't unions?

One of my concerns is that the polaris jet seems to be at the waterline (see below) so I'm not sure that can actually be repurposed as an effective return jet? It seems like a waste to just abandon it, maybe I could just make it into one of those diy pvc "fountains" for the kids to enjoy?

Can anyone help me identify my above ground pool make/model? It's 30' round

I have a Purex DE ( Pentair now ) Pool filter that needs replacement.
In your experience, should I go with another DE filter or should I change it to Cartridge filter and should I go with Pentair or Jany?

I have an inline chlorinator. I believe it’s supposed to fill (at least somewhat) with water. It appears mine doesn’t fill at all. The water flows in, but maintains zero water level within the column. I tried increasing the flow and the pump speed but it didn’t change anything. How can I fix this?

Hi all,
I have attempted to read the Hayward heater help guide on his site and the troubleshooting document provided by Hayward, but I'd like a second opinion before I order more parts.

Based on the serial number, the heater was manufactured in January 2015. It came with the pool when we bought the house in 2021. It fired up okay this season about a week ago. It heated the pool, no problem. Then we got an "Sb" error code and couldn't get the keypad to do anything except flash the preset temperature. I read that Sb was a display failure code, which seemed consistent with what we were experiencing. After reading the troubleshooting documents, I ordered this from INYOpools: Hayward FDXLBKP1930 Bezel & Keypad Assembly, Universal H-Series Low Nox Heater - INYOPools.com

Hayward FDXLBKP1930 Bezel & Keypad Assembly
I connected it, and it didn't work. (On a side note, I tried to reconnect the old one and it wouldn't light up at all now, so that's a bit worrisome.)

Looking again at the troubleshooting flowchart (screenshot below), now I think I also need to buy a display, which is a separate thing on the page 20 referred to in the flowchart (screenshot below). I think I was assuming keypad and display were synonyms before.

So it looks like I should add IDXL2DB1930 to the bezel/keypad I just ordered to make this work. But what is the difference between ordering the separate display to go with my keypad and ordering FDXLBCP1250, as mentioned in the note above the parts list? Is FDXLBCP1250 everything I need in one -- display board, bezel, keypad? Does display board = control panel? Because the actual keypad I received when I ordered FDXLBKP1930 looks like this except it is shaped to fit on my heater and doesn't have that flap: Hayward Bezel and Keypad Assy with Door for Select Universal H-Series Low NOx Heaters - FDXLBKP1932 - INYOPools.com

Is the display board IDXL2DB1930 my next move here? It is concerning that I can't get the old display to light up at all now? I don't think I broke anything when unplugging it. Is it a problem that my new keypad looks different (different button placement) than the old one? Does that matter for display board compatibility?

Also, when shopping online for IDXL2DB1930, there is such a variety in pricing and even what that sku looks like (keypad included?). For instance, what is the difference between

Hayward Display Board Bezel IDXL2DB1930 - PoolSupply4Less

and

Hayward Universal H-Series Pool Heater Display PCB - IDXL2DB1930 Replaced by HDXFDSPB0001 - INYOPools.com

Thanks for any wisdom you can share?

Long story short, I mowed over my power cord for my above ground pool. The pump is an intex SX3000 series, and has the GFCI plug on the male end. I'm trying to find a replacement cord, and am having trouble making sure i'm getting the right one. I'm not an electrician by any means, but I can replace parts just fine. I really just need to make sure I find a cord that is the right replacement. I don't even believe it has to have the GFCI end, as it's plugged into an outside outlet that is on a GFCI circuit (please correct me if i'm wrong,) but wouldn't mind having that if I could find one. Few questions:

Any idea how I can ensure I get the right cord?

This pump is 120v- so are the replacements on amazon pretty much universal as long as they meet that? If so, could I take the GFCI adapter from the old cord and put it on the new one if it doesn't come with one?

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. I feel like this shouldn't be that complicated, but I'm dealing with electricity so I want to be safe.

Hi All! I have a HC3315 chlorinator and I’m trying to figure out if one of the protrusions at the bottom of the housing that keeps the filter screen in place is missing. I only have three protrusions so I believe the filter screen is not being held in place properly as it would be with four protrusions or Dots that extend up from the bottom of the housing. Can anyone tell me the correct number of protrusions that should exist at the bottom of the housing?

We just opened our saltwater pool Monday. The combine chlorine is 5.2 and the free chlorine is 1. The pool is about 27,500 gallons. Any advice on how I can adjust these readings?

Hi. My ph was creeping up last summer and this year when I opened it was 8. TA 80(pool store said 77). After adding ph minus to bring down to 7.7 I was shocked that TA went to 90. Fully expected it to go down. Tested twice. Could this be right?

HI All ... It's a new season and I've got a question right out of the gate!

I opened the pool on Saturday and after runing my equipment through it's paces I found an issue. When going into spa mode, the actuator controlling the jets does nothing so I tried testing it with the dipstick and still, no response. However, I hear a faint clicking sound so I know there was some level of activity going on. So, upon removing the cover, I can see that the motor (spindle) turns without issue but doesnt seem to be engaging the underlying gears.

Could this be a micro switch issue? Something with the gear pack? ... I'd love to be able to repair the actuator rather than replace it but I;m not sure how to isolate the problem.

As always, any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Hello. I want to try Boric Acid this year. I have powder. The pool is crystal clear. Wanted to see if I have everything balanced properly or if I should adjust anything (especially pH or TA first)? Thanks!

I just opened my pool , it's a sand filter. First i did backwash for 15 mins, then changed it to Filter position (i didnt do Rinse in between)

There were a few problems after the backwash:
Pressure was 30 always
The jets were not working but skimmers were sucking
During backwash the pipes on the filter were leaking


After that I changed the heater valve(black valve) to off the heater, previously it was in the middle,, now the jets are working. There is still some leak from top of the filter. the current valve positions are in the picture, what's going on appreciate some help here and jets started to work

Hi all - we've got our heat pump being installed shortly and taking the opportunity to upgrade to an IntelliCenter and IC40 replacing our existing non-Pentair chlorinator. The current chlorinator controller powers the pump on a schedule. All is good, albeit dumb. The IntelliCenter will obviously become the brain, including schedules, heat set point, calling for heat from the heater etc.

The new salt generator transformer in the IntelliCenter is wired into the filter pump relay's second load side as per the manual so that the pump and IC40 switch together.

The heat pump is going to have to have a longer daily runtime than the chlorinator to maintain the desired heat. How does the IC40/IntelliCenter/etc prevent over chlorination if the heater needs the filter pump on for hours longer than needed for chlorination?

Does the IC40 have smarts that sets the output to 0% once a desired chlorination level is reached? Or do you need to wire the teh transformer on its own relay and program the schedules together so that the chlorinator is powered during the filtration phase, but off during other pump activities like heat?

Bumping this. I have a Jandy 2.7hp VSP and when running at 2400 RPMs it's basically fully primed with only a few microscopic bubbles here and there.

However, from 5pm to 9am I have it run at 1400 RPMs and the bubble grows slowly overnight so much so that it does stay primed, but the air bubble ultimately encompasses basically the whole translucent dome.

When it switches back to the 2400 RPM level at 9am, it eliminates that air bubble within like 5-10 minutes tops and operates full of water again. My nearest return also lets out a steady stream of very small bubbles after a while of operating at 1400 RPMs. Basically, once the bubble in the pump gets big enough (after a few hours).

This is all while I bypass the heater. When I have the water go to/through the heater, it doesn't get quite as fully filled with water in my pump at 2400 or 1400 RPMs as it does when I bypass.

Anything to be concerned about? I've tried saran wrapping and the hose trick on the lid, pump drains, and gasket leading into the pump; none of which seem to make much of a difference.

I am getting bubbles on the returns to me pool on low speeds. I see air in strainer basket when running low speeds. I'm assuming that's my reason for bubbles in the returns. Is this normal behavior on the Hayward vsp pump?

I can't seem to find a 2 speed pump for an inground spa that is set up with pool type equipment and that has pump basket, etc., for inground set up. Of course, lots of 2 speed spa pumps out there without a pump basket. Current set up is a Sta-Rite Dura-glas Dual Speed Pump connected to a compool LX3810 panel with spa side control. We're quote a new heater and filter along with the pump that would still work with the compool system. Any suggestions?

I inherited a pool with a safety cover and we put the cover on only when we close the pool for the winter. I get a lot of pine needles falling into our yard over the seasons that seem to still end up getting into the pool under the safety cover. My question is if it's a thing to put a normal cover beneath or on top of the safety cover when closing the pool to keep debris out? And if there are any suggestions on how to do so?

Thanks!

Alright, my Aiper Scuba X1 arrived last night, so here's my initial reactions.

Let me start by saying my pool has started very, very dirty. So far, I've given the X1 two runs in the pool. One last night after it arrived, and one this morning. Here are my quick takeaways: (1) It has not had full coverage on the floor or walls after two runs. (2) It has had no problem getting past the safety ledge on my fiberglass pool, it cleans up past it to the waterline and gets the ledge itself cleaner than I expected. (3) I like the X1's charging dock, this is my first pool cleaner, so I haven't had to deal with charging ports, but I it's pretty easy to get this unit charged back up. (4) Hooking the robot and pulling it to the surface was easier than I thought it would be, it's bouyancy makes it light to carry to the surface, but it definitely "poops" when you lift it out of the water.

Alright with all that said, I'll start by saying my first cleaning may not have given the robot a fair chance. I was getting ready to go out for the evening, so I set the robot to "smart cleaning" (walls, waterline, floor), tossed the robot in the pool, closed the auto-cover and left. That left it to spend the next 2+ hours cleaning in pitch black darkness. I returned home and opened the auto cover to find it "parked" in the deep end with two walls scrubbed and about 80% of the deep end cleaned. I'm not sure how much the robot depends on the vision systems, but I did confirm it can clean all the way up to the waterline with the cover closed. So, I cleaned out the very full basket and put the X1 on its charger for the night.

This morning, I put it back in the pool on "smart cleaning" again, this time in the shallow end, and I left the pool open for its full cycle. I spent some time watching it bumble around the stairs in the shallow end and found that it was very slow to navigate them, and missed big sections of them (I'll try to post a photo of that). Once it got past the stairs it moved around the other walls pretty quickly. After a while I came back to find it working on the floors and noticed that it didn't make it around the full perimeter before it switched to floor mode. I'm not sure if it stops after a certain amount of time and switches to floors, but it missed almost all of the far long wall. The floor cleaning seems okay, but I'd say after these two runs its still only about 95% of the deep end and still missed almost all of the shallow end. The robot parked in the deep end and had a very full basket again. It's back on the charger now.

I think next, I'll give the "floors only" mode a go with the ultra-fine basket and see how that goes. I'm curious to see if "floor only" will get me closer to full coverage on the floors, and if "walls only" will allow the X1 to make it around the full perimeter.

Edit: I haven't done any firmware updates yet. Might try to get one in before the next run.

New pool build, most likely ordering from Royal Pool soon. Hopefully! I really need help with lights, does anyone have ideas?

• STD Chlorine (Not SWG) pool, vinyl liner (I had a previous 16x32 Doughboy that I learned from pool school) hoping for the same luck
• 20x44 Latham 14 gauge steel panels, Walls are 42" deep with 8' deep end
• full width open steel top steps, they recommended open top?
• heavy duty adjustable 12 gauge steel a frame braces
• 42" deck support braces
• deep end corner swimout benches on each side
• APC 365 vinyl cover in light gray
• 1/8" wallfoam
• Latham Stardust Blue 20 mil liner
• 2x Hayward Wide Mouth Skimmer
• 4x Returns
• 2x Main Drains
• Pentair Intelliflo 3 HP Pump
• Pentair SD80 Sand Dollar Filter
• Raypak 266k Propane heater
• Automatic Chlorinator
• 2" ridgid pvc everywhere with individual home runs for every plumbing fixture
• LIGHTS????? I am scared by everyone complaining on reliability. I am a gadget person and like the color options but don't know what would work best. We are also installing our pool with the full width steps on the house side so not sure how to deal with the lights and brightness.

I am an avid DIY and have done most things, just not a pool I am hoping this will be another fun project. We are planning to do a brushed concrete pool deck to finish things off. Please be as critical as you can! I am an engineer and love the details but am struggling with finalizing things.

Thank you!

I asked Jandy about this, and they weren't interested in helping.

What is the correct positioning and orientation of the breather tube?

Should the end with the angled cut be on the top or bottom?

Should the angled cut face the pool (outlet) or the pump (inlet)?

How high relative to the top of the plates should the top of the tube be positioned?

What are the effects of that tube being a little too high or a little too low?

Hi everyone,

On my 5th year of getting my pool up and running. Previous 4 years have gone off without any issues... However, this year is giving me a lot of trouble.

I started getting my pool ready about a week ago by getting all the leaves out, (didn't use a cover over the winter) and starting the SLAM process. Process was going fine, the pool water was like pond water in the beginning of course, and it eventually cleared to this:



It's gotten better since the "pond water" I first started with, but it's recently plateaued as shown in the picture above and it hasn't gotten any clearer in like the past four days. My most recent tests are:

4/19

FC - 11 PPM
CC - 4 PPM
CYA - 20
Backwashing multiple times per day and refilling water as level decreases.

4/20 (this morning)

FC - 10 PPM
CC - 4.5
CYA - 20
Backwashing multiple times per day and refilling water as level decreases.

Don't think it's ammonia problem as CYA is not at zero... But maybe it is? Who knows!

I will say that while cleaning out the pool from all the leaves, I did find several metallic items such as a metallic patio furniture, other pool deck items and I am curious if perhaps the salt interacting with the metal of these objects could have messed anything up? I didn't realize they had fallen in, so they've been in there several months...

Like I said in the previous four years, I would have had the pool crystal clear by now, but I am not sure what the issue is this year! Looking for any suggestions to help me get over the hump.

Thanks

Aaron

Hi, I have a 3 tier waterfall and have gone through a few leak repairs.
- Crack in the base was repaired with quikrete and then painted over w/ pond shield. The pond shield started peeling off 2 years later, but the quikrete lasted.
- Two foot length crack in the wall of the bottom pool was fixed using quikrete also, but that only lasted two years.
- We also have chunks/layers chipping away from the top pool that I assume will eventually create a huge issue.

We aren't in a place to get this fixed professionally, but we are pretty handy.
I'm tempted to just lay down an entire new layer of plaster/concrete on top of the old but making sure no water gets in-between the old and new is probably hard.
Any suggestions on how to tackle this waterfall project?

Also, our concrete deck has a long crack that runs the width of the deck (12ft) and it's also rough from the salt water and general age of the entire build (built by previous owners in 2002). What do folks put down to protect the deck from degrading further?
Thanks so much for any advice you have.
I've attached pictures.