Hi,
We had someone come out and take a look at our gunite pool/spa because it seems the plaster has significant flaking, though it does not seem to be peeling from the concrete. They of course said I needed a replaster, and I'm inclined to agree just by looking at it but i figured I'd check here for a second opinion of sorts. We would redo both the spa (pictured) and the pool for a number of reasons, not the least of which is aesthetics - the plaster is very discolored (the blue under the chipped pieces was the original color), and we want the pool and spa to match, but if the spa is having this issue, I have to imagine the pool isn't far behind. We were also going to go with quartz plaster since from what I've read and been told, it lasts longer.

My other concern is that this pool is less than 5 years old which seems a very short time to have issues like this. I'm in the north east and haven't covered it in the winter. I'm pretty good at keeping up with chemicals, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I have definitely lapsed for a few weeks in checking them. If not covering it is a contributing factor, I'm not opposed to adding one for the winter. However there are other pools in the neighborhood that aren't covered, which have been there longer than ours, and I haven't heard of this issue with theirs.

I'm half hoping this is just a bad batch/mix or poor application by the original installer, who is not the same company we had come out. I'm not in love with having to do this, but it's a bit easier to swallow if I know it's not going to happen again in 5 years!

Thanks in advance for information or advice, regarding both the immediate issue and the future!

I need to swap out my old 3/4hp Hayward single speed pump and I was looking at getting a VS speed pump. I am currently wired for 120v so I would need to run new wiring/breakers to accommodate 240v as it looks like VS pumps are all 240v(not the end of the world). I also am not sure how I would shut off power to my saltwater chlorinator with a VS pump. currently I just have a mechanical timer with the dial that starts and stops power to both my pump and salt cell. I hear VS needs constant power and have their own timer on the pump itself so I'm not sure how to make that work with my salt system timer. I do have the flow sensor that should turn off the salt chlorinator with no flow but I have heard not to rely on those. lastly, I have a waterfall that runs of the same pump, so the jets, return and waterfall are all on same pump. I am concerned that when I want to turn down the RPMs on a VS pump for energy efficiency it would also make the waterfall have less desirable flow rates. and if so maybe I should just stick with a single speed pump.

Just looking for thoughts on if I should stick with single speed pump in my situation or if anyone still feels like a VS might be worth it

I have about a 22k inground pool with waterfall at the deep end. Thanks everyone

Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade to a VS pump. Setup in my signature. Current pump is this ancient Century USQ1102, single speed 1hp, hooked up to 240v.
Plumbing is 2 inches but my cartridge filter is only 90sf. I don't want to upgrade that if possible, but y'all let me know if a bigger filter is a must.

We use the pool only a few times a year so my budget is $2000. Any other pump that fits the bill?

Pinch a penny quote

• Jandy VS Flopro 1.65hp $1375
• Install $125

Local pool guy quote

• Source my own pump, he recommends the usual Pentair/Jandy/Hayward
• He'll install for $250

Leslie's quote

• Pentair Superflo VST $1500
• Jacuzzi VS 1.65hp $975
• Install $350

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starting with the heater its a RP2100 its an older model 405a I believe i wish this newer control boards cam with better instructions but changing a few wires around and newer smaller 3 wire sensor should be up and running here shortly . i used to beable to find the newer boards with the wire harness only harness I see is almost 500 bucks lol yeah NO

220 volts. Doesn't it matter which wire goes to which terminal. I have a multimeter but don't know much about how to use it.

Hello, my AGP intex pool liner is starting to tear and become unseated around the return jet. The pool is 8 years old. Anyone know of a way to fix this? Or is it time for a new pool.

Thanks

Anyone have any info on these types of water features?

curious as to what might work best as a high/depth ratio for the steps to get the best effects?

also curious as to how they compare GPM wise a sheer descent type water feature?

I guess i could build out a prototype to test, but thought i'd ask here to see if anyone had done similar

New (of course). We bought our home sight unseen during the pandemic and moved cross country about 4 years ago. A few months after we moved in we accidentally flooded the basement because we drained the pool into the culvert while it was full. That was fun. Then we found the filter (last year) was rigged all incorrectly inside and likely had never had a sand replacement. No pressure gauge. Ugh. That's all fixed now. Now, we are in the process of choosing a new liner --- a rough decision!

I just purchased a Hayward wall skimmer to upgrade our Intex XTR 9'x18' pool. I'm looking to mount the skimmer as high as possible to not lose water depth. My thoughts were to position the skimmer high enough on the wall that the 3 screws at the top of the skimmer would be through the bonded seam near the top rail. But the actual cutout would not be in the seam area, just below. I would mark the screw hole location with a sharpie and then use a hot nail to melt the pilot hole to the screw size. Do you think this would risk a blowout of the seam?

I'm replacing the motor in my Hayward Tristar. I got everything buttoned up when I realized I had a leftover part! It's a rubber washer, and I'm certain it was located between the seal plate and the pump. I missed it on reassembly because there wasn't a replacement in the go-kit, and it also wasn't mentioned in the official Hayward video I was following. It's also not shown on the parts diagram at Inyo. I did get a new seal plate, and while there are some minor differences, I didn't see anything obvious in the flange that mates to the pump shaft. Rather than opening it up again, I'm leaning towards just ignoring this thing. If water makes it that far, it's already gone past the fancy ceramic shaft seal and disaster will follow shortly. I just wanted to check here if anyone has experience with this.

Edit: I wanted to come back and say... I simply went into the Chemistry Equipment, clicked add, Intellichlor and it simply started showing the Salt numbers immediately. There was absolutely no programming.
OP: I just converted our chlorine pool to saltwater using the Pentair IC-40 unit. Wiring was mostly a breeze b/c there is a wiring diagram in the panel. Plumbing was a little trickier, but I got the job done. I don't know how to add the SWG to the Intellicenter so that I can control it via my Pentair Pool iOS app.
I did follow the wiring diagram from the power center to the Intellicenter COM port (all 4 wires). I assumed that I can just program the COM port to the SWG via the "Add Chemistry" section of the Advanced Settings, but that allows me to program the SWG but doesn't actually configure it to be available in the app. Anyone have the foggiest clue how to tell Intellicenter that the SWG is available?

So I opened my pool this Tuesday by adding shock and pool rx. I have well water and last year when filling and shocking it turned green, bought metal out and it went back to clear blue. Bought pool rx to keep down on the chlorine usage and that also worked. After hurricane helene ripped the pool cover, we had other property damage that took precedence so we basically forgot about the pool until now. There were tons of debris, pine cones pine straw etc in the pool when I first opened it. Got it majority cleaned out. This is day 3 and the pool is a lighter blue color, but still cannot see the bottom. I have a test kit coming to check accurate levels. I have a 18x48 with a 1500 sand filter. Could pool rx be causing this?

Thanks to this community, I've sorted out the "important stuff" with my own pool (installing VS pump and SWG, properly maintaining and using pool cleaner, etc). Now that my pool mostly takes care of itself I can start to think about "nice to haves"...

Our kitchen has a warming drawer, which was installed by the previous owner and only discovered by us after we've lived in the house for nearly a year (it has a cabinet face, so was effectively hidden). We don't bake often and have never used it for its intended purpose - so why not use it to warm pool towels?

It has mechanical controls (ie an on/off temperature knob) and will therefore work on its previous setting if power is cut and then restored. It is on a dedicated 20 amp circuit. My breaker panel and Aqualink control box are fairly close to one another, and I do have one spare Aqualink relay. Was thinking of using this relay to turn the warming drawer on and off, with the idea that we'd turn it on as we start heating the spa.

I'd like to make sure that the warming drawer will be turned off automatically every day in case we accidentally leave it on. I'm not aware of a way to turn Aqualink relays off at time X every day, without a corresponding "on" time as well. So was thinking of having the warming drawer turn on at 9:59pm and off at 10:00pm every day, or perhaps adding an Alexa routine to automatically turn off the relay at 10:00pm every day.

Thoughts on this approach? Any considerations that I'm missing?

Hi y'all,
Bought a house with a pool (12k, in-ground, plaster) in Feb this year. The pool has recently taken on a green hue!
After 1 month gap the pool guy turned up today and measured 0 chlorine, 7.6 pH, 120 TA, 500 CH and 100 CYA.
He added 3lbs dichlor shock (plus phosphate I think), and put chlorine tablets in the chlorinator.

I have purchased some liquid chlorine and ordered a Taylor test kit .

Reading on this site, I get the idea the dichlor shock will raise cya (already too high?) and lower pH.
Will this create a problem for me, or can I just wait and see what the kit recommends?

Good Day TFP,

I am wondering how I can test to see if my cell is finally done (5 years old) - all my readings are in line - fc around 3 and want it to be around 5. Got it to 6 than ran overnight test no issues there - currently running 80 percent 10 hours per day and it’s not holding as well as I think it should - is there a way to know if it’s working fully ? Should I just run it at 100 percent - curious about the best plan of action moving forward to make sure it’s holding the fc each day (higher percentage more pump time?) - thanks for any recommendations - if it needs replacement what do you recommend? It is automated (nature2 cartridge is not used)

Is there a way to create an interlock within the OmniHub to prevent the acid pump from injecting acid while the AquaRite is on? Under the "Equipment to Equipment" settings, I don’t see the SWG listed at all.

when the OmniLogic is configured to automatically dispense acid based on the pH sensor it dispenses acid regardless of the cell status

I will eventually create mutually exclusive schedules for the SWG and the Acid Pump (timed production/injection instead of sensor based) but I wanted to have the option to use the sensor to drive the acid at least ( ORP is erratic ).

Some experts on this forum suggest that injecting acid before the SWG while it’s operating can damage the plates. Others argue it’s unlikely to cause damage due to the high water-to-acid flow ratio, even at lower speeds (e.g., 35 GPM to 10 mL/min).

If it’s not possible to create an interlock and acid is injected before the SWG while it’s active, is there any real risk of damage to the cell?
the related posts I found are from years ago, Is anyone nowadays successfully injecting muriatic acid (MA) before an AquaRite via the OmniHub without issues ?

Thanks!

I’m doing my first slam and need some help. I got lazy with my pool care and 2 days ago saw some algae in the pool. Did a test with FC 0, and CYA seemed super low because I could still see the black dot with the view tube completely full. I assumed my CYA was maybe 20. So I went and bought dry stabilizer Friday. According to pool math I put 2lbs in using the skimmer sock method which should have raised my CYA to 45. I got all the leaves out of the pool Friday and started slam using 45 as CYA to calculate my slam FC level. As of today my water is super clear, I have no more pollen or leaves. It has now been 48 hours since I added the CYA and the sock is now empty. When I retest my CYA is reading like 70ish. Is it possible it just needs more time to distribute within the pool before I can get an accurate reading? Or could I have gotten a falsely low CYA reading before starting slam for some reason? Either way by pool math the 2lbs should have raised my CYA by like 23ppm. Long story short I just want to make sure I get the slam right and raise my FC high enough to be effective. I’m assuming that my FC probably killed everything before the CYA I added could dissolve. Should I just raise my FC now assuming my CYA is 70, then do an OCLT and check CC tomorrow? Thank you!

Hi,
I have a Circupool RJ45+, which recommends 3000-4000 ppm of salt. Currently I'm running it right about 3000.
My question is would increasing the pool's salt level to say 3500 have any improvement in the amount of FC produced? I'm not saying I'm unhappy with the cell, just curious is all.

Thanks.

Ok, I *do* understand that secondaries aren't recommended. I'm going to lay out what's happening and hope the experts here can help me clear up my knowledge, with the understanding that our situation may be coming from a different angle than others.
I understand there are limitations to ozone, and if minerals work we don't care if they stain. We have a specific cancer-related use case I'm trying to get a feel for. Many thanks in advance!

Background
So, they found ovarian cancer in my wife when they did a C-section. She's doing great, and our little girl is 2 1/2 years old now. However, my wife and her family have a genetic pre-disposition towards cancer and we can't test my daughter until she's 16 (really annoying rule).

Our understanding is that chlorine disinfection byproducts are associated with a ton of issues, including higher incidence of cancer. I do realize there are many ways to reduce these byproducts, and our pool is outdoors which already mitigates some. We also do recognize that a non-sanitary pool is its own (and immediate) problem.

Goal
Reduce DBPs as much as possible, likely through reduction in chlorine use.

Pool
We have a ~32/16 in ground pool in coastal Carolina. It has a SWG, which has been great.
We also have a skimmer and bottom filter, and 3 returns.

Me
I had a regular salt pool growing up, with DE filter. I'm not a pool professional but I'm at least not new.
I've also been testing for microbes (mostly in the Chesapeake bay region) since 8th grade and my dad's a microbiologist so I can always get him to help test if needed.

Additional Discussion
I know there can be other issues with metals in pools, but from the standpoint of killing algae, bacteria, protozoa, and parasites, silver seems to be pretty effective and does have a residual, though time to kill varies of course from chlorine.

This will probably sound nuts here, but I started by testing PoolRx (silver/copper) drop-ins. I was amazed at the water clarity change just from that, with chlorine turned to zero. I did not do biological testing at this point.

With the understanding that we are trying to reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals of any kind, does that shift the narrative of whether ions/ozone/SWG makes sense or works?

For instance, if the filter is on 24/7, it is continuously going through an ozone or AOP chamber (just to break down compounds in the water), the pool has silver/zinc/copper ions, and we crank the SWG higher if we have any higher numbers of people there, what are the thoughts for this use case?

Hi!

We have a new pool that is around 30,000 gallons. It was just filled in October and I’ve been letting the company that built it manage it thus far, thinking that was best as we were just starting out.

Today, the pool guy was here and noted the chlorine feeder for tabs was empty and chlorine level was zero. The water was clear and we do have an AOP system as well. He told me he was going to shock it, which seemed ok to do since they had let the chlorine feeder go empty.

In the afternoon that same day I noticed the water was clear but had a green tint. So I checked the log and saw that he added 6 pounds of “shock.” (I called later to see what this was and it was dichlor). I checked the chlorine level with the Taylor FAS-DPD kit and found it to be around 40ppm!

I’m concerned about damage to the equipment (gaskets, etc), plaster, natural stone on water feature, and the cover. Is there damage that could occur that wouldn’t be obvious until later on?

I called the company and they are coming out tomorrow. I asked if they would do a partial drain and refill, but he said they would probably use sodium thiosulfate… but it seems like it would take a lot to bring this level of FC down! I’ve read that this can be bad for surrounding grass… are there other issues with this?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated- thank you!

Ok so ive had a horrible time with pool chemicals since going to the local shop for testing. My old kit did cl and pH so I thought the pool store would be better, hundreds of dollars later and some chalking on the pool, here I am with an awesome TF pro salt test kit. The people at the store are great but we disagree on a few things, specifically Hardness.
I've attached a Pic of the old parameters that the store set and the numbers of last test. This was done april 7th.
These are my current test numbers after a 1/2 inch of rain last night, April 11th
FC-2
CC-0.5
CYA-60
TA-60
PH- 7.7ish Lol
Calcium Hardness -125 (my pool shell MF sun pool says 350, store says it ruins pool and should be lower) thinking this is where my white haze came from a i blindly followed advice. My phosphates sat at 4,000 all winter while I scrubbed (scale tec) because they thought I had scaling from calcium build up but after reading and reading I'm wondering if it's the opposite and I had calcium leaving from the gel coat.
My is SALT-3200
I see the suggested numbers in the kit but I want to see what the community suggests. My sun pool MF says the following for my shell.
Chlorine 1.0ppm
P.h. 7.4 to 7.6
Alk 80 to 100 ppm
Calcium Hardness 350 ppm
Cya 60 ppm
Thanks in advance, hopefully this gets me back in line. This test kit was worth EVERY penny. Hardest thing was deciding what is an obscure black dot. Lol and the yellow on the block is useless to me, the purple isn't that bad. Wish they had a drop test like the rest, you can't mess that up.

Yep, I'm going to get sucked into getting a hot tub on top of the inground pool. I have wanted a hot tub for a while as the one I've used in the gym before really helped therapeutically for my muscles after run and back.
I would really like one with powerful Jets. Do you know what I need to look for that would indicate it has powerful Jets. Any recommendations on brands would be great. Don't need all the bells and whistles

Happy pool season!

I know better than this but… my cya refill didn’t come before pool opening. I have lots of green algae. I’m ashamed (?) to admit I’ve never actually had algae before. Brown swamp, sure, but never actually seen the algae. This was my first season opening with a mesh safety cover. Anyway. My cya reagents are due to arrive today but until then… I want to start slamming. Can I just assume my cya is 0? It was 40-60 at closing (I can’t remember and I didn’t log it in pool math). I’m guessing the only harm it will do is me wasting bleach because I’m not adding enough to reach slam level in the even that I actually do have remaining cya. Should I just hold off? I added enough 10% to raise to 10ppm 20 minutes ago… retest showed .5FC and 2CC.

TIA! This place is awesome.

Recently bought house with a pool. I know the layout of my plumbing for the most part, but I’m curious what that pipe with the black nub coming out is. Also the little capped stub out on the return side of the pool.

Hello everyone,

Purchased a home with older automation equipment. I have an Intellitouch panel inside and pretty sure an i5 outside (and a spa controller if that matters). Looks like firmware version 1.090 inside (UIC) and 1.160 outside (UOC).

I have an Intelliflow VSF pump. It is set up for External Control.

I have figured out how to change the programming for SPA (set up as egg timer for 3 hours), POOL (day/time) and HIGH SPEED (day/time, I'm assuming this is a custom set button) on the Intellitouch.

When I press the POOL button (or when its the correct time to run the POOL function) the Intelliflow pump will say "Prog 1" and will run at whatever speed I have set for Prog 1 in the setup on the pump. When I press the HIGH SPEED button (or the correct time for that function) the Intelliflow will say "Prog 2" and run at the (higher) speed I have set for Prog 2.

When I look at the programming on the Intellitouch, Menu-Setup-Equipment-Intelliflo- I have a screen of Intelliflo 4 pumps to select, but it appears there is nothing set up for any of the pumps.

While I can adjust the scheduled days/time on the Intellitouch, and the pump speeds (at least for Prog 1 and 2 under External Control) on the Intelliflow, how does the pump know to run Prog 1 for POOL and Prog 2 for HIGH SPEED?

I'm not looking to borrow trouble, since right now everything works, but the engineer in me wants to know! The previous owners left all the manuals but not sure how to decode any of the programing.

Welcome any thoughts or where I should look for this logic.

Thanks!

We have an older gunite pool that was probably built in the 70’s. We are getting the old plaster chipped out and new plaster/tile added. The skimmer needs to be replaced as well. It is the only skimmer and is a Hayward SP-1096, which seems really small. There are two returns and no main drain. All the plumbing is 1 1/2”. The decking has been pulled up as well and is being replaced with new pavers. The filtration seemed fine the couple of years we used the pool since we bought the house. My questions are: should I just get the same model skimmer or get a bigger one but that would mean they would have to enlarge the opening? Should I also pay the extra expense and upgrade all the plumbing to 2” or just the suction line from the skimmer or would it be fine to keep everything 1 1/2”? We have someone doing the replastering but wanted to get y’all’s opinions before we meet with them next week to discuss everything. Thanks!!

Hey everyone, new guy on TF pools. I've read plenty of forums so thought I would join. I have a small Sun pools sanibel 11x23 fiberglass pool. The install was a nightmare and the owner is in the wind. I started with his advice on chemicals and eventually went to the local store for better readings. I'm at my last straw so I'm going to go back to basics and I'm going to start trying to get this in order.
As of this point I have a lovley white haze and some shell shifting from ground settling and what I believe to be lack of proper back fill, no one to ask but as far as I'm aware no rock nor sand was delivered or moved around the property so unless they got it done all same day it's sitting in clay soil. The deep end has a slight bulge In the smaller side wall and the skimmer basket seems to have shifted downward almost as if the wall was pulling away from it.
My only hope at is the shell and plumbing are strong and can hold up to and weight load and ground movement. I believe for what I paid for the small shell any remediation would cost as much as a new pool install. The deck (my avatar) was costly and would have to be all torn up, pool rest properly and some things I've read it's almost as costly as a full install So if she will hang on she will stay.
As for the chemicals they have been all over since following store suggestions. After showing them the white haze last winter I was told to raise the phosphates with scale tech and scrub all winter long, this did nothing and I recently cleared the phosphates and I'm trying to get my CL in order. They had my CL between 2-4 which sunpools says 1 and my hardness at the 100-150 range and I realized sun pools wants it at 400. After shocking my CL has not dropped under 5 even with the salt generator off and pump running for a week. I was told the hardness being over 150 could damage the shell but I've also read under that range and your acidic. I'll search and or start a thread asking for advice soon enough but that's the rundown of my not trouble free pool experience.
Oh and I've already had to replace my pump, filter valve, replumb everything CORRECTLY and just recently I had to replace my saltron power supply. Nothing under warranty and no installer to call about it... My lawyer told me it would cost more to pursue it and pointless if he doesnt pay. Considering he already has fraud charges and a bunch of BBB complaints in my area Im probably in a long line of people with their hand out. Luckily that was the easy less expensive part to fix so far...lolol

I've spent a couple of days searching through many old discussions of pool heaters, and understand a lot of the ins and outs of heat pump efficiency versus quicker responsive heat when using a natural gas heater, but feel I could use a little more guidance before making a decision on the way to go here.

I live in Huntsville, Alabama, and while all of MY large trees were cut down many years ago, my pool suffers from the shade of my neighbors trees. Sun doesn't start hitting the pool from the east until 9:30am or so in summer, hits the entire pool by mid day, but by 3pm, large trees to the west are casting their shade, and by 4pm at the latest, there is no longer any sun on the pool. The pool is an 18x36 in-ground pool, about 27,000 gallons (8 feet at deep end + 8 foot wide steps at shallow end), with a diving board. I run salt water.

I bought a solar cover last summer, but have no reel at the moment. It was my job to put it on and off the pool last summer if I knew the kids or grandkids were coming over to swim. And invariably, it would have collected rain water or pollen pods or leaves that dumped into the water, requiring me to then spend time cleaning the pool. My first priority this summer is a solar cover reel of some sort, but it is complicated by the 8 foot diving board at the deep end. The "low" solar reels that will fit under a diving board are insanely priced. And to be honest, last summer, even though we were in a drought, we had a lot of cool nights, and even with the cover, the pool very rarely reached what I consider a swimmable temperature in the mid 80's. Most of the time the pool was in the 78-80 range.

My wife has terminal cancer, and I want this summer and hopefully next summer to be a great time of family get togethers, and in light of that, have told my wife that I am putting some form of pool heater in, so that we can enjoy more time with our adult children and grandkids while we (she) can. Having water at around 85F would go a long way to making folks want to hang out in the pool in the evening or afternoon.

So here is where I am. I have natural gas at the end of the house that the pool equipment is located at, but unfortunately, after talking to my utility company yesterday, my meter and the pipes cap me to pool heaters under 300K BTU's. Looking at what is out there and compatible with a salt water pool, the best I can do would be a 250K BTU Hayward pool heater. Unless I pay $400-500 to the utility company for a new meter. Plus all the other cost to replace the pipe from the meter to the rest of the house with larger pipe than the 1 1/4" that is currently leaving the meter to run to the house. It runs about 20 feet, then decreases to 3/4" iron pipe, with one branch diving into the crawlspace towards the kitchen and fireplace, while the other goes directly to an outside "gas pack" on the HVAC unit.

So, I started looking at heat pumps, and the issue there is a 140K heat pump of course costs almost $2000 more than a 250K BTU gas heater, AND right now, I have a 100A run to that end of the house with a sub panel on the end of the house for the HVAC, which has a 50A breaker, and then there is a 30A breaker to run the pool pump and other items. There is not 50-60A to spare for a heat pump unless I run another complete circuit, which involves going UP a garage wall into the attic, then DOWN an interior wall into the crawlspace, and then through the brick at the end of the house. A lot more work than the gas change probably, but doable.

No matter what I do, I will be digging trenches and relocating my pump and filter to be against the end of the house where the HVAC, gas and electrical are located. Right now they are kinda out in the yard, and are an eye sore. I've wanted to move them for years, but didn't have anything driving it before now.

But back to the heater. Without doing anything about the gas meter, I can support a 250K BTU gas heater, with just getting my HVAC guy or a plumber a couple hundred to run about 10 to 15 feet of gas pipe to it from the existing pipes that run across that end of the house from the meter in the front yard.

The question really comes down to COST of running gas versus a heat pump, if I want to have a pool be 85F rather than 78F for random afternoons that grandkids drop by, or for Saturday/Sunday afternoon get togethers with the entire family. My utility rates are:

Natural gas @ $11.07 per 1000 cubic feet, which equates to pretty much $1.107 per therm.
Electricity @ $0.11735 per kWh.

I would get a solar reel, and do my best to keep it covered at night and when not in use, but looking at heating times, we are talking 6 hours with the 250K BTU unit for an increase of 5F (80->85 degrees). With 140K BTU, you are talking about around 8 hours to make that same 5F increase.

Best I can tell, if I am doing my math right, if the pool is at "natural" temperatures, which last summer ran 78-80 with the solar cover a lot, it would cost me $5.98 and 8 hours with a heat pump go get it to the temp I want. With the gas heater (250K unit), it would take 4 hours, but cost me $14.34 in gas. If I understand the math right.

The question really is whether someone in the same vicinity of the south-eastern US can comment on their experience with a gas heater versus heat pump. I am hesitant to go with gas if it is going to add hundreds of dollars a month to our utility bill. I don't want to spend $14+ every day we want to swim. If that was just 3 times per week, it would be adding up to a lot per month. But I don't know what it would look like to use a heat pump and let it get to 85F and then just STAY AT THAT TEMP all the time, keeping the solar cover on at night and all non-use days. Would that be cheaper in the long run, even with the expense of the wiring?

Does anyone have any thoughts or guidance for me here? My wife is leaving this entire decision to heat the pool in my hands, as she knows I want to do it so we have some good family times together this year.

Thanks so much!

Jim

Has anyone used EcoFinish, Rebound, epoxy, or other pool step refinishing material/process and have experience with the material
longevity?

Hey all, my sun shelf has a round return in the floor that causes a whirlpool on the surface that traps debris and pollen. Was thinking that if I could make the return flow asymmetrical it might disrupt the trap and let this stuff make it to the skimmer. Any ideas how or cautions against?

As an aside, my dog is terrified of The Great Sun Shelf Pollen Patch and growls and barks at if warily as she walks by it.