Pentair Pump Union replacement

Yeah, Pentair has its own weird (wider-spaced) threading. Hayward may have its own, too. All the standard and generic companies seem to have the same threading, however, oddly enough (maybe it's the same as Hayward?).

But I am dealing with old Pentair unions - I went to put in my new non-Pentair pump and, lo-and-behold, the unions won't screw onto it. I looked like heck for an adapter to screw onto the pump (I found a discontinued one that is the opposite of my situation - ie, if someone had a new Pentair pump and the existing unions didn't fit.).

I'm looking at split-nut unions, though it's hard to tell if they're quite right. I also have the union slip plumbed directly into my 3-way valve so, like you, I'm leery to go a-heat gunning. It's exasperating to be stymied by a lousy union.
Which new pump? Which old Pentair pump? All pump manufacturers use proprietary threads on the pump, they are not interchangeable.

Replace bearings on CaliMar 1.5 HP VS pump

Howdy folks! My CaliMar 1.5 HP VS pump is just over a year old and it sounds like the bearings have given up on it. I have it on my table, I'm at a loss as to how to remove the fan from the rear of the motor so I can take the impeller off. I was hoping to get at the bearings with my calipers and hopefully order some that would work. If anyone knows the magic trick to getting this impeller off without breaking the rear fan and/or knows the right bearings I need to order I would greatly appreciate it.

Battle of the Solar Skimmers: Ariel vs Betta 2 Bake off!!!

So as my Betta makes its way across the country, I have promised to do a side to side comparison.

Step 1 is how much stuff does each one pick up. So I cleaned out the Ariel and put it into the pool this morning with a clean basket. I will leave it in for 5 days (until Tuesday morning) and then see how much stuff it has picked up. I will pass it at least once to run the robot as there is some stuff in the bottom of the pool and the landscaper comes tomorrow and the Ariel will not get everything.

Tuesday Ariel comes out and Betta goes in for the same 5 day period.

Now I agree this is probably not completely scientific as debris may vary over the 5 days.

Actually, wait. I am going to run the robot now, and start with a clean pool. I will refrain from running the robot until I take the Ariel out. Then will run a full robot session and measure what gets picked up. This should help measure how much the two skimmers miss.

FC Sample Not Turning Pink

Hi all,
New pool owner here, had our in-ground finished ~8 weeks ago. I've been balancing the chemicals myself using Pool Math, and have had 0 issues so far. ~3 days ago, the samples when using the R870 will no longer turn pink, no matter how much chlorine I add to the pool. Pool is crystal clear. I did leave the reagents outside (in the Taylor test kit box) overnight accidentally when it was warm.

Is there a chance I somehow made the chemicals go inert? My CYA is reading ~50 and pH is in the 7-8pH range (balanced every other day using muriatic acid). I tried a 50-50 mix of tap water and bleach and added R870 to that mixture, and it also did not turn pink at all (I was assuming it would turn bright pink given how much chlorine would be in that test sample...).

5800 gallon gunite pool
50 CYA

The Usual "I Have Algae" Problem

Are we on the right track here: So, I am posting for a friend named Brian in Owings MD....he came over to my house and marveled at the clarity and cleanliness of my pool....the robot vac had just finished. Yes, it was perfect. He lamented about his pool algae problem...in that, he spends all his time brushing and filtering (24 hours/day) and the algae is back every other day. 30,000-gallon pool with cartridge filter. Marcite. After a few quick questions and introducing him to the TFP method....I think I diagnosed his issue. Having been using Trichlor for the last three years as his primary source of FC I assumed he had a very high CYA (this happened to me in my pre-TFT days, so I feel his pain). He brought some pool water over the next day and YES....using my TFT-100 kit we saw CYA was around 110 ppm. I expected higher. His FC was 25.5 ppm, and CC was virtually nil, TA was 60, and CH was 175 ppm. It's not an SWG pool yet (He wants one now :) ) He had just 2 days earlier had his water "analyzed" by the pool store folks, and they sold him a 32-ounce/$30 bottom of what I think is polyquat algecide. Too funny. I told him to drain 2 feet of water, refill, we'd check for CYA then....if around 80-90 then we'd continue....we'd add baking soda to get the TA up a bit... calcium too....and maybe SLAM (of course with a CYA of 80 that's a lot of chlorine. Maybe let the CYA work it's way down a bit before closing.

Are we headed in the right direction? Anything else to consider?

I think Brian will be a new member soon.

Robotic Vaccums: What gotchas are there?

I have a pool that was originally built with an in-floor cleaning system - it doesn't really work. I bought a pool vac that I use and like, but I have to run it through the skimmer which means that all of the surface debris goes straight to the pump strainer. I've been looking at robotic/cordless vacuums, but I was thinking that they wouldn't be effective since the organics (algae, et. al.) don't go through the filter. If I run a robotic vacuum and open up the floor drains a little more, is the motion of the vacuum enough to stir up all of the tiny debris and run it through the filter?

Pump housing only filling half way

New Forum member here......Have a Heyward 3000 series super pump (motor is about 1 year old and Pump housing was replaced 2 years ago). Pool itself is 15 years old.

Recently, the pump housing is only filling half-way with water, but the skimmer is operating. Seems have I have strong stream of supply water coming into the housing that I can see through the clear lid.

I replaced the impeller, no help. Replaced the housing lid and o-Ring, no help. Here's the kicker (I think). Housing only fills half way with water while running, but when I shut it off, the water
level goes all the way to the top (at least 95% full). There seems to be an air bubble at the top.

Need to know what could possible cause this. It's strange to me that the housing fills up when I turn the pump off but only is half-way while running.

Thanks

Pool pump

Our pump is about 10yrs old, over the last 2 years it stopped working a few times and I was able to put it back working, by replacing the capacitor 3 or 4 times. Today the pump stopped working and we want to replace it. Any pump recommendations based on what we currently have, and also, is there a place you recommend buying it from?

Attachments

  • IMG_2660.jpeg
    IMG_2660.jpeg
    487.1 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_2661.jpeg
    IMG_2661.jpeg
    454.9 KB · Views: 11
  • IMG_2662.jpeg
    IMG_2662.jpeg
    452.8 KB · Views: 11

Troubleshooting Intex pump 633t TIMER

We.ve been using the Intex filter pump 633t 2500 for 2 summers and it works great. The pool is relatively small, above ground 12 x 30, so we only run it about 2 hours a day. The water is always crystal clear, no problems there. We've only been using the manual on/off because we start it at different times.
Today we decided to try the timer for a 2 hour run. Turned it to the 2 hr setting, started fine but never did shut off. Had to shut it off manually after 2 1/2 hrs. So went back and read the manual, unplugged it, reset it, and tried again. Same problem. Pump is only on it's 2nd summer and works great, other than this. We must be doing something wrong or missing a step somewhere? All settings are manual, it's not programmable. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Old Pipe Question

I am in need of a new liner- since moving here we always considered renovating the pool with stairs and creating a shallow end.. My question is more of a trust issue rather than a technical question.. While here the contractor said "You have Black ABS pipes, they biodegrade- you need to replace them" my 30 second google search could not find the answer, and they are already old - potentially 60 years - and I was going to suggest re-plumbing the pool as I want to relocate pump and filter to a different location.. Chances are the pipes are close to end of life anyways..

Coping to deck transition without elastomeric sealant?

I'm not actually a pool owner, but I'm a home inspector and do pool inspections following the ASHI standards of practice. I'm doing one right now where is a dispute between the homeowner and contractor about a lot of renovation work being done, and I noticed that the in-ground pool (still under construction) has stone coping and decking butted together with no elastomeric sealant at the transition. As far as I know this is not OK, but can somebody enlighten me if there are scenarios where it's acceptable? I don't have pictures at the moment, but can provide some if necessary.

Pentair 1HP SF-N1-1A pump replacement

Hey guys I purchased a house with a modest 31x16 pool. I’ve estimated it to be about 20,000 gallons and is being fed with 1.5” lines to 2 jets. Other features of the pool includes a waterfall (not functional as it has a leak currently that will require a decent amount of masonry work to fix) and a couple rotary things on the stairs that creates bubbles (are these bubblers?) I’ve added a pentair intellicenter and a pentair SWG to the pool. It also uses the pentair sand filter and has a 0.5” line connection for the booster pump but I do not use that as I have a robot cleaner.

I’m looking to replace the pool pump with a variable speed that I can control through the automation platform. I figured this would be easy but I’m confused with the reading I’m doing. What is the best pump I could get for my pool? Does it require a cable that I have read I need to purchase separately? (Seems insane it doesn’t come with the pump)

Thanks everyone and sorry for the newb questions I’m teaching myself different things as they come up!

SWG Wiring - Connect to pump or not?

Just received an RJ60+ that I'll be installing soon. I have two manual timers, one of which isn't being used, and was wondering if there would be any practical reason to use it for the SWG instead of wiring it to the pump timer. Have no prior experience with this. Is it ever the case that you want the pump and SWG running for different periods of time? Or is it better to link them and use the SWG controls to manage its output in different seasons? Not much winter here in Houston but I can imagine that a lot less chlorine is necessary than in the blazing summer. Thanks.

Greetings from Milton GA

Hello. I am new here but not new to pools. I have been self servicing my 13,000 gallon in ground pool since 1998. The last refinish we had pebble tech surface and field stone surround added. I use a sand filter, pentair pump, Hayward Salt system and a Raypak 8450 Heat Pump. I have a Dolphin pool cleaner that we call “Petety”. Petety originally was a Polaris that ran a second pump motor. The new Dolphin is much more effective and consumes much less power. Looking forward to learning from the community. Bill.

immediately green after starting pump

Our gunnite pool was recently emptied and resurfaced (epoxy). I am slowly refilling it now by hose from house well water. Once I got to about halfway (12,000 gallons) I added one bottle of liquid chlorine and turned on the pump, using only main drain suction. The water had been crystal clear but quickly turned the green you see in the picture in about 25 minutes. At first I assumed it was oxidized iron or copper from the well water -- but I took a sample to Leslie's for testing and they found 0 iron and 0.1 copper. So what could it be? An incredibly very dirty filter or lines? No time for algae to have bloomed. Ideas/suggestions appreciated.


20230811_145131.jpg

So dang happy I went to salt

It has only been a month, but I can’t help but feel giddy about my SWCG conversion. The RJ45+ just works. The CR Magnetics relay just works. My pool water is clearer than it ever had been. Ever. The only thing I do is clear out leaves and add acid.
Perfection. Chefs kiss
Thanks to those of you who helped me get here!

Has Anyone Been Successful with Baquacil?

Hi Guys,

New here, looking forward to learning alot from you all! Just curious, I've seen all the negatives about Baquacil (and experienced the pink slime) but is there anyone who actually likes it and has any ideas on how to actually beat the pink slime? It's really my only issue with it and I would like to to stay with it if possible. Appreciate your feedback, thanks!

Should I SLAM??

Hello. I need y'alls opinion on whether I should do a SLAM.

Last night at 8:30 pm when my pump shut off, I went to clean out the basket and saw what I thought was the start of algae on the ledge (a few inches below the waterline) of my fiberglass pool. It was only along one corner, so I brushed it off. I immediately tested chlorine so I could do an OCLT.
FC - 5
CC - 0
Morning Tests:
FC - 4.8
CC - 0
(I used 25 mL sample cuz I wanted the most accurate result)

This morning, I turned SWG to 100% output since I wasn't going to be home all day and wouldn't be able to get LC until this afternoon. I tested FC again at 2 pm today and it was 6 ppm, CC-0. I looked all around the pool, no sign of green on the ledges or anywhere else. I vacuumed to prepare for SLAM, and no sign of algae in the Dolphin. So, water is clear, passed OCLT, no combined chlorine....but I know there was something last night. When I wiped it with a white paper towel, it was yellow-green. So, mustard algae or pollen?

I don't think pollen would settle on the ledge like that in just one area, as I've read here in other threads. Plus, it's an area with little circulation. But, even after all night and day, I didn't see anything resettle in that spot, or anywhere else. I thought mustard algae keeps coming back to the same spot?

So, question is...do I SLAM?? Right now, since it's evening, and things look clear, I'm going to do another OCLT, just to double check. But if I pass tomorrow morning, and still not see any visible algae, should I trust that? I want to avoid a SLAM if I don't need it, but if you guys think I should, then I will. Help!
Today's Results:
FC - 6 (had been consistently 4 lately and last night 5, will test again tonight)
CC- 0
TA-60
PH - 7.8
CH- 160
CYA - ?? ( At 50 dot was visible, at 40 semi-visible, at 30 not visible...so is it 40???)
Salt -Taylor 2800 ( SWG -3100)
Temp - 94

Can you have 2 intellichem systems connected to 1 easytouch panel?

My pool builder set my pool and spa up as 2 separate bodies of water. They both have their own filters, Mastertemps, IC40s, Pumps, ect. But they share 1 easy-touch panel.

He also installed 2 intellichem systems. My pool intellichem is wired into the easytouch and the IC40 is connected to the built-in salt transformer in the easy touch. The other is for my spa and it is connected to an Intellichlor power center that powers the spa IC40.

The problem is when I use the screenlogic app, I can only see my pool chemistry and I can't see what my spa is. My question is can I use the com ports and connect my spa intellichem to the easytouch as well so in the app I can see both bodies of water?

I understand I may need the com port expansion board to accomplish this but before I buy it I want to know if it is even possible and will work.

Filter