My house's pool in NorCal has a pool that gets a ton of shade from a row of about 6 redwoods that line the southern edge of property. It really shortens the swimming season and I've been trying to figure out how to extend it without having to run my gas heater so much ($$$). I was told adding a heat pump might be a good solution especially if I solar panels/battery to the home which gets great sun as its beyond the reach of the redwood's shade. The temps still drop down into the 40's and 50's some nights, especially in the shoulder months, so I'm trying to figure out if the heat pump running only during sunlight hours is going to be enough to get my temps up to swim by midday. I'm open to other ideas as well, to improve the economics such as solar panels for the pool itself by building a pool shed over the existing equipment (not sure I'd have space to put it otherwise). I already have an automatic pool cover.

Hi
I am re-plumbing my equipment for a large 20 year old Gunite pool to accomplish a few related goals.
1. Replace old Propane Heater with Heat Pump (Propane is very expensive to use and not exactly environmentally friendly to heat a pool).
2. Move equipment around so that I can use the space that equipment is currently at for a small pool house/equipment shed/control center.

I am planning to place my DE Filter, Pump, Valve and Salt Cell in the back corner of this new structure that drill through the walls and dig a trench to the heat pump 8' away where there is more space for it.

In the end I will end up with longer plumbing runs to get to and from the heater and to get to the main return line from the pool. I tried attaching photos but even after resizing they are too big. I will get them on there as some point.

Generally I like to try and use supplies I can get locally so that if I am short one fitting or something goes wrong and I need a fitting I can just get one without waiting for shipping. Home Depot and all others locally do not have pressure rated fittings greater than 2'' PVC and no 2.5'' PVC 10 foot segments. If I want to go bigger to reduce the total system pressure head, it seems like I need to get 3 inch Schedule 40 pipe locally and then order all the fittings such as these. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Spears-406-030-3-PVC-Sch-40-90-Elbow.
My question is this worth it? The new heat pump heater has 1.5'' inlet and outlet, my salt cell has 2'' threaded connections. So I will end up reducing the 3'' down to 1.5 to go into and out of the heater and then I have to reduce to 2'' for my salt cell and check valve (to avoid backflow of highly chlorinated water into the heater when the pump is shut off). I will of course have a bypass for the heater so that when I am opening, closing and cleaning I can run the pump at full speed without the heater in the loop.

I need to decide quickly as I want to get this operational and it is a whole lot easier to just use 2'' Schedule 40 PVC throughout but I do not want to take the easy route and regret it later. I plan to live here a long time, and we use the pool as much as I can in our medium length season in southeastern Pennsylvania.

I have the TFP test kit and noticed the pool store also measured TDS and phosphate (he said both were ok and the water was in good shape). Numbers were
pH 7.6
FC 5 (I just replaced my SWG and am in the process of titrating the chlorine production %, he said this should be between 0.7 and 3)
TA 90
CYA 70
Phosphate 250? (can't recall exactly but it was the 2nd lowest of the 4 color blocks)
TDS (don't know the number but he said it was fine)

When I've measured calcium hardness it's been 975 or so and draining the pool was recommended here. He said that he wouldn't with a TDS number coming back as normal. What are your thoughts about this? Thanks!

Pool guy is out of town for 10 days, I'd rather prevent too much water loss here. My initial thought is that I'll need to tighten this connection, but obviously I can't because the PVC is glued. So I'm guessing I cut it just behind the glued joint, screw in a new connector, and use a a coupler to put a new line of PVC in the middle portion. Is that correct or am I missing something?

I can't get the Youtube embed to work, here is a link to the setup.

We've a APCP-1700 that's about 1.5 years old now. Been through one summer down here in central Texas. Went out to clean the pool cover yesterday and came back in with pin and needles feeling all over my right hand. Checked with duct tape and yet, a bunch of fiberglass. Went back and checked everything I touch and the pump housing and handle has glistening in the sun. Checked it with tape to and it pretty much covered the tape.

I searched all around and didn't find any mention of this on Amazon, here or elsewhere on the web. Did I get one from a bad batch or maybe overlooked something about care or sun exposure?

Also - any recommendations for a cover pump? Honestly, really like how stable this one was except for this recent issue...

GM currently I have 2 of the gva 24 to control when I turn the unground spa on and off and was looking to purchase a 3rd to wire to on of the Aux controls on my Hayward on command. To turn the water fall feature on and off

I’ve looked in the internet and there seems to be another generic make out there called

TORK TPE24VA Valve Actuator Control, NSI 24v

Any suggestions ,

Will adding another Hayward work leveraging the AUX connection on the on command ?

Thanks
Pics below

1st post, so hi to everyone. Thanks for any input and advice. Now onto the issue...

16x42' fiberglass pool installed last summer. No issues. Several storms blew through the TN area recently and our 200# grill was blown by the wind approx 15' away, over pavers, onto the cover and dumped into the pool. Grill was removed and the cover was pulled back to inspect for damages. Water level was down and paver damage down both long sides (42') was observed. Initital thought was that the grill damaged/cracked the pool shell, water leaked down, earth pressure pushed in and sides bulged in. Now the pool wasn't empty but the level had dropped to about 2 inches below the jets. Pool installation company was notified and they said to add water back to the pool. They made 2 or 3 trips out to inspect. Insurance company was called, adjuster came, engineer came, leak detection company came. Still waiting on the full report. Leaks had apparently came from broken seals around jets, lights, etc... when the walls bulged, it caused this. Otherwise no leaks detected, no cracks or defects. I feel as though its going to turn into a finger pointing match between my homeowners insurance, the installers insurance and the pool manufacturers insurance companies. So any thoughts on what caused the bulge?

I've been told several possibilities. Still waiting on the engineers findings. I have my own opinions. I don't want to sway the comments but would to hear opinions on possible causes.

Plan is to remove the pavers, hand dig the gravel out and hopefully let the sides re expand and then put it all back. Hopefully better than it was so this doesn't happen again...but again, what caused it to begin with so that it doesn't reoccur?

As subject says. Any thoughts on dreame z1? It looks similar to the beatbot but better price.

I opened up my pool and the water was crystal clear. Recently the water has turned murky. I put in clarifier and ran the pump for over 48 hours. I used an automatic pool cleaner and was able to get some debris out, but still cloudy. Then I tried Shock and that doesn’t seem to help. I read on another site to use clarifier and don’t run the pool pump for 8 hours and then vacuum. I am
In the process of trying that. I have a salt water pool with a cartridge filter. Salt level is good, PH is good, and filter is clean. What am I missing and what should I try next?

Last winter, the wind managed to blow off the winter cover on my pool, dumping all the "tea" from the cover into the pool. We decided not to empty the pool because we had a particularly cold and long winter (for our region). I removed the cover and drained the pool finally and the mucky water has left a brown/yellow ring around the pool. Any suggestions for cleaning? Would a bleach or ammonia-based household chemical be damaging? I'm concerned about weakening the liner, but also about getting those chemicals completely out of the pool so they will not interfere with the water chemistry when i fill it up again.

This is an Intex liner, slightly faded from the sun after the 5 years it's been in service. I can take some pictures for you, but I think you can imagine the damage :-(

New liner is being ordered this week for my in ground pool. If anyone recalls, it split in the fall last year and we got a pool company onboard to change it now that the season is upon us. So, here's my question...

What brand of pool liner to get? We've been looking at Latham, Merlin, and Legacy (Imperial). Does it really matter what brand? Any tips for my first time liner replacement (I'm not installing it)?

As always, thank you for the advice!

Hi pleased to be a new member !! Looks like a great place for me to get good advice

I have a 10ft diameter Cowboy pool with Mastertemp 125. It’s coming up to 4 years old, and I’m starting to get HLS errors as the pool approaches 90deg, for the last couple of degrees. It does eventually get there.

I just replaced the pressure, and 3 sensors on the manifold. It’s better, but still giving HLS just before reaching set temperature of 90deg.

Any advice welcome …

Having doing my own testing from TFTestkits. When I start up my pool do I still need a opening kit from a pool store or do I just start testing and get my levels normalized? Hope that makes sense.

Hi all,

This morning, I realised that my IntelliFlo pump wasn't running. I checked the app for my IntelliConnect and saw the pump disabled. I enabled it and all good again.

Then I checked my notifications in the app and I see multiple errors, at this time all inactive:

Date Time Error
11/04/2025 20:03 IntelliFlo Disabled Mode
11/04/2025 19:58 IntelliFlo Communication Error
11/04/2025 05:41 IntelliFlo Communication Error
10/04/2025 00:00 IntelliFlo Communication Error
10/04/2025 12:39 IntelliFlo Communication Error
10/04/2025 03:15 IntelliFlo Communication Error
10/04/2025 00:14 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 22:20 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 21:07 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 17:26 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 14:31 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 08:18 IntelliFlo Communication Error
09/04/2025 01:54 IntelliFlo Communication Error
08/04/2025 20:04 IntelliFlo Disabled Mode
08/04/2025 19:59 IntelliFlo Communication Error
08/04/2025 16:01 IntelliFlo Communication Error
08/04/2025 01:11 IntelliFlo Communication Error
06/04/2025 14:37 IntelliFlo Communication Error
06/04/2025 06:45 IntelliFlo Communication Error

So I guess my pump went inactive yesterday evening.

I checked the cable between the pump and the Intelliconnect and it looks intact and well connected.

Any suggestions what I should do / check?

Thanks,
B.

Hello, had a 2HP Hayward Super Pump installed and there is an ooze coming from one of the connection points. Anyone know what this is, cause, and potential solution?

Just got a house that has a metal 24' AGP with standard returns. I've owned intex pool vacs and know they work great for this type of application so I bought another one. We'll they've redesigned the vac slightly. The hose is one piece and has proprietary fittings on each end (still about 1 1/4" hose). The original blue return fitting-to-hose adapter is now a pretty beefy grey 3". I am gonna flip this house and don't want to re-do all the PVC and was hoping someone knew of the 3" proprietary Intex return adapter to a standard 1.5" hayward style return. As it is I'm thinking I'm gonna have to epoxy something up but would prefer not to. Does anyone think a 1.5" male to barbed fitting would work?

I have an above ground pool that had all flexible piping, and I'm replacing with pvc. The guy that assembled our pool used a ton of silicone/caulk to seal all the fittings. When trying to remove the current fitting from the bottom of the skimmer basket, about 1/2" worth of the threaded portion broke off and is stuck on the threads inside the basket. I cannot budge it and I can't get any leverage on it whatsoever due to the flexible nature of the stainless steel panel/skimmer and the weird location of the broken piece.

Does anybody have any tips or things I could try to get this pieece out of here? I started to try to snip it and break it out in pieces, but I don't want to ruin the threads.

Picture attached.. Not the best view but this is from the top down, you can see the little piece stuck on the threads at the bottom.

My filter is leaking at the middle junction. I've cleaned the O-ring and lubricated it, made sure top and bottom of the housings are nice and clean and posi-loc ring is on perfectly. Why is it still leaking?

Good day, I apologize in advance for the language, I will most likely use the wrong terms. I used this chemical in the pool (link). The tiles started to fall off and I drained the water - the tiles continued to fall off during cleaning, upon examination it turned out that all my "putty" simply disappeared (see photo), and the layer behind the tile holding it began to crumble. I would like to know if I can restore this tile without buying a new one - I collect it and store it. I bought new putty and a means for holding the tile, I would be extremely grateful for a video example of how to do this. I understand that I am a beginner and ask a lot, in turn, I can share my experience of how I did it and what I encountered and contribute to the Internet and the forum. I took several photos of the pool and while I was doing them, some more fell off. Thank you

Moved from HERE

Debslemm said:

Works like magic! I have brown stains on steps every year when we open the pool. I dump vitamin c tablets on the steps, let them sit for a little, rub them over the surface with my hands or sock or sponge and wowza! Sparkling white steps! Doing this for 22 years!

Click to expand...

May I ask what type of tablets you are using? I am looking at getting some from Walmart but there must be 20 different kinds.
thanks

Hello Pool Warriors! - Hoping to get some direction from anyone that is familiar with Intelliconnect and hooking up the wiring for my Pentair Intelliflo VS Pump ( model # 354605), Pentair IC40 chlorinator, Tropical Heat Pump and SR Smith Treo LED Light System. (Must haves are the pump, chlorinator and heat pump).

Here are pics of my setup and wiring thus far. However, doesn't seem to be connecting and working on the Pentair App. So I want to make sure my connections are solid first...Any pics/examples of other's Intelliconnect setups would be extremely helpful!

Thanks!
Chad

We had our pool professionally opened 4 days ago and while the water is no longer green, it’s still very cloudy. We just bought this house so this is all new to us. Can anyone look at our test results and help with what we need to do to get the water clear?

For reference, it’s a saltwater pool (with a SWG) and about 25,000 gallons. We used a Taylor K-2006 test kit.

FC - 0.8 ppm
CC - 0
pH - 7.2
TA - 60
CH - 110
CYA - 0

Question: Is the standard white pipe sealant paste still the best option for sealing PVC fittings, or is there something better?
Hi folks! I’m back with my annual random pool question. Last year, I noticed some leakage around the PVC fittings going into and out of my filter housing. It looks like they were originally sealed with the typical white pipe sealant paste.
Before I open the pool this year, I want to clean up those fittings and reseal them. I'm assuming this is just regular maintenance that needs to be done periodically.
So, should I stick with the white paste, or is there a better product out there these days? Thanks in advance!

Edit to say I have a "paper" filter element as opposed to sand. The filer housing is one of those large R2D2 looking things.

Moved from old thread HERE

having the exact same problem will try creating a new user

I'm 79 retired Plumbing Contractor. I have owned ingrown gunnite pools of my own for over 40 yes 40 years. I had to turned the maintenance over to a local pool company. Like alot of pool owners as kids get older the pool gets less use. Easier to care for and maintain. But sooner or later something new creeps up you need advise on. Thanks Roy

Just wanted to say I'm new to the forum. I have a pop up pool as I call them its a 6500gallon intex pool I got 2 yrs ago. Guess it's my starter pool til I can afford a real one. Hoping for some friendly advice

Got this no-brand pump I need to test out. Mainly I have two questions:

1. What parts do I need to install this? I think I need the below. Pipe image below so you can see what fits snugly into the adapter (but only into the inner half of it; see attached video in zip file).

• https://www.amazon.com/Spears-Fitting-Adapter-Schedule-Barbed/dp/B008I4CWZQ (1.5 inch variety) x 2
• https://www.amazon.com/4607-1-1-Degree-Elbow-Schedule/dp/B007Q2FXY8/ x 1

2. How exactly does the provided (came with pump) black adapter seal against the integral receiving pipe of the basket chamber? Does it just create a watertight seal due to the smooth plastic surfaces being compressed against each other? Video attached in zip file.




Pipe that fits:


Overview:

I was able to get 19 seasons out of a Jandy Lite 2 heater w/o a single service call. I had to clean out the pressure stat port a few times (blocked) but that was it.
Looking for a new unit, something in the 400k BTU range. My pool is 100k liters. The Jandy had its own control system that operated the pump, a very handy feature that seems to be missing on may available unit these days. Pool is SW but not sure if that matters as I got almost 2 decades out of the Lite 2 with copper.
The one unit that has caught my eye is the RayPakAvia NiTek. also the Hayward which has a 3 yr warranty (no control system).

Thoughts??

Hey Guys,

New to the forum. I am looking for a rebar and gunite crew that would service Boise, Idaho. I am a new owner/builder and am currently building my own home. I hear some crews travel if needed?

Any help appreciated!

Sage Hickam

Hi All - here’s to another pool season, if it ever stops raining and gets warm enough here in Pgh.

Anyhow, another little speed bump encountered and wanted to get some input.

Salt Pool Jump System, Board is an 8’ True Tread.
Somehow, the jig is slightly off center. The bolts aren’t bent, it’s just 1/4 inch cockeyed to the right. Thx concrete guys.

The front left bolt is 45” from pool wall and the front right bolt is 45 1/4” back.
The back bolts are the same 1/4” deviation.

So when I put the fiberglass stand over the bolts it doesn’t face dead center to the pool, it points 1/4” right, just like the jig does.

My first thought was to just enlarge the holes in the base just enough so that it can face straight.

I reached out to SR SMITH and told them the situation. They said that they had base molds last year where the holes are drilled not matching up with jigs, and that they’d send me a new base.

I said no no, you’re not understanding what I just explained, I said the jig is what is slightly off center, not the holes. I said that I put the base over the holes two at a time on all sides and all sides of the jig, and they fit each time. That it’s not the base.

I said can I just enlarge the holes a bit so the base sits square to the pool. They said oh no, you can’t do that, we’ll send you the epoxy kit and you’ll have to drill 4 new holes.

In the meantime, I reached out to a few pool people around here and they said nonsense, you can enlarge bore in the base a little larger so they fit over all of the bolts and the base will be square to the pool.

I think I could live with the diving board pointing 1/4 inch to the right but I’d really like it to be straight.

My handyman, who is extremely knowledgeable about seemingly everything related to construction, AND is super meticulous about everything he does, also said that the hikes in the base can be slightly enlarged so the base fits square to the pool.

I get it as to why SR Smith would not say that this is possible to do, legally, but I would imagine off the record they’d say it’s perfectly fine.

Moreover, I feel like a jig in concrete would be a little stronger than 4 newly drilled bolts epoxied in, even though SR Smith said that it’s just as strong.

Anyone do anything like this as far as tweaks to make this work? Or any other anecdotal stories making other pool-related equipment work?