Hi, I want to say thank you before I start. I entered contract with my current PB last Nov before I found TFP. There are many things I wish I had known before entering this contract, but I tell myself better now than later! I really appreciate the amount of information and knowledge that is available to all on this website.
My PB shot my shell four weeks ago. My house is built on limestone and contractor overdug by a foot so backfilled using gavel to bring it up to the contracted height.
Two weeks ago, I noticed two very long hairline cracks on my pool. Notified my PB and they offered to chisel out and fill with hydraulic cement (not done yet), but today I am seeing cracks have become very slightly wider and additional cracks formed in cross shape around the main drain.
Now they are hairline cracks, but the length and the fact they go up all the way up the wall keep me up at night. Should I be calling in a structural engineer at this point? Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you

Have gotten 2 full years on a S200 rebadged bought from Marina. Been looking into DYI impeller repair since mine had been getting slower then finally wouldn't pass the self test. My motor has motor model #s LXP1610219B0979, 52ZY24-50, 5500026. After searching, what I've done is follow the video I saw here on TFP-

While the S200 was a bit different than the video, I did get some replacement bearings and brushes on the way. The brushes seem to be used up evenly down to about 40%. Lot of brush powder that was cleaned out. The bearings spin fine, but the impeller shaft seal seems to be the drag that I feel when trying to spin the impeller. Am I correct that the brass assembly is a shaft seal and not a bearing. It seems from past posts here that while brushes and bearings can be sourced, not much is mentioned about the shaft seal.

Seems like all I can do with the motor is bearings Amazon.com, brushes Amazon.com and refill the shaft seal with silicone paste. Am I on the right track?

Gunite was done on my L shaped pool yesterday and I noticed that the angle that the wall is cut at when the pool makes a 90 degree turn seems off.

When measuring the angle on the plans they are pretty much the same (43 and 44 degrees).

However, on the actual pool these angles seem much farther off. Am I being too critical of the building process or is this something to bring up to the builder?

What can be done to fix this if it is an issue?

Howdy. Tried to research for my exact problem, coming up empty so starting a new thread that will probably sound like many others. I watched this video as well .... Login to view embedded media
Equipment: IC40 connected to EasyTouch including the SCG Power Center

History: new IC40 replaced under warranty about 4 months ago.... pool has been in service for about 20 months. No problem with the new IC40 until a week ago.

Situation: 12A SCG circuit breaker trips instantly upon resetting (this only happens when the filter pump is on because the SCG transformer is hooked up to the load side of the FP relay). The 12A breaker trips even if the IC40 is disconnected from the EasyTouch panel. As far as I see it, this means the IC40 is not the cause of the problem. If the pump is not running, the 12A breaker is fine, which makes sense because there's no power to the transformer.

• I tested power output from transformer and its 32 VAC
• I installed a new 12A thermal breaker thinking perhaps it was bad, tripping without cause .... same issue.
• Everything else seems to be working OK: front control panel, the filter pump starts/stops and adjusts speed, and my Screen Logic system is fine, all of which connect to the surge board.
• I inspected the surge board (without removing) to look for any signs that it was toast, but it looks A-OK. Last thing I can think of to replace it (Pentair Load Center Intellichlor SCG Surge Board PCBA | Pentair 521218)

Any other ideas or is the surge board the next, most logical item?

Hi All

I live in the Northeast and we’ve got a ton of rain this summer. I’ve actually had to pump water out of the pool on two occasions. Probably a total of 6-7 inches. I tested my CYA this morning and it’s down to about 40. Ideally I should be at 60 correct? I’m assuming the water dilution because of the rain caused the drop. Should I add more CYA? I’m a little worried that I’ll end up adding too much which is a bigger problem then haveing two little in my opinion.

Thanks for help

We had our pool remodeled and resurfaced this past January, 2-3 months later we noticed dark staining. I’ve tried everything but nothing works. So frustrating.

Have a 2021 Dolphin M600.
Strong thunderstorms came through this afternoon and blew the power supply and the attached cart into the pool. From pool open to close the cart/ power supply stays plugged in poolside most of the time.
Have recovered from the pool.
Have not tested.

Any suggestions on getting it dry beside air dry?
Should it be rinsed with non-salt/chlorine water?

If it doesn’t work, guess I’ll have to order a new one. Unit is still under warranty, but doubt submerged units are covered.

@1poolman1
I have the same jacuzzi jscs-40 salt cell and my service lights keeps coming on. I notice if I press the up and down arrow at the same time and it switches polarity that it the service lights goes away until it switches polarity again and stays on. The cells is clean and only two years old. What can be the cause of this? Is it possible the cell is failing so soon?

Moved from here.

Hello,

We are designing a pool for our backyard. I attached our latest draft. It will have two, 25-yard lap lanes, a hot tub, and a sun shelf area for the kids.

I would love any comments. In particular, I would love feedback on the depth of our sun shelf area. The sketch shows the depths of the steps and sun shelf. The numbers refer to the water depth and do not include the added height of the tile surround and coping, which I think will add around 4".

The hot tub rim will be flush with the pool deck. The idea will be that adults can sit on the rim by the sun shelf. This rim will be 14" high (10" water depth of sun shelf + 4" coping).

Thank you! I'm in over my head here (no pun intended) and really appreciate the feedback.

Made an impulse buy without researching trying to understand pool chemistry. Its a coleman above ground vinyl pool, using the pump it came with so dont know much about its abilities. Starting to understand the concepts and why the level ranges are important. Just having issues with the details. I only knew pools took chlorine but now I have one I know how many different types there are and there are 2 levels testing for, not to mention all the other chemicals needed for balance. I fear I need a little hand holding and this forum seemed like a great community to go through this with.

Can anyone help identify what this is & how I get rid of it? It is a reddish-brown color & turns powdery when I vacuum it or scrub it. It is a new saltwater pool & has only been open for 2 weeks We had a huge storm last week & it took me 3 days to get it clear again. I vacuumed it to waste yesterday, backwashed filter, ran pump overnight, tested chemicals, pool is balanced & now this is all over the floor of the pool again SO frustrating.

Anyone know a repair shop in DFW for a Maytronics Dolphin S200?. The motor module was replaced last year and I think it just might be power supply/controller this time. The shop I bought it from (OneStop) closed though and the local Leslie’s said they won’t work on it. I’d like To pay someone local good money to repair than throw it away and replace unless I have to.

Hi everyone! First time poster, long time lurker. Have really enjoyed all the helpful info that I’ve seen here and has really made this learning curve easier than expected.

Question about the great phosphate debate. First, let me say that I completely understand that it’s not “required” and that if I keep all my other chems balanced everything will be OK. I also understand that phosphate removers are somewhat of an insurance policy and the role it plays.

My phosphate levels are >5K, all other chems are within range. I have a lot of construction going on around the pool patio and I’ve deferred my phos treat with PR-10000 until I get closer to completion of the construction. As I get ready to plan ahead here is my question:

If I treat my pool with PR-10000 will the “floculant" that are created cause an issue with my cartridge filter? If so, what alternatives do you recommend other than vacuuming to waste option?
My understanding is the PR-1000 is not an actual floculant but has a similar effect. I’ve also read the advice that says to never floc a cartridge pool, or at least not to vacuum to filter but I’m not sure if this applies to PR-10000 considering it’s not a floculant (but behaves like one).

Looking forward to the comments/recommendations and thanks in advance for the help!

We had our pool finished in November. The builder sold her on the system we have (3" tabs and the Zodiac Duoclear mineral cartridge) telling us that we can keep the FC at around .5ppm safely. We are now 8 months in and CYA is at 116 (according to pool store since I can't test that high) my Taylor kit definitely shows over 100. I want to do a partial drain to get the CYA in line and then start with liquid bleach to make sure it doesn't get out of control again, but she doesn't want to have strong smell of chlorine with the pool. She freaks out anytime I bring up chlorine, with her wanting less in the pool. If I get the CYA in line (around 40) it says 5-7 is target. How much chlorine smell do you all get with that, will it be noticeably different to her? We have yet to have any algae at all, even with low levels, but I don't want to be draining every 8 months to keep in line. I understand the benefits of proper levels and how they all work together, but I don't know how to get her on the same page. Please help.

Please view my notes and throw out some advice??? The water looks amazing. The vinyl liner is spotless. why the OCLT test drop 6 days later?

Couple questions before I start cutting pipes

Pump and filter sit under the deck today, and that's fairly convenient for power etc, and is where the plumbing enters/exits the ground.Heater sits about 20 feet way, outside of the fenced area, and out from under the deck. Was the only place we could put it that satisfied code etc.
Plan next year is to replace the ancient AC compressor and put the new one onto this same pad, as it's currently under the deck, which is wrong in so many ways.
The Puck-feeder was installed when they put the heater in, before I found TFP, and has never had a puck in it.


Left pipe is FROM the pump/filter - Right side is out to the pool (nothing after this).
There is not enough vertical height to fit the SWG cell in the existing down pipe (A) with the required 12" free-flow, and would be tight after the existing bottom 90 too (26" total there before the fence - (B) ) and there is no pipe to join to there anyway.

Thinking replace the down-90 (C) after the check valve (I think there is just enough pipe to work with there) with a horizontal 90 'away' from the fence, then a 90/90 to take it back toward the fence with enough room to install the cell, flow switch etc. Is there any issue with the cell being out in the sun ? The Control unit would be mounted to the wall to the left of the heater.

Other than that, water balance seems ready to go - my CYA is a little low (have some stabilizer marinating in a sock as we speak) and TA is a little high - not sure if I should be overly concerned with that other than just add a little acid and let it work it's way down.

FC : 7
CC: 0
CYA : 60
PH: 7.5
TA: 120
CH: 75
SALT : 3600
TEMP : 88

The pump that came with my Coleman power steel pool was tiny and didn’t seem powerful enough to manage the 18’ round pool. After investigating recommendations I went with the Intex SX 1500 Krystal Clear Sand Filter Pump… after installation, a light stream of water seems to be flowing back into the pool but it doesn’t look like much, if any, water is being pulled in through the I water inlet. I re-read the instructions three times, looked at YouTube videos, I’m at a loss. Help?! Attached are photos. Just trying to get a backyard pool going for the kids but didn’t expect the pump situation to be so complicated.

I'm still getting my water tested at a local pool store and using test strips. (I'm going to try and get better tests soon.) But, I can't keep chlorine in my pool because I can't keep the CYA levels up. They keep dropping about 8 to 10 points a week. I have no water loss. And I have 3 large tabs in which, allegedly should increase CYA. I had it to 39 ppm 5 days ago, and now its below 30 (according to test strips going to get a better reading today). Everyone keeps telling me I can't lose CYA without water loss, but I am.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I am doing the Intellitouch i7+3 to Intellicenter I10PS tomorrow (intellitouch board is failing) and I have researched this forum, pentair manuals and the web and cannot find an answer on the programming of the new Intellicenter. Namely, can I migrate my existing programming from the Intellitouch to the Intellicenter? If migration is not possible, is there somewhere that I can record what has been programmed and how since the Pentair rep did it all?

Also to compound my issue, I do not have any computers that can run Pentair software except maybe an old iMac 5k that I can put back on Catalina. Going to try that tonight and see if it will work.

Also shout out to @MyAZPool because your information and images posted here is invaluable and makes me confident I can do this upgrade without much issue.

Quick note on my system:
48,000 gal
All pentair equip
Intellitouch i7+3 with screen logic migrating to Intellicenter i10PS (ethernet hardwired)
Screenlogic (not communicating due to board issue)
Sand Filter
Intellichem
IC60
Intelliflo VS
Gas Heater
5 intellivalves
3 motorized valves (swim lane on / off and pool to spa)
2 hand valves (fountains)
Del Ozone generator (dead right now)
Nature 2G Mineral

Thanks,

Chris

Not sure if anyone has any tips..our filter broke yesterday. Should I just keep testing and adding chemicals per usual? I’ve been trying to stir the water around with the skimmer.

Just nervous we are going to start growing things:/

Hi All! We just had a new pool built and they are about to install Stonescapes French Gray Mini Pebble finish. They just told me they will do the acid wash the same day as the pebble application. Isn’t it supposed to be done the following day to give it time to cure?? Thank you!!

Hi, I am new to having a pool and trying to figure out how all the chemicals work. I live in MN and my pool is almost directly in the sun all day. My chlorine is high and my alkalinity is high

Hello everyone,

Today I cleaned my Hayward cartridge filters. Mine takes 8 of them. When I was finished, I ran the pump on high, and the pressure gauge still read 30. How often is this a faulty pressure gauge? Or is there another problem I don't know about? This pool is only 4 years old. Thank you!

I think my pump might be dead. Any suggestions on figuring out for sure and/or what pump to get instead?

I'm really late getting the pool going this year. Just drained it and had it cleaned. When I went to test power to the pump and flipped the timer to on, nothing happened. I used a voltage tester and it seems like the breaker and timer have power. Because of the thick cabling from the timer to the pump, I can't tell if power is leaving the timer.

I've been thinking about putting in a better timer and pump for a while, so maybe it's time--the timer is an old, manual one, and the pump is single speed. Is there a go-to timer and pump people recommend?

Hi friends, I’ve been meaning to ask some questions about my equipment pad for a while and finally have some photos. Can someone help me out?


Inside this glass/plastic? Window thing there is a white flexible looking o-ring. Disregard the piece of random trash pipe that has apparently not been picked up since 2016 when this was built. Anyhow, When the pump is on it flaps up as seen here. The higher the RPM the more it comes up closer to the window thing. When the pump is off it’s down. What is this thing? It is on the pvc leading to the return area where the water then goes to either the spa/pool. At the location between the spa and pool return there is another window thing, but all I see inside is what looks like a hard plastic orange thing which I assume is responsible for how much water is diverted to either the pool or spa.


The above is the full pad area. Inside the metal box is a yellow timer looking thing. I never open that box and I have never made an adjustment to that yellow timer. What’s the reason for that timer? I have my schedule added to the pump directly.

Follow up question- I think a SWG may be added when we can afford it (roof is priority this year). I read that it needs to be 3 feet from my heater. This is not possible given the size of the pad and the location of the heater/return pipes. Or is it?

Was away for a month and my pool turned green in the last week we were away. We have a saltwater system but with the texas heat at 105+ it wasnt able to keep up on the 60% setting that I set it to before I left.

We got home tuesday night and so started slamming the pool on this last wednesday. My CYA is around 70 so I used 28ppm of FC via bleach.

I poured all the FC into the hot tub which cleared the hot tub overnight then it took another day for the rest of the pool to clear.

Unfortunately after all the green was cleared there were yellow stains on the pool surface. Brushing them doesnt do anything.

I thought it might be mustard algae, but I thought mustard algae was more powdery.

I did another night of slamming until the pool passed the OCLT and then switched to mustard algae protocol. Last night I bumped up the FC to 60 (by accident) but it didnt have any effect on the yellow. I was thinking it might be slightly lighter, but my wife says no.

The water is very clear

Here is a picture.

Has anyone had issues with Hayward VSP pumps not working well with any types of GCFI breakers. I have 2 customers that have Omni PL systems. The error is a comm loss from the pump tripping the breaker. The breakers have been replaced but the issue persists. I have talked with other contractors and they say VSP’s don’t like GCFI breakers but they are required by code.

We are on our 3rd pool season in a new house to us, older pool. The first year the pool was opened by previous owners and no issues. Vinyl, 25,000, Sand filter, stopped using inline chlorinator...pucks in skimmers?

Last year we had a company open who said we needed a new sand filter, then we thought mustard algae, then black and we struggled all season. Spent thousands of dollars.

We were off to a great start a few weeks ago, after a delay in opening left us unable to backwash. We thought we were good..the stuff is back..we already have dumped a ton of money in...

Our water is clear, beautiful. But we have these grey/black streaks/marks. They easily "poof" when the brush is near them. But return to the the same places. We've brushed, quadruple shocked, algacide...?? Not seeing improvement. Not sure what we're really fighting because we heard black algae is uncommon on vinyl pools.

Any help?? We've tried 2 different pool stores and have water guru. Phosphates are high, chlorine is high though too. Water temp is high 70 to 80s.

I have a need for some pipe and equipment repairs. The 1st place I called (it had pretty decent reviews on Yelp) said at the start of the conversation that the estimate would be $135. It costs them money to send someone out and work up an estimate but that seems pretty high considering they had no idea what would be entailed. Am I just being cheap minded?

Hi everyone

I am Jiji from southern california. In my previous house, we always go to HOA pools and never had our own pool. We just moved to another area that has no easy access to public pools. I am thinking about to set up a back yard private pool. We only plan to live in this house for 6 years so an above ground pool is what I am thinking about. Our backyard has space for a 18' round pool or 18' X 9' rectangle pool. We have more space but I don't like the idea to occupy the whole back yard with the pool.

I am a little not sure how to start. Should I go all out to set up a 18' pool or go for a smaller pool (maybe 10') to test waters- making sure we can handle the pool maintenace and do use the pool a lot and then go forward with bigger pools.

Mostly the pool will be for my kids (12, 17).

Thanks

Jiji