I have 4 Pentaire Globrite color LED lights in my 3.5 year old pool and all 4 LED lights have failed after filling with water. After reviewing the web and forums like this one, this seems to be a common problem and many have blamed a faulty o-ring on the front of the light. However, I also noticed that all 4 of the bad lights also had cracked casings. I saved the last 2 lights and the cracks are almost identical (see attached images). My question is, is it a bad o-ring or a cracked casing that allows water to enter the light fixture?

What is the best way to terminate an overflow pipe that comes from one of my skimmer baskets and now just sticks out of the ground to the side of the pool?

I'm gonna have more dirt brought in and piled up against that side of the pool area. Should I extend that pipe out before that happens or after? I wouldn't want it to be crushed by the bobcat etc.

What is the right way to terminate it? Just dog a bigger hole and add some gravel and burry the end in that or is there a nicer way to go about it? Some sort of pup-up drain ending like my house French drain has?

So, to sum up - should I extend this pipe now or after more dirt is moved there and what is the best way to make the ending?

Bit the bullet and ordered a RJ-60+ today, looks like I'm way oversized for my 15k pool, but I think I like the idea of having too much cl available if needed with our blazing summers in southern Nevada.
Here's my current setup, I run it about 7 hours a day everyday, mainly 50% skimmer 50% creepy.

I'm considering cutting the inlet and outlet lines at the filter(redline) and moving the filter to the right(x inches?) to allow for the Cl cell.

Can I install the flow switch between the pump and the filter and then the cell after the filter?

So my buddy has a 6000 gallon pool. Two days ago it went really cloudy and he we to a pool store and was sold hundreds of dollars in chemicals. 2 days and his pool is still a mess and they want to sell him more.

I went today with my test kit to try and help him out. His PH was 7.5, CYA is 22, FC was 3 but Combined Chlorine was 4.5.

Now he has one of those smart ionizer things which I doubt does much but I told him he needs to keep his filter on high 24/7 and we should add more chlorine and do the SLAM method till the pool is clear.

Now according to SLAM FC for the cya and size was 10. I also read that if CC is high you should super chlorinate the pool and make the FC 10x the CC. If that is right does that mean putting his FC to 45, is that right?? I had him add 12.5 bleach this morning to get FC to 15, filter been on all day pool still cloudy but I'm gonna have him test tonight but what should I have him get his FC to to rid this pool of the CC issue?

I totally regret increasing my CYA from 40 to 80. SLAM 8 gallons of bleach is not fun vs just using 3. I already went through 15 gallons just to keep the FC at 28 for the past couple of days.

I am trying to hookup a new Whisperflo VST to Intellicenter via RS-485. However, there is no option for such pump in the Intellicenter menu. Can I use one of the provided options instead? Which one should it be Intelliflo VS VSF or VF?

The back story:
In May 2016 we bought a Bestway 16'x42" above ground pool. We live in the central valley of California and our soil is called Sandylome. It just means we have a lot of sand in the soil. This can be a good thing and bad. But I digress. We put the pool up after leveling the ground. We had a slope of 1 foot to dig out. Using a line level staked down on the high side we measured the low side and that gave us how deep we were going to have to dig the high side down. Luckily it was only 1 foot at the deepest end. We set the pavers using the 2x4, stake, and level method. Our pool was level to 1/4 of an inch. I got all the information from this awesome site on how to do this by the way.
Now fast forward to June and the pool was up and we were swimming. The only regret I had was not digging the sod back 2 feet around the pool because our bionic Nut and Bermuda grass grew sideways and under the pool then up through the gorilla pad, tarp, trap and then the liner. I was patching grass holes in the liner the next summer. Not a big deal just more work removing the grass 2ft back after the pool was already up. The next hurdle came the second season. There are pocket gophers in this area and for some reason they love my yard. The first year they never dig by the pool well that changed in year 2. They dug under the pool. You could feel thier runs on the pool floor. The weight of the pool did collapse the tunnels but they dug under 2 of the legs which caused the pool to start leaning. Then they decided to move to the side that had less pressure due to the leaning pool and went to town on the liner seam. You can probably guess what happened next...yep they split the seam and now the pool was toast. Seems like a book for only 2 seasons of swimming but you loyal readers deserve the whole story.
This brings us to the current situation today. Wife wants something like the picture below. So I have embarked an this insane trek to give it to her lol. Wish me luck as I will continue to post my journey.

We currently are looking to add a saltwater cell to our pentair equipment pool. We use chlorine tabs, would the ichlor30 work or is it only to replace a current salt water cell (intellichlor 40)? Thank you!

I have a clock timer that stopped working. I need to replace it but not sure what model. It has intermatic E10694 stamped on it. It is 220 going into this and I believe 110 output to SWG controller. I am not an electrician, but I feel like I do this job myself by wiring at exactly the same way - if I’m sure I got the right replacement unit. On the far right of the picture, it appears to be a white wire that has been taped in black tape, I don’t think because of damage.

Hi! My pool has 2 skimmer baskets & the one farthest from the equipment is clogged with leaves. I e read some old threads on using an air compressor or a garden hose to work the clog out, but I don’t understand what exactly I need to do. Also, my air compressor isn’t working properly, so I’m hoping the garden hose trick will work. Can someone please explain what to do? I tried to pull leaves out with my fingers, but now I think I’ve pushed them down further! Thank you for any help!

Hi TFP. New pool owner and as the universe would have it my pool came with an Anthony Apollo VA-26 filter and push/pull valve. To my understanding the Anthony Apollo VA lineup consists of filters built to last a lifetime but not as efficient as new DE filters. Given my budgetary constraints a new filter is not an option so I’m trying to learn as much as i can about this filter and how to use it (I’ll post something shortly on my experience). I have a question re: the hose bib (item 1 on the attached photo). Searched TFP ano to my understanding this bib can be used to reduce pool water level (and hose people in the pool ) while bypassing the filter. Am i correct? Any other uses for it?

I have a replastered pool. I scrubbed it twice a day as directed, but there are some areas that are a bit like sandpaper, and some smooth and perfect. I keep my pool properly balanced and am very good about checking it all the time, so I doubt it is a chemistry issue.

Is it possible to scrub off some of the "sandy feel" using a metal brush made for pools? Obviously I don't want to do damage, but I fear I am stuck with the gritty feel forever.

Good day all. I have a 70k gallon vinyl lined pool. I chlorinate with GLB Cal-Hypo 68%. I've been pre diluting and mixing off in a bucket when adding but this makes my water cloudy. It's been mid 90's to 100 plus here for the last month so I'm having to add daily to keep up with the correct amount of chlorine so the water stays cloudy day after day. I backwash every 2-3 days to try and clear it but I fear all I am doing is kicking cal-hypo out into the Ditch at this point. I'm only losing 1.5-2 ppm chlorine per day which in this heat seems to be normal. I am wondering if any more experienced people out there might have some suggestions. Also wondering if I should be on recirculation instead of filter when adding Cal-Hypo to the pool.
Test results are as follows:
FC 4.4
TC 4.4
PH 7.6
TA 139
CH 29
CYA 55
All testing is done with a lamotte pro 11 using new tubes and all new reagents. I've checked my results with local pool company and they match close enough to say my tester is calibrated correctly.

I am experiencing an issue with my fiber optic lights. The light will come on, fan is running, wheel is turning. All of a sudden light goes off for no reason at all. Any help would be appreciated.

New 16,000 above ground pool. Water is in it. Filter will be installed in a few days. TFP-100 test kit ordered, here in 5-days.
In the meantime, anything I need to do?
Thanks

A pool tech replaced the light engine in an Intellibrite 5G this afternoon. As she was putting the light back in the niche, she asked me if the pool light switch was off. It was. She thought she had felt something odd and wondered if there was current in the water. She has escalated to her boss as she hasn't experienced this before. Breakers are off at present. What is the proper way to test if there is a problem? Thanks!

Hi everyone. I've read most of the post regarding the subject pumps and called Pool Supply Unlimited and emailed Calimar. No answer yet. I have a shared body pool/spa. I am looking to buy the Calimar 3HP variable speed pump and the add-on automation controller. I want to set the pump schedule to run my pool using speeds 1 and 2, then use a relay (in my DIY pool automation system) to run speed 3 when I want my SPA active. If the schedule in the pump has the speed 3 duration set to 0 minutes, what happens when I engage a relay (close the relay) on the pump controller terminal 3 to the provided 5V terminal? I expect the pump will run speed 3 until the relay is opened. But that's not what's implied in the pump instructions nor the automation controller instructions. They imply the pump will run speed 3 for the duration set in the pump schedule (which will be 0 minutes for me). Can someone verify that engaging terminal 3 with a relay will in fact run speed 3 while the relay is closed, even if the pump has that speed schedule duration set to 0 minutes?
Thanks!

I know the TFP recommendation for CYA is 70 - 80 (ish) for a SWCG pool. I also read somewhere that FC needs to be 7.5% of CYA for it to matter (according to one study). What do experts think about this 7.5%? Is it needed in practice?

The same article said that if you have CYA in the pool, then a higher pH will not necessarily reduce the effectiveness of the free chlorine. So say pH rises while you are away, you come back and fix pH - no increased risk of algae in the meantime with FC of 4 - 6 and CYA of 60 (roughly thats what i currently have)?

Just curious why salt water pools need a higher level of CYA.

My sons pool was eating chlorine, so did a OCLT and from 8ppm at sundown dropped to 2ppm at sunrise. He started a slam and with a 70 cya set a 28ppm chlorine level and has been able to maintain that level with a lot of chlorine additions. For the past three days, the water has been very clear a 0cc’s. The slam has been going on for 4 days. Last night he overshot the chlorine by bringing it up to 36ppm, he tested twice to be sure, only to have it drop to 28ppm in the AM, still clear water and 0cc’s. He’s brushed and cleaned the filter daily and checked all the nooks and crannies. Not sure how to proceed…help please.

I currently have my Pentair SuperFlo VST set to 2000/2500/3000 (2 hours/10 hours/2 hours) with 3450 (3 hours) being the quick clean. I noticed that when I had it set to 1800, my Pentair iChlor 30 did not like it, so I had to kick it up. I also know my Sta-Rite Max-E-Therm 333K BTU heater will need to have a minimum flow rate (and minimum CH) , but I haven't tested that out yet. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to best setup this variable speed pump (my first variable sped pump)?

This year has been a battle all year and I am losing . I have a 14,000 gal above ground pool and it has turned cloudy and I can't get it to clear up. Here is the link to my latest testing numbers:


I had to completely drain it and refill it at the beginning of June, it was green and nothing I did worked. It has been clear until this past week. I am working on bringing the TA down and I am adding liquid chlorine. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have three boys who aren't happy with me right now!

one of my returns has bubbles coming out of it every now and then. It is only a few and it doesn't happen all the time but it is always that one return. What could be causing that?

Just wanted to say hello--what a great website! We have a 12,000 gal pool--already installed when we bought our house a few years ago. Even though we've had it for a while, I'm still learning things about upkeep, equipment, etc. Glad to have found this site.

Thank you for any assistance in advance!
I've had my pool for over 10 years. It's equipped with Hayward's AquaPlus automation and heater's a 400K BTU Natural Gas heater (I believe it's the Universal H-Series). I recently changed the motherboard because of a small burnout on soldering point effecting the T-Cell communication. Long story short, my heater currently has no power. It's wired into the AquaPlus' #1 relay (Filter Pump Load Out) on the left hand side. The load in shows power but not the load out. I've never had the heater controlled by the AquaPlus Automation just constant power. Unfortunately, I didn't try the heater prior to the motherboard replacement and I'm wondering if the relay went bad but I'm not very knowledgeable regarding relays. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Does anybody have the Jandy Power PCB 8124A Troubleshooting Guide? I have the 25 VAC to the PCB and the 3 Amp fuse is good on the PCB.

Hi all. I woke up this morning to my pool making noise when the pumps kicked on. Went to check and saw bubbles coming out of my in floor pop ups. Checked the skimmer and it is draining faster than it can fill. It is a Venturi skimmer for A&A. Water level is good and no leaks at the pump or filter. If I close the valve that feeds the Venturi flow, the skimmer fills and looks to be working fine. The pool has been working fine all season. Nothing changed from yesterday to today. Any ideas what might be going on?

We recently had a pool installed. The pump will be set in a garage that is not built yet. The pool crew said we would use a “hillbilly pump” until the foundation of the garage is complete. I have no idea what this means but the pump is sitting next to the house and seems to be running. After they finished the install, the pool crew went on vacation across the country and I had NO IDEA what to do with this pool. Before I found TFP, I had a HTH test kit that I used and followed the instructions on the app. I finally got everything in range per the HTH strips. I discovered TFP a few days ago and have been trying to learn everything I possibly can. I have read just about everything in pool school and I think I have a pretty good understanding of the basics. I ordered a TF-Pro today. Until it gets here, is there anything I should do? ..or just hope for the best and wait for my TF-Pro to arrive?

Hello all, this is my first time on this site. I am hoping that I find the site very helpful. My question today would be do I need to worry about phosphate levels. Currently in my pool is crystal clear and being enjoyed by my many kids and grandchildren.

After getting almost 20 years out of our original pump it finally gave up the ghost and we had our pool company install a new IntelliPro VSF pump about 3-4 years ago. This week we opened the pool and the display screen was dead. I can use the egg timer buttons to turn the pump on for about 8 hours but I have to do this every morning. I called the pool company and they are going to send someone out to look at it but they said the electronic control panel alone is over $1,000 for the part if it needs to be replaced and of course the manufacturer only provides a one year warranty so it would not be covered.

Is this common for this part to fail so quickly? We don't really want to spend $1000 plus every few years. If these fail so easily I would prefer to go back to the far less expensive and more reliable simple pump we had for 20 years.

Thanks