I've just found out some of the problems that can eventually happen when choosing glass tile like cleaning the grout, tile loosing shine, falling off, lasting only x years, ect). We picked our tile from Mastertile 1x2 inches with the mesh backing (pool remodel has not started yet). I know the paper backing is better but they dont carry it and I wouldnt want to pay for it.

*

My question is not if its a bad idea, rather are there any members out there that installed glass waterline tile (hopefully mesh backing) and survived to tell the story? I would like to know how its holding up after any number of years (shine,falling out, cleaning). I read a post that stated expect to replace 20 indiviual tiles a year.

Just finished putting up our pool last week. Water is balanced, SWCG is setup, and the water temperature is fine!



Started by cutting the sod out last year, putting down geotextile road base fabric, and covering with road base. Compacted it and let it settle over the winter. This year, I installed weeping tile around the pool perimeter, run out to a 30 gallon dry well buried 15' away, and 4' down. Our yard has a lot of clay so water tends to hang around in the spring - hoping this helps. After the drain tile, I covered the base with a layer of crusher fines to help with setting the pads, and to give the overall surface a smoother finish - these were compacted and 'wetted' as well.



I borrowed a transit level and set all of my pads. Everything was within 7/8". Had some friends come over and we got the pool up in about 5 hours one evening. Didn't get the liner in and rain prevented us from working into the night. We used 3/4" XPS foam as the base, foam wall pad on the walls, and foam cove around the base. The inside of the pool is very nice, both bottom and sides.





Took about 30 hours filling with a hose. The water was very cold, but within 3 days (with just a couple black tarps on top of the surface) the water was nearly 70 degrees. Plumbed everything with rigid 1.5" PVC and Jandy valves on the skimmer/return lines. We used a 3-way Jandy valve at the return, should we want to add a water feature in the future. There are unions near the skimmer and return, at the SWCG, and between the pump/filter. Had a bit of a leak at the skimmer on the exterior wall, but tightening the screws inside the pool solved that.





We went with the Hayward ProLogic for our electrical distribution/automation/control. It's working very well and really simplified the electrical installation. Everything is bonded, including the water which is bonded by the Permacast plug right at the return. Next year we will be building the deck, and that drove the location of the equipment post/equipment.



We are using the "Generic" Kreepy Krauly from Amazon and it works great, right out of the box. Didn't have to do any modifications, works great as is! We got the Confer 6000X ladder, which will be used with the deck next year. For now, we just built some steps, with a gate, to use with the ladder for the rest of the season.





We still need to determine some way of holding the solar cover when we want to use the pool. It's too big to move for one person, and we are reluctant to use a reel as it would be quite intrusive to the sight lines of our yard. Want to use Solar Saddles but don't want to drill into the pool! Also want to build some sort of equipment/ProLogic cover after we build the deck - not sure what to do there yet either.

Ok so technically I had my pool up for a month at the end of last year but I thought I’d do a build thread for the full build for this year as I have way more stuff and i can include links to help UK based folk.

I purchased an Intex XTR 18ft by 9ft from Ultra XTR Frame Above Ground Swimming Pool 18ft x 9ft x 52" Rectangular for £1095 in August 2020.
(Now £1495 and out of stock!! Glad my wife talked me into it).




After a quick unpack and getting excited I did some browsing and found TFP. Thankfully I quickly learnt my garden wasn’t level enough and my soil not compact enough (just had the lawn turfed with an inch of new soil laid on top of old). So began a week of digging by hand in 35-38C (95-100F) temps. It nearly killed me but I lost 6lb in weight so not all bad. A quick few (well lots) of 100m each way trips with the wheelbarrow 2.5 tonnes of sand had made its way to the correct spot.


Finally some 50mm (2”) pavers from Selco provided the leg supports and the pool was filled


I used the standard pump (1200GPH) and sand filter (10”) which was ok but needed backwashing frequently as it’s probably a little undersized.

A 500micron solar cover (SolGuard Geo) from Swimming Pool Covers | Solar Pool Covers | Pool Supplies UK | Pool Equipment Suppliers was added to help retain some heat.
I only used the pool a handful of times before it got cold. My daughter and friends used it for the last time in late September with the water at a chilly 19C (66F).
It was then taken down and packed up ready for this year.
Next post will be my many winter purchases...

I bought a Super Pro Generic Hayward B-152 Skimmer Basket last July and the handle just snapped. It was not being abused; moderate debris pulled out unremarkably. The handle is secured by these plastic pins that are the diameter of a matchstick. I've had genuine Haywards before, they snap too. So, I've worked out a ramshackle repair system using zip ties. Those last a few months and will eventually snap as well. Also, the basket doesn't seat perfectly with the zip ties on there.

This is a little ridiculous. Tell me there is an answer.

The cover is still on and the skimmer has an oil slick and I don't have any tennis balls yet this season. It's been running for a day and I just want a round about baseline to get an idea where I'm at.

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

I have recently been experiencing rapid buildup of calcium in my SWG. I can't point to anything that has been happening to the pool that would contribute to this. The change has been radical -- I've gone years between needing to acid wash on this cell and the one prior -- but I had massive buildup upon inspection about a month ago, I acid washed it, and a similarly terrible buildup has returned already.

The cell has been in service 3 years, 9 months.

The chemistry is typically within these ranges (I target a slightly negative CSI at all times):
FC: 3.0 - 5.0
CC: 0
pH: 7.5 - 7.6
TA: 70 -90
CH: 280
CYA: 30 +/- (have trouble keeping CYA in pool)
Salt: 3200
Current water temp: 85

On each occasion of the buildup, I've experienced reduced chlorine output of course, but overall it has been a challenge to keep chlorine in the pool this summer versus other summers.

I'm beginning to suspect that the cell needs replacing, but would like to get a second opinion. Just how does one really know the cell needs replacement?

Hey all...thought I'd share this. It's probably a long post (and is still an experiment in progress, so I *will* follow up with details as it progresses) but I thought it could be useful to those looking to go with automatic liquid chlorine injection, but don't want to spend hundreds on a professional system.

Like many here I'm not big on pucks. I'll use them when we're going away for a weekend because there's few other options, and I hate bugging friends to come do my pool maintenance. And of course, one slip up or forgotten visit to add chlorine and I end up with a frog pond. I keep my pool quite warm with solar (90-91) so chlorine demand can get up there, and with direct sun for many hours a day, it can bleed off quickly. My CYA is 30, and in my comfort zone, leaving me some room for occasional puck use.

But, I wanted to add a basic level of automation to things. Yes, it's not an excuse for still maintaining and checking manually, but it's a backup - I've almost forgot a few times to add the morning and evening liquid chlorine doses and it's only a matter of time before I slip up and end up fighting an algae bloom.

So....I was on the hunt for a peristaltic pump...but being in Canada the prices were high at retail, and anything used I was finding was on eBay after shipping costs would have ended up being unreasonable for me...or worse yet, taking a chance on an "as is" type deal (as many peristaltic pumps seem to be on eBay) could have backfired and I end up out a bunch of money.

So I started Googling for cheap liquid/chemical pumps, and came across a bunch of references on aquarium forums for the "Aqua Lifter AW-20" by TOM equipment. I was hesitant initially figuring the chlorine may eat the internals, but it was listed in many places as designed for "chemical dosing" usage for aquariums, and with a price of only $21 at my local aquarium shop I thought I'd give it a shot.

So, a project was hatched. PIctures of the current "quick and dirty" setup - if it works out I'll tidy up the install and make it more permanent, but I didn't want to spend an inordinate amount of time with a fancy/tidy setup for something that may need to be changed or tweaked in the coming weeks.

The pump:





As you can see...it's small. Best as I can figure (based on parts availability) it's very similar internally to an aquarium pump except that it's plumbed for both inlet and outlet. The pump itself does appear to be rubber so longevity may be the big question, but a few days of initial testing have proven it resistant to liquid chlorine so far. I have plumbed it with chlorine tolerant tubing.

So, I hooked it up today and tested it's flow rate which conveniently came to exactly 100ml/minute. That makes dosing calculations easy. Your mileage may vary, it's rated for twice the flow rate versus my testing, but I attribute it to the fairly long hose run I have (probably 20 or so feet), so testing is necessary to confirm and time injection cycles accordingly.



One thing I noted is that the flow WILL SIPHON through the pump if the tank is higher than the pump. Don't ask me how I found this out initially, but thankfully it didn't end in disaster. Keeping the pump ABOVE the chlorine supply is absolutely necessary for this pump in particular!

So, continuing, I drilled a small hole in my skimmer above the water line and ran the feed line from the pump, securing it with hot glue. (Yes, my skimmer needs a good scrubbing. Out of sight, out of mind.. ) Thankfully the underside of my skimmer is exposed under decking so this was a viable spot for me to basically "drip inject" into. Your mileage may vary, but timed carefully (to ensure my pump is running whenever injection happens) this was a viable spot for me. More on that later.



Again, as mentioned earlier, quick and dirty for now, I ran the lines and situated my chlorine container in an out of the way area (with little/no sun) under the back edge of my deck. I drilled a small hole in the lid (obviously I'll need a new one now, or a plug, for when I transport the jug to/from the pool store to refill) to run the feed line. I weighted the feed line to ensure it sat on the bottom as initially it wanted to float and sucked air.





Again, I temporarily setup the pump out in the open. I will tuck it carefully away in the cabinet in the picture before weather arrives, although in all honestly, it looks pretty waterproof - it is designed for aquarium use so although it's obviously not submersible, it's probably reasonably waterproof. However, if this project works out I will certainly tidy up the install - run the plumbing neatly under the deck, make a bracket or something to hold the chlorine jug (although this section of my yard is basically a dead zone, no activity goes on there), and put the pump inside the cabinet in this pic..



Last but not least, and most importantly, a good high end electronic timer with multiple on/off program cycles. I've used this timer for a year or so now to do a nightly reset on my DVR security system and it's worked perfectly, so I trust it. Best of all it had 20 programmable on/off cycles (at as little as 1 minute each) per day so it's very versatile and suitable for turning the pump on/off for small doses of chlorine through the day to maintain levels. It also has a built in battery backup to maintain programming. Yes, I know it's NOT waterproof, but again..quick and dirty at this point - it will be tucked away in the waterproof cabinet before weather is expected next.



So, I programmed it initially with 4 dispensing cycles. Each cycle corresponds to when my pump (which is also on a timer) is running to ensure that the chlorine is promptly picked up and mixed. The pool filter pump runs for at least 15 minutes before chlorine injection starts, and runs for at least 45 minutes after each injection cycle ends...so there's NO worry about any chlorine damaging the liner near the skimmer from building up too strong. Yes, I understand how absolutely important it is that the pump runs when injection is occurring, and I take no responsibility for anyone destroying their liner trying this project and screwing up the timing. For those who run their pumps 24/7 this obviously isn't a worry, but if you use a filter pump timer like me for whatever purpose, careful timing is an absolute necessity obviously!

So far, so great - instead of my usual peaks and valleys of chlorine levels the system (which is injecting metered doses about 4 times per day now) is maintaining levels much more consistent, and best of all, I can go away for a day or two now without fear of coming home to a green disaster. Adjusting the duration of the injection cycles will require some homework still - as the weather changes my current settings may end up with too much or too little chlorine being injected, so obvioully it's not a "set it and forget it" solution, but at least I can go to work in the morning now and not have to freak out if I forgot to glance at the pool before leaving.

Worst case scenario, I'm out about $25 if the pump fails in short issue (because of with Chlorine intolerance) and I abandon the project. Rebuild kits for this pump are fairly inexpensive, so even if I need to rebuild it once or twice a season I'll still be happy.

Thoughts/Comments?

Hello everyone!! For the first time in seven seasons, our pool turned into a green swamp before opening. I am a little intimidated about this process. I’ve read the articles and brushed up on everything. I just tested my water and the results are:
FC 0
PH - not on the chart. A hot pink/magenta color. I’m guessing this is High? Or is it possibly somehow in accurate? I did let the water come to room temperature before testing.
TA 40 * never had a rating like this even at opening. It usually stays right at 60
CH 50 * admittedly, I usually don’t test this because I have a vinyl pool and it was always within the normal range
CYA- The dot does disappear at 30, but I’m very surprised to have any CYA

before testing I was assuming I would prob only have to adjust my pH before starting the slam process. Should I assume that it is high and start dosing to bring it down? Do I need to address the TA before slamming? My CH is at the very bottom of the acceptable level. Should I address that at all before slamming? any other important factors to consider when opening a pool that is a stinky swamp? Once I address the levels as advised, I plan to run the pump nonstop, brush several times a day and initially check my FC levels every 30 minutes.

One other question, I use the Taylor K – 2006 kit. Every season, they regents for the free Corine and see why a run out so quickly. I hate to buy an entirely new test with so much remaining. Do you all buy larger quantities of just those test regents that are used more often or does anybody have a good method or suggestion to test often without continually buying new kits?

As always, thank you for any input!

Hmm - looking like opening time? Let’s get some chlorine on the way home and get the cover off, see what we’re dealing with.

July 2015 - March 2021
I couldn't believe I was spending $272.49 on a robot for my $300 pool, but he was worth every penny. Last season he was slowing down and sometimes only cleaning for an hour before stopping, but he was trying his best. Saturday I tossed him in for the first cleaning of the year and... Nothing. Not sure I will be able to swing a new robot this year, even this model looks to be $400 new now. I still have my Aquabug though, between her and a manual vacuum the water will keep sparkling clean.

We have the K2006C and need several refills. Our SWG is installed and should be hooked up next week.
I want to get a new test kit for salt water.
The test kit website is a little confusing to me.
Which test kit for SW will test for the most things?
Thanks guys!

This weekend I broke ground for the new Intex 32ft X 16ft X 52in Ultra XTR Frame Pool Set that is boxed up on a pallet in my garage. The site I am preparing is 40ft x 20ft that slopes 22" between the highest and lowest corners. I used the front end loader and back blade on my tractor to get almost all of it within 1" (one section is 2-3" low, not feasible to lower the rest to that level) according to my laser level. I plan to order a load of stone dust screenings and rent a plate compactor to get it perfect, but as some areas may need 4-5", would it be worthwhile to start with a layer of "dense-graded base coarse?"

Hello. This is my first post here.
I am working in an automation project with a raspberry pi + home assistant, and I would like to know if there are some here interested or with experience in similar projetcs.

Since a few years I have a little system based on pilight, an now I am immersed in a full upgrade to Home Assistant.

My system is a dual-speed pump + sand filter, with 3 sensors:
- temp
- ph
- orp
I am using DS18B20 and EZO ph an ORP cards (I had to develope a HA sensor for that).
and 4 controllers (relays):
- pump on/off
- pump speed (high/low)
- muriatic injection
- bleach injection

EDITED:
Some post after, I have a video showing state of development at 28/08/2019

Alrighty, spring is here once we get the Masters rolling. Love this weekend!!

I see the topic of cordless robots come up from time to time and I wanted to share my experience with the newest Water Tech model. This is a newer version of their previous model CX-1. To me they look essentially the same except for the color, but the Volt 550 comes with a 3 year warranty. The company told me the software has also improved, but I have no basis for comparison. Both are powered by a large lithium ion battery. In my setup, the nearest outlet is too far away to allow coverage of even half the pool (even with a 60 ft cord). We also never liked the cord and having to pull the robot out of the water to swim to avoid getting tangled up. Plus I'm really enjoying the Instapark Betta surface skimmer and a cord might get in the way. There aren't a lot of cordless options that are competitive in terms of power to corded models and this is the best I could find. This is my second robot, having owned a Hayward Tigershark several years ago. I can't really compare to a modern Maytronics since I haven't owned one. Anyway, I've had it about 6 weeks and here are my initial thoughts:

Pros:
1. It's cordless!
2. Charge lasts up to a week. At the start of a run, there is a button to press to toggle between a single long run vs cleaning a little every day for a week. The first day of the week schedule is long and the other days are short (can't remember the exact time). I typically use the "weekly" mode but don't always get the full 7 cleanings (usually 6). It takes 6-8 hours to fully charge.
3. Does a good job of getting the dirt at the bottom.
4. Can clean the sides. Before the start of a run, you press a button to toggle between sides+bottom or bottom only.
5. You start the cleaner on the deck and it motors itself into the pool (kind of drops over the edge).
6. Comes with a hook you attach to a standard pool brush pole to pull the robot out when it needs to be recharged. This is surprisingly easy to do and I find it much easier than pulling on a cord. There are red LEDs on the top of the robot. They blink when the battery is getting low and turn off when it is time to recharge. They are easy enough to see to let you know when to pull it out.
7. It collects the dirt in a thick bag attached to a frame. They provide an extra bag. I find this very easy to clean (especially compared to the filters of the Tigershark) and it captures fine particles well.
8. It's fairly compact, with no big handle. You had to shift the angle of the handle on the Tigershark with every cleaning or the belt came off center. That is not required and there are some built-in handles on the sides for carrying it around.

Cons:
1. Though it cleans the walls, it is not great at the waterline tile.
2. The charge only gets you about 4 hours of run time, so you can't keep running it like a corded robot if you have a large amount of debris.
3. The filter bag is accessed from the bottom. Not as much of an issue as other robots since there is no cord or handle on the top.
4. No idea how well this will hold up. The warranty is key, especially for the battery.
5. No remote control, WiFI or Bluetooth.
5. My pool is fairly large and would benefit from a longer run time.
6. Expensive!

I've been leaving it in the pool all week and pulling it out on the weekend for an overnight charge and then back in it goes. I have a GFI outlet in my pool shed dedicated as a charging station. Overall, it has been working well and between it and the Betta skimmer, the pool has minimal debris. I'll follow up at the end of the season with an update.

So.. 2-1/2 years ago when our pool was built, we asked the builder for two bubblers on the Baja shelf. He did give us what we wanted, kinda... but I felt they never really looked good. The problem, all that was supplied was two 1-1/2" fpt threaded returns that were flush in the baja shelf. Because these outlets were so big, the water would only rise about 1 to 2 inches above the surface. For the past few years I looked for a return nozzle that would fit flush into the threaded return, so people wouldn't trip on them when walking on the shelf, but surprisingly their isn't much out there.

I forgot to mention, my baja shelf is about 12" deep, so these nozzle are now pushing through 12 inches of water then 6 to 8 inches above the water.

Finally, I found some bubbler nozzles from a company called Custom Molded Products, that fit all my requirements. Grey in color, 1-1/2" threaded and fit flush with the surface.



Here's a video of them in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTRvAadJRdQ

Hopefully this will help someone in a similar situation.

Several months ago, I ordered several parts from Marina for a robot that was eaten by a large dog.

Most of the items were shipped right away, but the wheels kits were on back order. They finally shipped a few days ago.

They shipped by the USPS and I have been using their tracking number to see where they were.

They showed out for delivery at 6:10 AM today, March 6th.

They also showed delivered at 2:08 PM today, March 6th.

I find this odd, as it is now only 9:50 AM today, March 6th.

So apparently my post man has the ability to time travel into the future to deliver my parts. Unfortunately, I will have to wait for time to catch up so I can see them.

Thanks,

Jim R.

How ultimate? Hey, it’s me!

Since I became a pool owner I’ve been trying to find a good solution for reading both my pool temperature and my outdoor temperature. I’ve been through the obvious ones: floating in the pool, or stuck to a window. But I also had a need for my home automation system (HA) to have those temperatures. I wanted to see my pool’s temp from anywhere in my house and while away, and my HA could do some handy things for me if it had access to reliable indoor and outdoor temps, like turning on/off ceiling fans and citrus tree heaters, alerting me when to close up the house when it gets hot out, etc.

For years I struggled with what I had available: namely my HVAC thermostat, which I can access with my HA, and the local weather report, also available to my HA. But the HVAC was only somewhat accurate, and the local weather was not. It was either off by many degrees, or just unavailable (their server is constantly reporting various errors). I could get at pool temperature through ScreenLogic, but only while the pool’s pump was running, which is as little as four hours a day and never more than 12! And I couldn’t get that temperature reading into my HA software.

So I sniffed around on the ‘net for devices that might work, and found a few. There are digital floating pool thermometers. I could have probably gotten one connected to my HA. And there are all sorts for indoor digital probes that can talk to your computer via wifi or bluetooth. But there was always something missing from these solutions… until I stumbled onto these guys.


I ordered one of their products immediately and got to work. In short order I realized I shouldn’t have gotten their wi-fi solution, so I returned it for one that connects directly to my ethernet LAN. Basically this device can connect to multiple one-wire temperature sensors and then report temperature readings for all of them via a built-in web server. This server can provide a nice looking (and customizable) web page, or raw data in XML format.

So… back up into the attic I go! I figured since I was going up there (again!) I might as well make it worth my while. I ordered a spool of ethernet cable and six temperature sensors. I ran cable from my office (where I installed the Control By Web gizmo) to a junction box in the attic. From there I ran cable to various locations in my house. The one-wire sensors (which are actually three wires?) can be connected in parallel or in a star topology, or any combination. I ran cable from the junction box to four rooms (great room, master bedroom, office and garage) and one outside under an eve.

I eventually also figured out how to get a sensor in the pool (more on that later). So I had six sensors total.

I then programmed by HA software to periodically poll and parse the gizmo for temperature data. I have it polling every 5 minutes and monitoring all six temps. If they change, my HA updates various displays throughout my house. I can get those displays on my computers or iPad or my phone (or any web browser). One section of my HA interface looks like this. The temps get rounded up to the nearest integer:



Another version gives me more detail, including the actual temp to two decimal places:



I repurposed an old iPhone 5 and mounted it in a cabinet over the counter in my laundry room where I test my pool water. The same iPhone also has the Pool Math app on it! I installed that 120V outlet just for the phone charger! This cubby is “Pool Central.” My HA software allows me to create these custom screens in any shape and with any info and any touch controls. Brrr, my pool is cold. And the ice cube icon is telling me it’s going to be freezing again tonight.



I used my HA software to create the ultimate bedside temperature display, and I run it on my first iPad. As in the original iPad. Credit to the developers of my HA software. Not only did they create something that allows me so much customization, they’re still supporting an app that runs on a 12-year-old iPad!!



I could fill a thread with what this display can do. (So I will!) Down the right side are my six sensor readings: Inside (great room), Master bedroom, Office, Garage, Pool and Outside. The upper left area is my HVAC: indoor temperature along with heat and cool thermostat settings. Below that I’ve got sunrise and sunset times for the day, then some HVAC touch controls. Below those is local weather data from NOAA: day-of-the-week initials, high and low temp forecasts plus day and night rain forecasts.

The surrounding spaces are filled with icons that appear for various reasons:
- when my irrigation is running,
- if it’s going to freeze tonight, or later this week,
- if it’s going to rain today or tomorrow or later this week,
- weather advisories,
- HVAC states,
- the state of my garage door,
- if my landline phones are silenced,
- if my iDevices are silenced,
- my Roomba status,
- if I forgot to reconnect my pool vac,
- if my citrus heaters are on (triggered by the outdoor temp sensor)
and a slew of other stuff I might want to know when I’m drifting off or waking up.

I even figured out how to programmatically dim the display for nighttime. It beats the heck out of my old clock that could barely manage outside temp and a little cloud that was supposed to tell me it was going to rain, or something. I dunno, it was always showing a little cloud!

It’s an iPad, so it's also a touchscreen, and I can control all sorts of things:
- HVAC,
- garage door,
- ceiling fans,
- window shade position,
- outdoor speakers,
- small animal defense system,
- phone and iDevice silencing, etc.

I also get any messages or warnings that my HA system is programmed to deliver.

This particular day, for example, it was going to rain, and freeze later at night, there was a weather advisory, the sun was going to set at 6:06pm, my phones were silenced, the small animal defense system was off, and it was going to rain some day this week, and some night this week, and temps would get to freezing at some point this week. Oh, and it was partly cloudy outside (and it was actually partly cloudy outside)!



Ha, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m just getting started!

Just a little background, I had a 360 for over 20 years. This pool is setup with a center outlet for it which helps
It stayed in the pool 24/7/365 unless I am worried about it freezing,

Early 2020 it needed rebuilding and at the time I thought the parts were expensive so bought a Pentair SE for $699 and got a $50 rebate so was happy..
In early 2023 my robot quit and although it needs a impellor motor that should cost $50 Maytronics makes you buy the whole assembly for $450
Should note my motor had water in it so a seal leaked.
So i decided to go back to another 360 and found a used one for $210, had to spend another $45 on a piece of hose and a float but it look's brand new

Should also note I have a lot of hardwood tree's around me so I get tree junk..People in the south will understand

Roboot Advantages over Polaris
It does clean better, mainly with the small grit on the bottom
It was less of a hassle, cord sometimes got tangled but nothing major


360 Advantages Over roboot
It does a better job keeping the pool clean over all. It will run 24/7 as long as my pump is on.
It does a better job with bigger leaf's
PARTS! I used to complain that $125 rebuild kit was a scam but compared to a $450 motor its cheap
Plus you can buy every part separate, most of the ones I replace are $20

A lot of folks on here have Robots and never have issues. But once I started looking around a lot of us have.
Not sure why unless it has to do with water temp and taking it in and out. As mentioned mine stays in especially from early spring until summer.

If they designed it to last more then 3 years I would have bought another one.

My wife & I live north of Houston and will soon have a giant expensive mud hole in the backyard. We are hoping with some good fortune, it will turn into a swimming pool sometime in April. Our three adult children and seven grandchildren live in the nearby area. The grandchildren range in age from 18 years down to 8 months, three of which are toddlers. We are building the pool to entertain the family and have a place to hang out and enjoy the backyard.

We had a pool at a previous home, but this is our first build. The design process took a while as we thought through what we really wanted. I have learned a lot from reading through the treasure trove of information on TFP. The numerous build & maintain threads, with their constructive feedback and assistance from multiple members, convinced me to become a TFP supporter. TFP stands in a rare group of websites with valuable content and active forums with friendly and supportive members. The moderators and members are to be commended.

I have attached a few pictures to start a build thread. The conceptual rendering is very close to what we hope to achieve. One of the drawings shows the rough dimensions. The water depth profile has changed. A sketch shows the latest thoughts on water depth, but we have not finalized it yet. I also included a couple of pictures of our backyard. The pool will be placed away from the house to help with drainage issues - more on that later. The main part of the deck will start 25-30' off the covered back porch. The pool equipment will be located in the backyard beyond the pool.

I also attached some of the specifications. These are a couple of revisions back. Some things about the equipment have changed, but I do not have the new specs yet.

As many have noted, Texas pool builders are generally averse to saltwater pools. We will start off using liquid chlorine, but I anticipate adding SWCG within the 1st year.

The waterfall is designed to double as a jump rock with a platform area approximately 3.5' above the water. The water depth in front of the waterfall is a deep hole to accommodate diving.

The firepit will be wood burning. We had to take down a few nice trees, so we will have plenty of wood to burn next winter.

I would appreciate any feedback you have on the build. I look forward to sharing the build and learning along the way. I appreciate you for joining us in wishing for a trouble-free build.

All the problems with the pool getting clear and getting the old water out and clean water in, etc. Well, now we have a problem of a different color. We are in the middle of a wicked ice storm that has wreaked havoc on everyone. We are going into day 2 of no power. Long story short, the pool now has a big tree in it. Bec it is dark I cannot see very well but could see enough to know there is a tree missing and that there is a tree-looking thing sticking out of our pool. We will be calling the insurance company for sure. Once the sun comes up I will post pictures.

Our pool cover died and the pool is full of leaves and debris and algae. I get the slam method and just want advice on how to clear the debris effectively. Pool is dark green (haven’t started yet). Is a pool robot worth the effort to help with the debris? I have a pressure side cleaner but it isn’t that effective in large loads like this. Considering an upgrade to a full robot.

Pool is 16x32, tray bottom, vinyl liner (new last year), single speed pump with main drain and skimmer, around 13500 gallons or maybe a bit more. Swg installed last year. Haven’t worked on chemistry yet. Closing last year the CYA was 70, CH 60, TA 60, PH 7.4, SALT 2600 and FC 10 just before close.

I think it needs a slam....

Is it bad i want to try to fix it?

Purchased out first home last summer and have been thoroughly enjoying the pool. The previous owner left a half full bucket of chlorine tabs and the pump has an inline chlorinator. Refilling that with regular trips to Pinch-a-penny for testing has gotten me by since then, but after reading through Pool School I decided to spend the money that would've gone to a fresh bucket of tabs (~$200) on a TF-Pro test kit instead.

Also just purchased a new pleat filter so I can finally see what the pressure runs at with a brand new filter.

Next up on the list is figuring out why the skimmer doesn't seem to suck in all the tiny floating gnats that are constantly floating like a film on the surface. The pool is in a screened porch but those tiny bugs still get in and for some reason they don't get cleaned by the skimmer.

Looking forward to a great summer season though!

First time pool owner. Have a 16x48" intex ultra frame, 1500 gph pump/A filter, and saltwater setup. Kept getting sediment collected on the bottom the pool. Stir it but it would just go through the hand skimmer. Was about to order a sand filter with bigger pump so I could vacuum also as my setup didnt come with filter vac and didn't think my 1500 pump would do it well. Anyway, put a white athletic sock over the return and just stirred up the pool getting the particles in the water versus on the pool bottom. The sock has totally removed all of the grit as I guess it was just going straight through the filter. I do keep filter clean and all that . . But just something as simple and cheap as a sock has the pool absolutely clean and hasn't interfered with chlorine production or any ill effect. Got the tip about the sock here . .so just wanted to say thanks. I still may upgrade to sand . . But it won't be to water/grit conditions. Unbelievable.
Phil

I am going to attempt to contact my pool company and be as nice as I can, I feel a bit wronged here because I pay $600 to close my pool and it was filled with leaves and stuff and then they left all the drains open. The pool drains dump down a large hill so it's hard to hear or see it draining. When we went to take the cover off this weekend we were shocked to see the levels down the the drain line (parallel with my plumbing drain system). The liner shrunk and tore away from the jet covers and filter openings (also stairs). I new liner is $1900 and I think they want around $2500 for installation. Would I be out of line if I asked them to help me out on lowering the install fees?

1. On the first of each month, a contest "theme" will be announced (i.e. water clarity, family fun, decking, custom features, lighting, scenery, etc)
2. Members have 10 days to UPLOAD ONE image for consideration; Photo must be related to the thread titled theme for that month.
3. Per general TFP rules, nothing profane, political, or insulting.
4. The first 10 days is the submission period. Posts are limited to ONE image ONLY. No discussion posts yet. This will make viewing much easier for all.
5. Days 11 - 15 the thread will be locked and is for voting only. No more uploads. Viewers now have a final opportunity to vote (or modify their selection) for their favorite upload.
6. Members are encouraged to use an emotion icon ("Like" or "Love") to vote for their favorite upload; it will be tough, but select only one favorite.
7. On day 16, emotion Likes/Loves will be tallied for a winner. In the event of a tie, we will create a poll on the thread to make a final selection.
8. Once a winner is announced, the thread will be unlocked and comments/discussions are welcomed. Winner and nominees can tell us all about their pool/photo/event.
9. A member can only be selected as winner once per calendar year.
10. Winner will receive a $50 gift certificate from tstestkits.net! Oh, and maybe some bragging rights.

This should be fun. Get those cameras out and show us your unique pool features. We know they are out there. Let’s see those pics! Have fun and good luck to those who apply!

Hello! This is my first post of any significance, but I have been reading and trying to absorb as much knowledge as I possibly can in preparation for the pool that we've been building for the last 8 months. I've tried to follow as much of the advise as I could glean from TFP throughout the construction process, hopefully I haven't made any major mistakes. I've read 100% of the pool school content and very nearly 100% of the wiki content as well as countless forum threads over the last 8 months, but admittedly have probably only absorbed 75% of what I've read, I figure and hope that the remaining 25% will come from some hands-on experience.

I am a software engineer by trade, and have been very interested in home automation for years, I'm extremely comfortable with all things electrical/computer/automation, and much less comfortable with chemistry/plumbing (I know it's basically the same as electrical, but I just really dislike plumbing work haha).

So...enough about me. Let's talk pool. This is my first pool, though growing up I had lots of pools. We've been delayed countless weeks this winter due to the record rains that we've been experiencing in CA (I'm in South Orange County FYI), but it's finally time! Looks like we'll be getting plaster done on Monday assuming no more unexpected delays pop up. We've passed our pre-plaster safety inspection, so I think we're all set.

My pool builder, CA Pools (who is very reputable, but the owner is also a buddy of mine from outside this project), is bringing in their 'pool guy' for the first month for the startup stuff, and my contractual obligation is to brush the pool twice a day (which seems in line with TFP advise). My question at this point is more about the 'pool guy' than anything, my PB says that he's the "Pentair Warranty Servicer" for this area and that I should have a high-level of confidence in him. Overall, I trust my PB, just about every piece of advise that they've offered thus far has checked out with what I've read on TFP, but I also don't want this startup technician guy to screw up the water chemistry in some way before I even get a chance to take over. Is there any advice or things that you all would recommend on how I can avoid issues without feeling like I'm breathing down this guys neck for the next month?

I will also be extremely grateful for any help/advise/scolding that I can get as I get myself comfortable with the TFP process.

I'll attach a few photos here for those interested in what we're dealing with.

Pentair sent some touchscreens for us to try on the new IF3s and I feel a bit like a child again.

Of all their new products, this is the one I've been waiting for. We've been sorely missing them on the new pumps and our rep is a rockstar to send them to us as quick as he did. Build dates are from 6 days ago.

I'm unjustifiably excited for the improvement over the anti-climactic experience of "upgrading" the older but very capable controller to an ugly 3 button blank with rainbow-light riddles.

Tomorrow I'll have an example of the display connected and running.

Getting close to signing a contract with a PB.
Would like to get some feedback on our pool equipment and features before signing our contract.
Please feel free to provide any input that we are maybe able to incorporate into our designs.
I have included my CAD drawing of our layout and the 3D drawing from our builder.

Overview:

• 16’ X 32’ Pool no Spa, 3.5’ to 6’ depth. 5’x12’ SunShelf,
• Sunshelf to be ~13” below waterline
• About 15.6k gallon per our PB
• Pebble Sheen Blue Granite
• Tile, 6x6 LuvTile Key West Blue for the waterline, 1x2 Glass - Noble Tile NGRC 1268 for the 12"beam on the rear of pool

Deck/Structure:

• Back deck away from the house will have a 12” raised beam (2 6” steps) with 2 non-lit Deckjet
• Paver decking around the pool and under the existing lanai (Total 1293sf), Cream/Beige/Charcoal pavers with Sand Color Coping.
• Bronze mansard screen enclosure with 3 doors.
• Child safety fence with Auto Close Gate/Latch.

Plumbing:

• 1 non-lit bubblers and 1 umbrella sleeve in sunshelf
• Dedicated Vac Port, Overfill, Autofill
• 5 returns, 1 skimmer, 1 Channel drain

EQUIPMENT:

• Pentair Intelliflo 3HP VS Pump
• Pentair Clean and Clear 200SF Cartridge Filter
• AquaCal SQ225 or T135 Heat Pump (FUTURE)
• (10)Techno-solis 4x12 Solar Panel, Ground Rack Mounted
• Pentair IntelliConnect
• 3 Pentair Color LED -Microbrite (one above the shelf)
• Pentair IChlor 30 SWCG