I have used this forum for the last 6 years since.I bought my house, which came with a pool. I have learned to do mostly everything by reading the forum, and this year, I am finally going to try to close it. I read through the various recommended posts relating to closing a pool, and I believe I have a pretty good understanding of how to go about doing it. I purchased a Cyclone that I intend to use to blow out the lines. I have a couple of questions regarding sequence and method of blowing out the lines. I made a PVC adapter to connect to the union that holds in the SWG. In other words, I intend to remove the SWG, and connect the adapter to each union that connects to either side of the SWG and blow out the return side first followed by the suction side. I have attached a photo of the adapter. I have also attached photos of the equipment pad showing my pipes and valves and a photograph of the pool where I labeled the returns (5 in pool returns + 1 fountain), 2 main drains, and skimmer. My equipment pad has 5 valves (main drain, skimmer, middle return, other returns, and fountain). As mentioned, I intend on blowing out the returns first. My question is, should I leave all 3 of those valves open when blowing those out (middle return, other returns, fountain) or should I close 2 valves and only do 1 at a time? Does it really make a difference with the Cyclone or is there enough volume for it to handle all 3 being open? My thought was if I left all 3 open, I would not have to worry about pressure buildup between the time I plug the final return on each valve and the time I shut off the Cyclone (though I did reach that the Cyclone does not build up enough pressure to cause any damage). After plugging the returns, I will shut off all the return valves and connect to the suction side by the SWG union, which would essentially blow water back through the heater, through the filter and into the skimmer/main drains. Will the Cyclone have any issue pushing water through that path? I intend to blow the skimmer out first (I will be lowering the water below the skimmer first). Should I close the main drain valve to blow out the skimmer or keep both valves open, put a gizzmo on skimmer when it blows out, and wait for air bubbles through the main drains and then air lock by closing the main drain valve and then also close the skimmer valve? Thanks for your help.

So easy! Post ONE pic related to the theme title above. I bet you have a good pic saved somewhere. See the contest rules below to enter.

PLEASE READ RULES FIRST ----> TFP Pool of the Month Contest Rules



Monthly themed photo contests are announced on the first, with a 10-day submission phase. Days 11-15 are for voting, with the winner announced on the 16th, eligible for a $50 prize.



It's easy! What have you got to lose? You might receive a $50 discount code from TFtestkits.net.

Click Here to See Some Previous TFP Monthly Contest Winners​

Firstly, thanks for clicking on my post.
I am hoping some forum members could help me out as SR Smith has been zero help and they don’t have any warranty support near my zip code.

I have a PT 6002 and 4 Mod lights which worked fine until this season.
This season the remote no longer works for the PT (inductor light on remote lights up and battery has been replaced) but the PT doesn’t responded.
Secondly my lights won’t sync up to the same color and one light sort of flickers when changing.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what I can look into to fix this. Thank you!

Just wanted to share. A transient state I know. Actually the back and forth before really helped me learn how these elements work and interact, and how to use my testing kit. Thanks for all the help y’all.

We are new owners of an old pool. Thanks to help from this site, we've gotten the water under control in the last few weeks, and now are trying to fix other issues. One thing that I noticed is that the skimmer does not have a door on it - does it need one? My husband doesn't seem to think it's a big deal. If it does need one, are they pressure mounted? I cannot see as to where it would install otherwise.

In addition, when I run the filter with the vacuum in the skimmer, it seems that I get a ton of air bubbles going through the return the entire time it's plugged in. I do fill the hose with water as best I can before plugging it in. Take the vacuum out, bubbles cease, as long as I have the port valve just right. When I run the system on full main drain or full skim I do get air in the lines. I plugged up a pinhole I found, but there has to be something else. I've seen a lot of mention of the o-ring on the pump cover. Does this refer to the gasket around the pump filter basket lid? I've noticed that ours has seen better days, but again, hubby doesn't seem to think replacing it would do anything at all. My thought is that if I were to replace it, it might improve the situation further...

Hello all! Is constant brushing normal? I have to brush my pool daily to prevent any algae growth. If I go two days with light it, I gets light algea growth on all walls and floor. Illhave to shock, then brush, and then I see a bunch of dead algae on the bottom the next day. If I let it go too long again, I rinse and repeat. I will say that I've yet to get my own pool testing kit and am still relying Leslie's. All my levels are fine (according to them), except FC. That's high because I happened to shock my pool a couple hours before it was tested. This makes me nervous for any vacations where I won't be home.

I found out the hard way why safety glasses are recommended for pouring any hazardous liquid, regardless of how careful you are.

Yesterday I poured liquid pool chlorine (10.5%) from a measuring cup into the pool with my arm outstretched, and the cup only 4 inches or so from the surface of the water. Same way as I'd done for 10+ years. But this one time a very small droplet of liquid chlorine splashed back up into my eye -- splashing approx 3 feet up after only a 4 inch drop. Even after flushing the eye immediately I had to go to the hospital for medical attention.

It seems to defy physics, but it's possible as long as the droplet is small (a "piece" of the original drop gets the energy of the rest of the drop transferred to it).

Safety glasses from now on!

UPDATE: I just called Spa Electrics and they have just released a special version (R10H) that is designed as a DIRECT replacement for the colorlogic WHEN used in the shallow niche (LFGUY1000). Further, they can update the color sequence to be controlled by Omnilogic controls if you desire. I just ordered two.

R10H for Hayward Shallow niche only
R10 for any other niche

I can across this light recently while looking for an alternative to the Colorlogic 2.0 lights at $1250 each! It seems retrofitting niches with new LED lights can be a major hassle and the cost of them is atrocious.
Anyway, the R10 light has an ingenious built in adapter ring to fit a wide range of niches. Once the ring is installed, you can just pop the light module it. Another cool feature is that you use your EXISTING cable and adapt it to a plug they provide. If the light ever fails, just unplug the cable from the back of the light and replace. It looks good too and is UL listed. $600.

I don't have it yet as I'm trying to determine if this will fit in the SHALLOW Hayward LFGUY1000 niche. It looks like a slam dunk for any other niche.

Retro R10 — Spa Electrics Inc.

FWIW, the new hayward colorlogic 2.0 also has a plug end system, but for $1250, I would expect a 10 year warranty!

Pool owners frequently seek out "Chemical Free" alternatives to pool water sanitization. Many claims in favor of these systems and methods have been made (usually by the manufacturers of such systems) often without adequate scientific proof of their efficacy. Let's take a look at them and see how well they hold up.

The notion of a "Chemical Free" pool is a bit of a misnomer. If you want sanitized water, as defined by the EPA, you should know that there are only three EPA approved primary sanitizers -- chlorine, bromine, and biguanide (aka Baqua, SoftSwim, Revacil, etc.). These are your only choices - period. Everything else is a supplemental sanitizer that MUST be used in conjunction with one of these three if you want sanitized water! Why are these the only three approved sanitizers? These are the only sanitizers with fast kill times that also leave a residual in the water for ongoing protection.

Let's look at some of these alternative sanitizers and see if they "hold water".

First there are the 'metal ion' and 'mineral' systems that might also include oxidation by oxygen (not ozone). Some of them are active and use electricity and metal electrodes to generate the ion and others use an erosion feeder with metallic salts like silver nitrate and copper sulfate that slowly dissolve to put the ions in the water. These added metals (usually copper, silver, and/or zinc) can hardly be considered 'chemical free.' Metals do have algaestatic and bacteriostatic properties but they have very slow kill times so they look better on paper then in actual use. They can be very effective for drinking water purification since the water can sit in the tank for enough time for pathogens to be killed before being used (and this water purification usage is often cited as a tribute to their effectiveness) BUT water purification is a closed system, while a swimming pool is an open system, meaning anything can and will drop into the pool at any time, (such as bird droppings, sweat, urine and feces from bathers, dogs jumping into the water, etc.) For this reason a residual EPA approved sanitizer with fast kill times such as one of the three above is needed.

Many of these metals systems used to be advertised as chemical free or chlorine free, but this is no longer permitted in most countries for obvious reasons. They might also use the term 'minerals' to make it sound healthy and spa like! - minerals are good for us, aren't they? How about if the 'minerals' are copper sulfate and silver nitrate? Still sounding healthy and chemical free? Ionizers do basically the same thing by electrolysis of copper and silver electrodes. A new twist is combining copper ionization with titanium electrode oxygen generation! - pure pseudoscience!

What about copper systems - chemical based? (See ionizers and mineral systems above.) Again, they are not primary sanitizers and need to be used with a chlorine residual. Most of this type of product (chelated copper sulfate) is actually sold as algaecide and not sanitizer. Of course there is that 'chlorine is bad and I want something safer' market to tap into, and there are plenty of well-intentioned people who buy into the hype. It makes for slick marketing but knowing what you know now, would you rather have chlorine or copper sulfate in your water? Since chlorine is an effective sanitizer and oxidizer and copper is not (and copper can and will stain pools and turn hair green) then give me the chlorine!

The biggest drawback to metal ion systems, besides the fact that they are NOT primary sanitizers, is that they can stain pools and people--green hair is caused by copper.

An interesting thing about these metal systems, is that they are not permitted in Australia even with reduced chlorine levels but must be used with normal chlorination levels. Why? Research has shown them to be ineffective at quickly killing some of the 'nasties' that can get in to a pool. Also, most state Health Departments do not recognize them as suitable sanitizers for commercial installations. Why? Once again, they are not effective without a residual sanitizer. Remember, copper is a very effective algaecide and zinc is almost as effective so if you have one of these systems your water will probably look clear most of the time because algae won't grow but other things can! Clear water does not automatically mean safe water! These systems leave you feeling like you are doing something good for your family, but what you are potentially doing is exposing them to dangerous bacteria and pathogens.

What about ozone and/or UV? Can't that reduce or eliminate the need for chlorine? In a word, No, and for a very simple reason. Ozone and UV have NO residual effect so again, a residual sanitizer is still needed. The only place these will kill pathogens is in the contact chamber (where the water is exposed to the ozone or UV), not in the pool. Ozone will destroy chlorine but will oxidize organics so it's a two edge sword. You will generally have higher chlorine consumption with ozone than without and it does not allow you to run lower chlorine levels because there is no residual effect from the ozone. The higher bather to water ratio in a spa makes ozone much more useful there than in a pool because it does oxidize organics. Ozone is also toxic in large enough quantities to actually sanitize pool water. For many, ozone is more useful in bromine systems since it will activate the bromide into bromine sanitizer so it works with bromine instead of against it. However, it will cause bromates to form and they are a suspected carcinogen in drinking water!

UV light can kill pathogens and some of the units also produce some ozone but this only occurs in the contact chamber and there is no residual effect in the pool. Once again, more useful in a spa than a pool. UV might be of some value in an indoor pool in conjunction with chlorine to help destroy persistent chloramines.

Not convinced yet?

What about Enzymes? They can help reduce or prevent a scum line but are NOT sanitizers?

Hydrogen peroxide? Hydrogen peroxide is NOT effective as a stand-alone sanitizer. To have a high enough level of hydrogen peroxide in the water to act as a sanitizer would cause extreme bather discomfort, to say the least! In the US it is used as an oxidizer in conjunction with biguanide.

MPS (potassium monopersulfate)? An oxidizer, NOT a sanitizer! Some metal-based systems used to say that you could use strictly MPS and no chlorine was needed. This has changed and they no longer say that in the US (and most other countries as well).

"Proprietary mixtures" that make all kinds of claims and have a lot of pseudo sciences are nothing more than snake oil. If they won't tell you what is in it you don't want to use it! If they say that you need to shock or use a bit of chlorine it is NOT a primary sanitizer!

What about magnets, electronics devices that generate 'standing waves' in the water, nascent oxygen, etc? If you believe any of this stuff works then you may be beyond help.

Chlorine gets a lot of bad press but anyone who follows the methods we outline here and at TFP know that a properly chlorinated pool does not fade your bathing suits, make your eyes red, or smell like chlorine! It actually is a lot safer than the alternatives when it comes right down to it.

I tested my pool today and we plan on swimming tonight, these were my results and I want to know if my chlorine levels are safe
FC 10.78
TC 10.78
CC 0.00
pH 7.6
Cyanuric Acid 67.00
I think, if I'm understanding correctly, that my FC of 10.78 if safe to swim in because my Cyanuric Acid level is 67.00.
Is this correct and the pool is safe for swimmers?

I know this will go again the purists who say "all you need is Chlorine". Posting this just as my experience because it has been really life changing. First note my pool is not white but a mottled blue gray plaster and I don't care about appearance too much.
I researched Copper sulfate 1.5 years ago. EPA considers small concentrations allowable for drinking water. I took my chances bought some on amazon for $20, and some Cu testing strips. I think you want to shoot for about 0.5-1ppm.
A buddy of mine said I might kill my salt cell, because of electrolysis, but I had already done it.
1.5 years later I'm happy to say:
1) no stains I can see (but remember my pool is darker and mottled) - I think the secret here is don't keep adding the stuff - get it right and stop. It doesn't evaporate to my knowledge.
2) no problem with the salt cell - in fact funtionning better than ever because my CYA is really under control because I have not had to shock the pool during that whole time except once (see item 3)
3) No algae problems at all except once. I leave my pool unattended for weeks at time, I come back, everything is fine. The only time I had an issue was after the first spring, I had dumped a lot of rain water and not adjusted my CuSO4 back up. One algae bloom in a year and half. Got my Copper sulfate back up and no problem since then.

So may not be for everyone, but for me, it has been absolute heaven and truly trouble free. I have not added Chlorine except for that one algae bloom. Usually with a salt cell, you don't need to, but realistically its hard to get it exactly right. I have had my Chlorine go very low and I was not punished for it, no algae.

Again, just sharing in case this can help some people. Use at your own risk, don't go to high, read the posts about staining. You can do everything with Chlorine, but I found this much more forgiving.

The pool plumber is saying to just add a T and a few ball valves. I’m going to swap all of my street 90s and regular 90s out for sweeping 90s and figure it’s a good time to add a heater bypass valve.
Photo below gives an idea of the setup.

Do you guys recommend buying an application specific bypass valve or am I okay to add the ball valves and then crack one open to allow 10%ish flow through the heater at all times or should I drain and blow out the heater somehow and let it sit dry until the months we use the heater?

Thank you for any advice,

Donnie

We have a piece of plaster stuck in one of our jets but we can't figure out how to get the cover off. Any ideas?

My wife had a friend over who brought her kids to swim.
They used the pool net to fish out their toys and extended the pole all the way and I can’t get it to go back down. Any ideas?

The tv says to call a doctor if it lasts more than 7 hours, so the clock is ticking.

New pool owner. (2 months)

Started noticing concrete bullnose edges were turning white and chipping off a little. So, I started reading on LSI and water balance. Pool guy and pool store don't seem too concerned (or dont care) about LSI, but I am now because I'm pretty sure my water was corrosive due to low calcium.
Raised calcium to 120 because that's pool manufacturer recommendation. But based on that level, consistently having high PH (7.8-8.0) due to saltwater, and high temp (84°), adding muriatic acid to lower my ph will make my water corrosive. They keep telling me to lower my ph because fiberglass recommendations are 7.2 -7.6, but that just wouldn't work with my water readings.
FC - 2.5
TA - 90
PH - 7.9
CH - 120
Salt - 2400
CYA - 36
My concern is...which is worse? Low calcium or high PH? I can't seem to keep ph low cuz of the saltwater. It goes right back up day after adding acid, and I'm not sure I want to add acid everyday. Plus, it lowers my alkalinity. How do I keep ph stable and within 7.2 - 7.6 range? Seems impossible with the saltwater. Will adding calcium affect the fiberglass? Will high ph affect the fiberglass? So much info and opinions have me overwhelmed.
I just don't want any more damage to my new concrete, which I need to have sealed anyway. I've included a picture.
Any help from a fiberglass saltwater pool owner would help. Thank you.

Hi,
I am totally new to pool ownership, in fact it doesn’t get dug for a few more days. We are putting in a concrete pool with a plaster finish. I just got my pool test kit in the mail and am trying to learn all I can.

All I have is plastic covers screwed onto a plastic ring embedded in plaster? Always thought there was supposed to be a plastic drain "bucket" underneath these.



Here's the part # I found on the cover: 640-231xv

Hi there.

I have CYA in the sock in front of the return and have new set of cartridge filters waiting to be installed. How long should I wait before replacing cartridges? Pool water chemistry says "not backwash/clean the filter for a week", does the same recommendation apply to cartridge replacement?

Also, I could be wrong but I believe squeezing the sock was not really recommended a few years back and I believe it used to say CYA will take a week to register, now it says it can be tested after 24 hours.

I use two socks (one inside another, no holes), is it ok to squeeze it all out within a few minutes and be done with it? Will CYA reading be accurate 24 hours later or should I wait longer?

My chlorine usage seems to be a little high, although overnight loss is 1ppm. My testing shows 30ppm, leslie's 40, but I lose 5-5.5ppm during sunny day. I aim at 40ppm, it worked best for me in the past and now it's recommended.

thanks

My wife and I are slated to begin digging for our new pool the first week of September. It will be a 16x34’ gunite pool with a raised 7x7’ spa and a 12x6’ tanning ledge. The pool will be a sports pool with a 3.5’ shallow end, 5’ deep in the middle, and 4’ deep on the opposite end. It should hold in the neighborhood of 15-17,000 gallons. The slope of our backyard is about a 11’ drop over the first 50 feet, so there will be retaining walls and it will still be a challenge.

As far as equipment goes, we will be getting a Hayward variable speed pump, a 31” sand filter, SWCG, and 400k btu heater. There will be two skimmers in the pool, one color logic LED light in the pool, and one in the spa, and 6 jets in the spa. There will also be two bubbler jets in the tanning ledge. Everything should be fully automated as well.

Here are some concept pictures of what we are planning.


Decking will be all washed aggregate concrete. This will be our first and only pool build, so I want to make sure we get it right. I would sure appreciate any feedback you have for me.

Hello everyone,

I just signed up and we just had our saltwater pool finished a couple of months ago and love it. I'm still trying to learn about the chemistry and figured out test strips and stuff. We've gotten some really heavy rains so I had to add some salt and it's still only at 3100ppm after 80lbs (even cleaned out the salt cell) and am wondering about salt loss.

Anyway, here's the question and it's probably a weird one but I'm curious. I've read that the salt only leaves the pool when water is removed, splash out, or heavy rains. And I've read that the salt is converted to free chlorine and that the chlorine eventually turns back to salt. However, I've also read that you need cyanuric acid to stabilize the free chlorine so the sun doesn't eliminate the free chlorine from the pool. So, if the sun burns the free chlorine out of the pool, is that free chlorine no longer there to be able to turn back into salt? And, if so, wouldn't that reduce the salt?

Sorry if that sounds stupid but trying to understand it all. I couldn't find that in the forum so I figured I'd ask.

Many thanks,

Christian

I use Pool Math for both my pool and spa and love the simplicity. Not sure I prefer the new UI...but still a great product.

But does anyone else have problems with the application keeping the targets you input for different chem levels? For my spa, I keep inputting my target levels after testing...and they quickly revert back to what must be some sort of default for the program. The defaults are NOT what I'm trying to keep my spa at and it's frustrating to have to keep changing these each time I test.

Bug? Or "feature"?

Hi. I am a 22 year pool owner. I’ve basically been doing it wrong all of this time. I did some testing but as long as the pool looked fine I was OK. I got black algae in 2019 and had to have a re-surface done. Lesson not learned.

All great again until a month ago, started to get some black algae again. I decided it is time to start taking this seriously. I got rid of any sign of algae using recommendations from our local pool shop but wanted to start taking things into my own hands.

I got a proper testing kit and am trying to get things in order. My CYA was at 170 and I decided to get that taken care of first. I have pumped a lot out and got it down to 80. I am going to try and get it to below 70 today and then I am going to try this SLAM process. I have stopped using chlorine tabs which has been basically all I have used up until now.

I have got so much info from here and I intend on asking for more assistance as needed. I have subscribed into the Pool Math app and am following what it says.

Thanks for having me.

Hi guys, i have a 15k gallon plaster pool (pebble), and its fully automated with both acid and chlorine injection. This system has been working great other than a few times the injection nozzles getting clogged and the lines popping off the stenner pumps. Its an omnilogic with sense and dispense. I have been struggling to get my total alkalinity up, as it seems to drop to very low levels, like 30 ppm or even lower. The pool is 1.5 years old. I have recently noticed salty taste to the water so I bought a salinity tester and my pool is now 5000ppm salt. I think this was a gradual increase. The bather load can be high at times as I have 2 kids and frequent visit by friends.

I have ordered the test kit that you guys recommend and I will go through that process and post the results. Here are my questions:

1. Will this level of salt damage any of my pool equipment including heater, pumps, in floor cleaners, tile?
2. Should I convert to a SWG and use the salt? If so, do I need to reduce the salt down to proper levels or I will over current the SWG?
3. The only way to lower salt is to dump water and refill with clean water?

I am getting my test kit in a few days but would love to get the groups opinion on this. I have ordered a SWG for 25k gallon pool, a hayward brand.

thanks in advance.

J

In my first few days of ownership, I messed up and added way too much dichlor. I found I could use hydrogen peroxide to lower and actually neutralize the chlorine. It worked almost instantly. I have a bottle of 35% hydrogen peroxide.

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this. The OP in a Reddit thread admits to putting cal hypo tabs in his inline chlorinator in which he'd previously used trichlor tabs. Says that he'd make sure the trichlor tabs had dissolved first. Also attached the pic in case you don't wanna visit Reddit.

Login to view embedded media

I contacted 3 different companies and received 1 bid (so far) from the most responsive builder. I have a very big negative that my septic field doesn't leave much room for a pool even though im on almost an acre of land. So we can only do a 10'x30'. But I will take a pool over no pool. Especially since im not on the water anymore. One company flat out said no way I can do a pool, another one said I could with the septic field being moved (almost 14k to do this) and the third company (one I like the best and the bid im attaching) said we could fit a smaller pool without having to change anything. Im hoping to spend no more than 75k not including landscaping or fence. IM selling my pride and joy (30 foot Pursuit center console) to finance the build but having a backyard oasis right now is a higher priority to me than having a boat. The renderings have gotten me super pumped to have more than a sandy dirty backyard lol.

The yard currently is a literal blank slate, so Im trying to do it all, patio, pool, fence, landscape, etc. The construction of the house was finished in March this year, have lived here about 6 weeks and got right into a pool . IM attaching the bid I got with the 3d renderings (info redacted for privacy of me and pool company). This pool is going to be far more simple than the last one. Im going for just a pool this time with no attached spa. (going to do a stand alone spa this time, far cheaper and IMO better).

Summary of bid

In Ground 10'x30' Vinyl Pool
3.5-6 foot deep.
7 foot tanning ledge.
Hayward 1.85 Tristar VSP.- Want to upgrade this to VS950
Hayward 60 Sqft D.E. Filter. Had cartridge before. Should I switch this to cartridge or leave it D.E.?
Hayward OmniPL Salt system. With not much happing on this pool Im not sure I need automation so is the PL system ok or should I do Omni Logic still?
2 Skimmers- need to clarify they will run individual lines
4 Returns- not sure placement, guessing two on the lounge and 2 in the pool
Dual MD
Dolphin S200
Hayward Led light. Want to upgrade to 2 lights in pool.
1140 sqft broom finish concrete deck/patio
stone coping- most likely would nix this and just do cantilevered concrete and save $4500.

PB isn't a huge fan of puncturing the liner for bubblers but I really liked the bubbler on my old pool would either like to have lit bubblers or have lights put on the tanning ledge at least.

Also am 50/50 on doing deck jets. Old pool had standard jets and they were super loud and didn't really use them other than for show then turned them off. Would doing Laminar jets be quieter or would it be an even bigger waste of money?

I def want to add a heater. But im not sure whether to do gas or electric. I would heat the old pool even in the winter when it was in the 40s to 82 and would swim. I know an electric heater won't do this. But im not sure I will cold air swim much, especially doing a stand alone "portable" hot tub this go round. Heating the old pool in the winter would cost 5-600 a month in gas so id like to avoid those kind of bills. So I am swaying towards a heat pump this time. Im also having solar installed on the house so my electric bill should be close to nothing. A smaller but notable thing to mention is I literally have NO shade at all and even with shade in the old house the pool was almost too hot in the summer and we could do a cooler/heater combo if I went heat pump. But im worried about not being able to heat the pool effectively below 60 degrees. Or even if the HP works, it taking forever to do it.

Next question is the depth. It would cost 1200 bucks to make it 8 foot depth. But 30 feet long and the 7' swim lounge, will the pool be long enough to dive safely? If not I would leave the depth at 6 feet, but if I could safely dive in it I most likely would do the 8 foot depth. Next question would be what size shallow end would I have if I went that deep?

I think that has it all for now. Im meeting again with the PB next week to walk the property and go over everything in detail.

So pool build 2.0 hopefully begins soon!

I just spent the last few days completing my Alexa controlled pool and patio system. I can now turn on or off all of the following devices, either by voice command using Alexa, or via an iPhone app from any location:
Spa pump
Heater
Spa light
Pool light
Patio light
Barbecue light.

The total cost of the project was just under $200 (including the Echo Dot to control it). It took me about two days to finish, although due to having to order and wait for some items, it was spread over a weeks time. Some basic electrical skills are needed, but nothing too complicated.

Due to the limited budget, I decided to forgo a WiFi hub based system. A hub system would provide better, and more dependable and robust coverage for the devices, albeit at a bit higher cost.

My system has standard deco type wall switches in my pool panel which operate the pool and spa lights.





Shopping for hubless standard 110 smart switches brings up a number to choose from, with an average price point right around $25 each. For no particular reason, I chose these:

Smart Switch by MartinJerry | Compatible with Alexa, Smart Home Devices Works with Google Home, No Hub required, Easy installation and App control as Smart Switch On/Off/Timing (2 Pack) - - Amazon.com

Since I was using that brand for wall switches, I elected to stay with the same brand (which also means using the same iPhone app) for my plug-in patio rope lights and barbecue lights.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0776WL59D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With the lighting sorted out, I turned my attention to control of my attached spa. The pump and heater were both wired on a single 220 circuit. I always thought that was a problem since the heater should be turned off before the pump shuts down. In the past that was impossible without a trip to the heater to manually shut it off. I decided that the heater should be on a separate switch, but wired so that the pump must be on for the switch to be active. Being a cheapskate, I decided on re wiring the heater to 110 operation and just adding a third 110v smart switch. I could have left it 220 but that would require a second 220 switch. Re wiring was not a big problem, the manual for the heater had wiring instructions for 220 or 110v. I just pulled the power from one leg of the 220v circuit I would later run to the pump.

Control of the spa pump itself required a 220v DPST smart switch. There seem to be very limited choices in this area. The only hubless 220 switch that I could find that met my needs and my limited budget was this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZYLTJ16/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had to add one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756N989G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
plus some additional items from the local hardware store to mount and connect the WiOn 220v control box.



Since the WiOn 220v control and the smart switches use different iPhone apps, it took a bit to get everything online and then to connect it with Alexa Smart Home.

It was all working, but I found that using a hubless system put a bit of strain on the limits of my home WiFi system. Rather than invest in a range booster or a more robust router, I decided to try a more economical approach (did I mention, I’m cheap?) . Since the system seemed very dependable when I was working on it, with the metal door on the panel open, I thought of an alternate approach. For $10, I purchased a 12x12 piece of lexan! Then cut a 10x10 opening in the door immediately above the switches and installed the lexan window.



The WiFi switches now seem very dependable and it all works.
I even grouped all the lights under the command “Patio”

So, now Alexa can be told to turn on (or off)

The Booster Pump
The Heater
The Pool Light
The Spa Light
The Rope Lights
The Barbecue Light

or, I can say “turn on the Patio Lights”, which is all the lights.

Actual total cost for the project was $191.24. And about two days work.

If anyone wants to do something similar and has any questions, just post them or PM me.

UPDATE - due to price reductions, this project could be now be completed for less than $150!
The 220v switch I used is no longer available, same switch now under different listing.

DEWENWILS Outdoor Smart Wi-Fi Outlet Box, Heavy Duty 40A 120VAC 2HP Wireless Controller Timer Switch for Pool Water Heater SPA, Compatible with Smart Phone, Alexa, UL Listed - - Amazon.com

DEWENWILS Outdoor Smart Wi-Fi Outlet Box, Heavy Duty 40A 120VAC 2HP Wireless Controller Timer Switch for Pool Water Heater SPA, Compatible with Smart Phone, Alexa, UL Listed - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

I just got my Attendant installed yesterday from Poolside Tech. I'll be documenting my journey in this thread.

Pool was recently completed and I swam in it for the first time yesterday. While in there, we noticed this at the skimmer. As you can see, the water tile that butts up next to the skimmer does not have any mortar (might be using the wrong word) to cover the edge. This is on both sides of the skimmer.

Should it be like this? Water obviously gets behind that tile and possible all the neighboring ones too, and I imagine this would shorten the life of those tiles staying adhered. Thoughts?