I just installed a new master temp 400 with initial success. The heater turned on, heated water was pumping, no gas leaks, all was well. After running for 10-15 minutes the heater panel and red heater light keeps blinking... the panel says "version 2.0" then turns off, turns back on and does the same thing. Now the heater is not working. What's going on here? I tried resetting the breaker to power cycle everything and am getting the same problem. Thanks for any help!

I'm hoping to get some advice on how many BTUs I'll need to heat my spa.
I've never used the spa (I've been restoring it for the last 3 months), so I can't rely on past experience. I just did a few brief test runs.

What I have

• Approximately an 850 gallon in-ground gunite spa, about 8' diameter.
• I have a vinyl cover (4-5" thick) that sits on top of the brickwork (probably a fairly good seal).
• Insulation is mediocre (I installed some R-6 panels around the tub when I had to dig up the plumbing), about 2/3 of the way down the sides, and insulated the buried pipes (spray foam).
• Existing heater is 11kWh resistive (CSPA XI). Both elements burned out yesterday and I might as well get a heat pump.
• When the heater did work, it was warming up a full spa at about 1.5 degrees/hour (from 70F).

So I'm thinking as follows:

1. The people that built this thing thought that 11kW was enough.
2. Resistive is 11Kw (or 38000 BTU) in any season. Heat pump won't work as well when it's cold.
3. My location is Asheville, NC.
   1. Winters are typically mild, with occasional frost, cold nights and warmer days.
   2. Last year we had 4300 heating degree days, averaging 360/month, peaking at 900/month.
4. I'd like an inverter model (so it's quiet in my back yard). I am looking Raypak Crosswind (I-40? I-50?)
5. I'd like to be able to use the spa for 80% of the year (and wouldn't mind 100%)

Should I oversize it? (and are there downsides to that with an inverter?)
Should I be aiming for the BTU output at the coldest air temps I expect?
Is there a reasonable formula for sizing a heater given the parameters I know?

Thanks!

Hi! Ok, I believe I have Black Algae , but not completely sure. I have an 18,000 gallon pool in Oklahoma that we leave open year round. I had a new liner put in 3 seasons ago. This time around we did textures stairs. During the winter months I noticed a lot of dirt/pollen (or what I thought was). I would occasionally sweep steps and just figured when spring came around , I would get the vacuum out to get really clean. The only after looks crystal clear, hence my late start on making sure everything was balanced, etc. I had my son start brushing the pool regularly back at the beginning of May and noticed that the steps never were completely clean. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the dirt on the side of the step that was smooth , I could scrape that off with my fingernail. Well, I dumped a bunch of shock in it, along with brushing it used some black algae remover. So now the steps look like a very light tan brown color. Is the black algae still active? Thanks you any insight. Also, I use Pristine Blue and have for the past 10 years and have never had issue, I have had a busy spring and late to the party in getting pool up and running. Working on getting pool balanced so I can get that started again.

I started with a salt chlorinator, but pool company talked me into chlorine. I am going back to salt Chlorinator. It was much easier. I have a Pro Logic system that is now saying salt too high/ amp. After reading this forum it looks like I need to see if a little solder will fix this.

I had code 000F showing all day yesterday, and spent quite a while trying to figure it out.

000F is a low voltage indicator for this pump. I seen a couple of other posts asking about this code but in my opinion did not see anything that was a real resolution.

First problem, I disassembled the plug itself, and found that ants made a nest inside the plug. I shook that out and cleaned it out and reassembled the plug.

Second problem, after turning off the breaker of course, I took apart the outlet box. Once I took the front cover off, a ton of brown water can pouring out of the box itself. I'm fairly certain that was the issue lol.

I left it open and allowed the outlet box to dry out.

After about an hour, I plugged my pump back in and it worked. This might not be the problem for all but hopefully this tip helps.

Hello TFP gurus,
I've read in various places that when using a saltwater system, some chemicals/levels should be different than for traditional chlorine systems (I'm aware that the SWG creates chlorine).
For instance, I've read that CYA should be much higher for salt systems as opposed to chlorine pools.
If this is accurate, what level should something like CYA be at for salt?
And, in the same space, are there any other chemicals/levels that should be kept higher or lower than traditional chlorine?
I suppose I need to get a saltwater test kit and that doing so would provide the solutions to my above questions, but I'm working with what I have as of now.
Many thanks in advance for your help and enjoy the weekend!!

Hi TFP community. How much does 1lb Cal Hypo increase CH a 30k gallon pool? Thx

This is our first pool build. Most of the equipment is listed in my signature line. Will update if there are any changes to it.

Basic Plan of the pool:







Details:

REBAR - REBAR TO BE #3 (3/8) TIED ON 8" CENTERS. REBAR WILL BE DOUBLED ON WALLS AND ALL BEAMS.

GUNITE - LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY. GUNITE IS HAND FORMED AND MAY NOT BE EXACT. WARRANTY DOES NOT INCLUDE SHELL FLOATING OR SHIFTING FROM DRAINING POOL.
BASE OF POOL POURED AT 10" DEEP.
WALLS WILL BE POURED AT 8" THICK.
MAIN BEAMS (UNDER COPING) WILL BE 12" WIDE X 24" DEEP.

PLASTER - STONESCAPES MINIPEBBLE, 10 YEAR WARRANTY. THIS WILL ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO GET A LONGER LIFE OUT OF THE PLASTER. CUSTOMER CAN CHOOSE 2 DIFFERENT COLORS GIVING YOUR POOL A CUSTOM LOOK AND FEEL!

CONCRETE DECKING - WE WILL POUR 4'' THICK CONCRETE WITH 3/8 REBAR ON 16'' CENTERS. REBAR TIED TO POOL SHELL, VINYL EXPANSION JOINTS AND DECKO DRAINS WILL BE INSTALLED AS NEEDED.

PLUMBING - INSTALLED BY A MASTER PLUMBER. POOL PLUMBING LINES TO 2.5" FOR BETTER FLOW.

SPA:
8’ X 9’
18” RAISED
(2) TRAVERTINE CAP SPILLWAY
(6) JETS
MOSAIC TOE TOUCH TILE

WATER FEATURE WALL:
RAISED GUNITE WALL
LEDGER STONE FRONT
STUCCO TO MATCH PAVERS ON BACK
(3) 18” BRASS SCUPPERS
(3) 24” COLUMNS

4’ firepit: will be a cinderblock frame, ledgerstone face, travertine top cap, a stainless steel fire ring with lava rock and fire glass on top with a manual gas valve.

Hello,

I’m working on the base for an Intex 12’x24’ that I want to put onto my concrete garage driveway. It’s not level but drops around 3” over the length of 24’ so I was going to build a frame, get 3 tons of pea gravel, and level that. Now I’m just reading up on the concrete pavers you are supposed to put under the stands, how the 2” ones are breaking on people, and how you’re ideally supposed to get 4” concrete pavers.

If I were just building onto soil I could dig those into the ground, get them level, and fill the frame with pea gravel. But since I am building on the concrete of the garage driveway and can’t dig them in… what do I do? I can’t just put the pavers on top of the concrete because to fill in the frame to their level would require way too much gravel…

Thank you!

I have an above ground pool that has low pressure. At first my PSI was showing 50 so I changed the reader. Now its showing 9 PSI. Its pumping ok but not enough to go back into the intake. I cannot use my vacuum and hose do to low pressure. zi think it should be at 15 psi. I cleaned the skimmer, skimmer at pump, backwash, rinsed and check for leaks. Is there something I'm missing? I recently changed the hoses to the pump. How long should the hose be to the pump? Is there something else I can do for the sand filter?

Looking to pick out our pool colors and liked Rio Azul travertine but I have yet to see someone with it. Does anyone here use this? Would love to see photos.

We are leaning towards Rio Azul travertine for deck/coping

Monterrey Tile’s Marb Polar for the ledgestone

Aquabella’s waterline color 6x6 in Turquoise

How does this look to everyone?

Any tips or tricks to get my old pentair globrites out of the housing. We tried to use the tool for removal. But they are stuck wedged in there. I'm assuming our pool builder, who are now out of business, forced it into the wrong size housing. Our only thoughts are draining pool to drill it out. When we twist it comes apart in pieces. Thanks for any advice.

Hey folks,

I've been chasing a slipping drive gear issue with my s300i for awhile now. I replaced the drive gear twice and re-shimmed the belt wheel that is driven by the drive gear and eventually replaced the entire wheel and bushing

Here's my thoughts:
I think the failing drive gear is not always the problem but can be a symptom.

The motor unit is only located by the bottom chassis and two screws. The screw posts are super wimpy loosy goosy so the only thing holding the drive unit in pace is the tab at the front of the drive unit and a U shaped area on the right of the unit where the drive unit exits the chassis. What I think is happening is the chassis is wearing out causing the drive gear to be deflected inward towards the center of the belt drive wheel causing it to skip and eventually wear down. If you have a gear wear down and your wheel hub isn't totally worn out, odds are your chassis is worn out.



Its hard to see in the picture but at the bottom of the U on the left hand side you can see some texture where the wear is. If you see it in real life you can see the chassis has been worn away in that area creating a recession where the drive unit can slide forward in.

In the following videos you can see how unconstrained the drive unit is and how that causes the gear not to mesh correctly:


In the second video keep in mind the belt wheel, the drive gear and the belt wheel bushing are all brand new and yet aren't enough to allow the gear to mesh without skipping.

This could probably be solved by wedging the motor backwards but maybe figuring out a better tension system to pull the drive side of the motor back and create a more positive mesh would be a better solution. Anyways I ordered a new chassis because there was one in stock so I'm not looking for a solution, just putting this out there for all ya'll.

If you need a new drive gear I do have a model up for that on Thingiverse

Now you can buy them again it probably won't be super necessary though!

This system has been running fine for awhile. The heater stopped working and I replaced the PIB. I can manually turn on the heater at the unit but iAquaLink isn’t kicking on the heater. After replacing the PIB is there some configuration or setup that needs to be done? Thank you.

With power to my circuit boards, I can turn lights on, but the moment I push the pump button on the panel the 12 amp Intellichlor circuit breaker automatically trips, there is a short hum from what sounds like the left side of the panel where the main breakers are and then the 12 amp breaker (one of the 4) located at top right of the panel trips. There are no burn marks on either circuit board, in fact I replaced the surge board thinking that was the problem, the transformers appear ok and there is no tripping of the large main breakers. I had plugged something that takes power into the light GFCI, and shortly after this tripping problem developed. Is it possible that a bad GFCI occurred by using that plug for power and is now causing the pump / swg 12 amp low voltage breaker to trip ?

So frustrated, any help appreciated

Hello everyone. Just found this forum. About to start a build on my first pool. look forward to all the help

I hope this is a good place to ask this question but I am quite frustrated with my Pentair schedules. I have set up schedules for the pool and lighting, etc. using the Pentair app on my phone. I’ve noticed that the pool does not operate really in alignment with those schedules. And doing some research I discovered that maybe it was the Pentair Control panel that was off and so I went and found that the time settings on the Pentair panel were also incorrect. I reset those so now they match and yet I am still finding that Pool does not operate on the same time schedule that I have implemented. What can I do to fix this? It’s very annoying.

We opened our pool three weeks ago.
Two problems.
First, the level of free chlorine remains at 0.13 ppm, despite my adding seven gallons of Clorox and two bags of shock.
Secondly, the CYA level remains at 25ppm, despite my adding 16 oz of CYA powder and one gallon of "stabilizer".

This is the tenth summer that we've owned the pool and nothing like this has happened before.
What's up with this strange lack of reaction?

Hey.

I was referring a friend to the tf test kits today but the website has been down since this afternoon?

I've restarted my phone... but haven't cleared my cookies so it might just be me?

Wasn't sure who or how to bring this to attention

So I have the TF100 test kit just got done with slam few days ago. I hadn’t checked PH during the slam. But initially I balanced everything out pool math, TFP recommended levels in the middle on all levels. PH 7.2 when started slam didn’t lower it. All levels are still good keeping FC within normal levels now not slam.

FC 4
CC 0
TA 120
CH 125
CYA 30
PH 7.2 still before and after slam
CSI -.61

I have read and re-read pool basics and chemistry levels.
I also read the further discussions on TA/PH.
I know PH if 7.2 is fine and TA of 120 not hurting anything focus on PH.
But my CSI level is just out at -.61.

So do I bother with lowering TA and aerate PH?

Post card that came with test kit said 100-120 for manual chlorinated pools. When I entered it on pool math was when I seen it should be like 80.

So of course I went straight to TFP forum for help!

Big thing is from everything I’ve read on here is that my PH should be rising because of it and it’s not, not a bit since getting levels where they should be 3 weeks ago…

Hello - I recently had a snag in my cover that tore the webbing and exposed the rope and the rope now binds on the on deck track so the cover falls off the rail. If I could secure the rope in the webbing it would at least keep it on track. Curious if anyone knows or has tried a temporary fix for this until we can get it replaced/repaired?

I am thinking like a high strength/glue fabric to hold the rope in but may be too thick to fit through the rail, not sure.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Also have prices of covers skyrocketed? I paid $3k 6.5 years ago and now quote is nearly $6k. I understand prices going up but that’s insane,

OK, my psi is around 30 so I'm thinking I should backwash (I've been quickly forced into pool service). Can anyone tell or guide me on how to do this? I have the pull side valve. It seems daunting. Is it?

Hi all, I am fairly new to this forum and and a new pool owner. I came to this site because of the great information here.
Pool Info: New pool, Fiberglass shell, fully permitted, inspected and final'd. The electrical was done by a professional and the it is fully bonded. Equipment is all latest Jandy: Variable pump, Propane heater, TruClear salt generator and Aqualink RS automation
Disclaimer: I am not an electrician but have wired 3 of my own homes that I have built so I have quite a bit of knowledge, experience with the right and wrong way to install.

About 3 weeks ago I was in my pool and noticed when I touched the coping it cause a "tingle". There is current in the pool. I immediately turned all equipment off and got out of the pool. I grabbed my volt meter and be ground one side to the coping and inserted the other in the skimmer. With all equipment off there were 0.00 volts appearing. I began to turn on the equipment one breaker at a time. When I turned on the breaker that was powering the Jandy TruClear volts appeared. It fluctuated between 3 - 6.17 volts. Turn the breaker off - back to 0.00. So Isolated to that component. I started trying to narrow down the reasons why this might be causing the problem.
1. Is it part of the bond grid? -- Yes, lug is on the box and #8 wire runs through
2. Is it corroded? - no, but cleaned anyway
3. Is it wired incorrectly at the breaker? - No, wired correctly
4. What changed, if anything since the professional install? ....Well I did install an ethernet cable from the Jandy TruClear to the Aqualink RS so that I could control through the mobile app the salt generation. The pool installers only put it on an Aqualink RS aux switch. After reading the manual more closely, I learned you could automate the chlorination % as well as put it in Boost mode from my phone app. So following directions, I connected an ethernet cable from the TruClear to the Aqulnk RS485 connector on the Aqualink board. It all worked. (The manual did say to use a RS485 cable to connect - I read another forum that used ethernet that worked, I had that on hand so I tried it) Anyway, with this being on variable that had changed un disconnected the ethernet cable. I turned the Salt electrical breaker back on, checked for voltage and.... 0.00. That was the issue!

Since disconnecting this data cable - there has been no sign of any voltage. I am ordering an RS485 cable. I will install and see if issue is still there or if the cable is the issue or something else is.

I thought I would share my story incase anyone has some thoughts about the problem in general AND as importantly to share in hopes that it may help others in troubleshooting an electrical current in their pool.

Question
I did an absorbic acid treatment all stains are gone. I’m one week out from starting to add chlorine back. TA 70 PH 7.2 FC 3 CH 70
My question is when to start adding the CH back do I wait till the 2 weeks is up from the asborbic acid treatment since my FC is not holding yet and start add it when the FC is back to normal? Thxs for any insight.

so a huge tree fell from my neighbors yard and did quite a bit of damage to my yard/house. a limb hit my piping and snapped a piece off. i’m wondering if this is something that can just be capped? it’s part of the piping to a booster pump that isn’t used (to my knowledge). i’ve attached some pics. need to get this thing up and running again asap before everything gets out of whack. thanks in advance!!

When I push the button on the upper left or upper right, it keeps defaulting back to off. Not sure why it doesn’t turn on. This may be the second time I’ve used this heater in three years. I have everything turned on, on the pentair easy touch.
Thanks for your help.
Dakota

I’ve been trying to fine tune my chems and I think I might’ve made a mistake. My CYA was reading as 40 and using pool math, it said to add 8lb of dry stabilizer to bring it up to 70 bc I’m running a SWG. Yesterday I added it in women’s knee socks in front of 4 of the returns. I went out every hour for about 6 hours to squeeze and brush. Today I measured the CYA and it’s showing 80 (bordering on 90). Could I be getting a false high reading because it’s not thoroughly mixed in? Or will it go even higher? If it truly is that high, did I screw myself? Here are the rest of my readings:

FC : 10
pH : 7.4 (trying to bring the TA down)
CYA : 80 (maybe closer to 90)
TA : 130

Do I need to drain some of the water? It’s Vegas, so the outside temp will be over 100 for the next month. Will that help burn off some of the CYA? As long as I keep my FC up above 8 will I be okay for the kids playing in the pool?

Can anyone tell me what this is. It’s on the wall in the deep end of the pool. The pool is fiberglass.

Need some help from the TFP Community.

I got my plaster redone last year and noticed it was just "off". The plaster company ended up agreeing and two months ago they drained my pool, go the moisture out of the plaster and it's looked great. Then all of a sudden I was seeing a bunch of yellow stains around the pool. The plaster guy came back and said metals in the water and to use Natural Chemistry Stain Free and Regal Metal out. The recommendation with this is to have FC at below 1PPM. The rest of my chemistry is/ was
PH 7.5
TA 80
CH 400
CYA 50

After doing this i wasn't noticing any yellow going away, but the water continued to get more algae like in the texas 110 degree heat. I was then told the natural chemistry stain free was essentially calcium so i went on amazon and bought a bucket that i saw folks were using for pool staining. I put in a couple pounds of calcium throughout the pool in the areas where I wanted the staining to go away.

Once again, i didn't see any change other than the water continued getting super algae like and i believe from the calcium powder made it very cloudy in the pool. I did a backwash as that was the reccomendation after as well and recharged my DE filter.

To get rid of the algae ive done a SLAM for 36 hours. The pool water is now clearing up, but what is now showing is a disaster on the plaster. The yellow marks have turned brown like and they are everywhere. At this point i have no idea what to do and have already went through about $100 in chemicals so would rather get some advice before i do anything else.

The Dark blue water photo is the before all my chemicals with the staining i noticed. the lighter blue water photo is right now after i am seeing the aftermath in the sunlight. I have tried seeing if this comes off at all with my hand/ the brush/ etc but it's stained.

Thank you @1poolman1!
I ended up with the Variable Speed V-Green 165 Pool Pump Replacement Motor, 1.65 from Inyo and a new salt water compatible pump seal kit.

Any advice on getting my existing impeller off without damaging it? I have watched multiple videos on removing them from Hayward motors, but none of them have the rear cooling fan like mine. Having trouble getting the existing SP2610-C to come off.