Recent content by Bill1974

Can you share some photos of the entire equipment area and how it is located to the spa? I am guessing you are hearing a good amount of sound that is being reflected off the stucco wall. Enclosing the pumps would help, but than you need to figure out how to keep them from overheating. To...

Photos and details of what your looking to plumb together will help us help you. Easier and less leak prone than trying to couple odd fitting together is forming PVC pipe with a heat gun. Takes a little time and patients but eliminates the need for flexible pipe and barb fittings.

Like others have said, nothing to loose trying to patch the cracks. At the same time start planning on replacing them. If you can fill the hollow sounding areas around them that should help stabilize the skimmers and hopefully buy you some time. The hollow is probably from the leaks and poor...

An overnight chlorine loss test will tell you if you have an algae issue or not.

How far above the pool is the equipment? Are there valves that can be closed so you can fill/prime the equipment with a hose and not allow the water to run into the pool or spa? Another option would be to plug all the inlets and outlets and fill/prime the equipment. Seal up the system, and...

Is the pump basket filled with air and loosing its prime? And that is why the water flow is low? If this is the case, the pump is able to purge the air out faster then it is getting in when the filter is in recirculate. When in filter mode the flow is restricted and the air getting in is...

Pictures help. You can add a sheet over the existing panel. Make it large enough that it's supported well. I would guess if you tried to replace the panel would find the structure rusted as well and probably a challenge to get the old out and the new in and align well.

Just keep in mind how many bends you have in your conduit, so you can pull the wires easily. If you home run all of them thats great.

If you have somewhere to get rid of the old sand and/or it's really dirty, then its usually easier to replace the sand. You do risk breaking the laterals when you replace the sand, but that's an easy fix too. Getting the wet sand out is the only pain in the butt part. Trying to tip it over to...

I ordered a Hayward sand filter off of Amazon when my old one sprung a leak. Multiport on the top. Delivered in 2 or 3 days. All local pool store wanted more and were going to take longer. As for sand just make sure to follow what is in the filter manufactures instructions. Again pool store...

Adding a neutral should not be to difficult. Also make sure the smart switch you decide to use is rated for the watts of your pool lights. If it's an on/off and not a dimmer you should be fine, but always good to check. All the smart switches I have seen that don't require a neutral...

Thinking about your leak and my own past leak experiences. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling that this is the only leak. For such a small hole and on the suction line I am a bit surprised the water dropped as much as it did in the time you noted. If it were on the return side I think I the...

Moving the filter a bit and maybe changing the orientation of the inlet/outlet. Also there should be a 6" to 12" of straight pipe before the flow switch. A vertical mounting of the cell probably going to help plumbing layout. You might also need to install a post to secure the plumbing to or...

If you have room to add a sand filter, I would add one (plumb it in parallel and not series) using a couple of 3 way valves in so you can choose which filter to use. This would also give you the option to filter to waste. Kind of the best of both worlds. Once the initial opening is cleared up...

I would guess it's just pushed in (not sure from the inside or outside). Below are a couple of images from the manual. 2006 and newer look like the strainer is threaded in. Kind of looks like the back side of the cap can be used to install and remove the strainer.