Recent content by tphaggerty

My brother lives in Miramar area. Has PV (now) plus pool solar plus heater (pretty sure it is gas, used primarily to heat attached spa with spillover to pool). They don’t swim year round - the pool does get cooler in winter, but easily swimmable from March through November. However, they don’t...

So, not as sure as I made it sound 🫤, but haven’t ever noticed the normal effects that happen when the solar kicks in - water sounds on roof, bubbles from returns, heat gain etc. My 3-way valve is “leaky” anyway ( has a small hole drilled in it to allow water to drain off the panels from the...

Not trying to argue, but that absolutely does not happen on my system. I know for a fact that little if no water goes through the solar return when the pump is running but the solar is off. Also, the vacuum breaker doesn’t open under pressure, it opens under vacuum (in order to let the panels...

Ok, I sort of understand, but since the 3 way is closed, back pressure will do that for the most part. You certainly won’t get flow through the panels. It won’t hurt. But, a check valve on the filter side should be used to prevent back flow through the filter if the pump shuts off when the...

On my system, the check valve is between the filter and the 3 way. This prevents back flow through the filter (really bad…) when the solar shuts off and the panels drain. I’m still not sure what the purpose of a check valve on the solar return is. I’ve only seen diagrams with the check valve...

I don’t have a check valve on the solar return, just on the pump side. And we didn’t put one on my neighbor’s system (3 4x12 panels for a 15k above ground so “undersized “ as well, but they love it, easily keeps their pool 5 to 8 degrees warmer). I air purge all of my lines when winterizing, so...

My Aquarite system is 15 years old and right on the cover it specifies a minimum CYA of 60 ppm, so it’s not a new thing at all. I tried running at a lower CYA for my first season ( back in the old BBB Pool Forum days!). It just doesn’t work. Basically, the answer is “because that’s what the...

I had to replace my aquarite PCB once, but that was because mine was too old for the newer cells. I replace the current limiter at least once every 2 years, but the board continues to work (I buy multiples of the limiter to have them on hand). I did replace my Hayward cell with the CircuPool...

I normally get a 12 mil clear cover for our 20 x 40 in ground. We have a very large solar cover reel. I’ve tried using the thinner ones, but they get blown off the pool by the wind on occasion and are more difficult to roll up and put on the pool, especially when doing it by myself. I have tried...

I have a Triton PS that does the walls and waterline. In any given session it probably only does about 20% of the waterline or less. I guess over time it does the whole thing. Not sure that is worth it and I wouldn’t go out of my way specifically for that feature. What I do like about the Triton...

Well, everything got tossed except some wheels *and* a brand new motor. Well, never used at least, but probably 5 years old. You are welcome to it, I can try and ship it out this week. PM me your address. Wouldn’t mind getting reimbursed for the shipping cost, I’ll let you know what that is when...

I have two old Aquabot T-Jets and one really old Rover, none of which are currently working. I also have a brand new replacement motor that I bought many years ago that is probably still working. My T-Jet stopped working this summer due to a crack in the electric line, which I tried to repair...

Or get a Pool Blaster Catfish. Much cheaper and for a spa, would be fine. Of course, I’m assuming they still sell them, mine is a few years old now. I have had the PB Max (2 of them) in past years and they only lasted about 2 years, so very expensive. The Catfish seems to work fine for my spa...

You might want to check that the hoses to the filter are attached correctly. My neighbor hooked theirs up backward last year and although everything seemed to work, it definitely was not filtering. In their case, the backflush was really weak as well. There are a number of threads here on TFP...

Helping a friend put in new mesh cover for the winter. The pool and concrete are at least 15 years old, so not green concrete. Most of the existing anchors are loose or bent or both, plus the new cover has several new anchor points we need to drill. When my pool was put in, the anchors were...