Equipment Pad Overhaul, Upgrade, Automation - Part 1

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BMeeley

BMeeley

Bronze Supporter
Oct 13, 2017
106
Woodbridge, VA
I've gotten a few questions about my equipment upgrade DIY project, so I thought I'd lay out the major pieces here. This is what we moved in to...
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2" plumbing with a 1.5" multiport valve; one vintage Jandy valve and two newer Neverlubes; a vintage Anthony brass single speed pump; Pentair FNS Plus DE filter; the world's loudest spa blower; two vintage Intermech timers (only 1 in working order); and a sketchy subpanel mounted on a 2x6 board stuck in the ground. Weeds all over. And note the old propane regulator just sitting there with no heater. 300 gal tank 1/4 filled still sitting in the back yard that hadn't been used in decades.

Phase 1 - add a Raypak 336A natural gas heater. Had the line run from the street, heater ordered and installed. Also, replaced the blower with a new and quieter Pentair. Now, at least we have a hot tub... not just a tub.

Phase 2 - electric bills were high, so swapped out the Anthony relic for a Pentair Intelliflo VS pump. Replaced the lattice on the enclosure and did some weeding. Also, got a Doheny's Discovery (Dolphin) robot cleaner. Better, but still nowhere near what I wanted.

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I got estimates to upgrade to an automation system, re-do the plumbing and even relocate the pad - we hate having it right between the house and the pool. Best set of bids came to over $14k. Even without moving the stuff.

So, I spent the winter shopping for deals and planning the job.
  • Tear everything out and re-do the pad area. We chose field stone pavers.
  • Order Pentair Intellitouch load center, new breakers, personality kit, screenlogic2, multi-color LED pool and spa lights, new valves, actuators, Intellichlor IC-60 SWG, 2" hi-flow multiport valve, and some new outlets to control landscape lighting and such.
To be continued...
 
A few week ago, I started the renovation. This is the "My God. What have I done?" stage...
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And here's the new field stone paver pad area. It may not be perfect, but I'd say I'm headed in the right direction.
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From there, I needed the first enclosure wall up so I could hang the Intellitouch Load Center, place the equipment and start dry-fitting the plumbing.

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I've got about half the plumbing and valves in. If I ever open a business in my retirement, I shall call it Escher & Seuss plumbing. :laughblue:

More to come. This weekend should finish off the plumbing and get into the electrical.

I haven't completed the entire project budget yet, but I'm under $4,000 so far, all in. So I keep telling myself I saved $10k and they would not have done as nice a job on the pad area.

I can't wait to open up for the season. Tick tock. My goal is to beat the neighborhood pools on Memorial Day.

Never would have had the guts or insight to take on any of this if it weren't for TFP!!
 
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B,

Looking good...

Why did you decide to not move the pad, you had half the work already done???

When you go to reinstall your IntelliFlo pump, I suggest that you use "pump unions" and not home depot unions.. They are made to screw into the threaded ports on the pump and have an O-ring that seats against the pump and prevents the leaks that you often see at those areas...

They look like this... Amazon.com: Pentair IntelliFlo Pool Pump Threaded Union 2" MPT x Slip Plumbing Kit 2 Unions: Kitchen & Dining

Good luck with your project,

Jim R.
 
I’ll have a look. Thanks!

I didn’t relocate for several reasons. Im too old for that Crud... trenching, that is. I’d have to pull a permit (replacing existing does not require that, but moving would mean running new electrical from the house). And it would have added weeks to the job for me. We discussed it a lot. I just wimped out. This was big enough for me.
 
To summarize: this is the best thing I've done to the pool and house since discovering TFP!! Could not have done it without this group, the support, the good questions, and the examples to emulate.

The automation allows my family to use the spa whenever they want, without having to ask me what to do... again. The change to salt saves so much time and we all love the way the water feels. And the pool performs so much better with 2" plumbing from end-to-end. Heater works without cutting off and on repeatedly. Pump running on an off-peak hours schedule. Dialing in the chlorinator to maintain a solid 3-4 ppm FC. A little muriatic acid here and there, and I'm good.

A few minor stumbles, but this was great and kind of fun! If you're thinking of something similar, I say go for it.
 
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