Hi All.
Long time lurker, first time poster. After a long time investigating building a DIY 25 metre lap pool (including a container pool & other options ) but just hitting too many hurdles we decided to go for a fibreglass pool with swim jets as a slight compromise but the benefit of actually having a pool while the kids are still at home!
So we have gone for a 9 meter x 4 meter fibreglass pool. Like a lot of posts I've read on here the pool builder has his standard supplier of equipment and not that interested/knowledgeable about alternative options so this site has been an invaluable source of information on my very steep learning curve. The plan is to have a 3 ft waterblade and swim jets. There will also be a heat exchanger for solar heating.
My preference was for 2 x 4hp Badu swim jets but they are twice price of a locally sourced 2 x 3hp pump/swim jet available here in NZ. My second issue was the poolshed for the equipment I've built is on the opposite of the house to our entertainment area so I realised I would need automation to switch a valve to divert water to the water feature or else I would never turn it on.
So I've gone for
Easytouch 10 + screenlogic,
Pentair intelliflo VS pump
Freeflo SWG 35g/hr (by Pentair)
Pentair Globrite LED lights x 2
Clark Synthesis underwater speaker
Sand filter (with glass media ) 4sqft filter area
swim jets 2 x 3hp pumps
3 x Intellivalve 3way valve actuators
I've run 3 phase power 240v to the pool shed and will run each pump off a separate phase
So my plan is, by upgrading to the Intelliflo 3hp pump, I can also use it as a 3rd pump for the swim jets when required (to give me a stronger/ wider swim jet). This would involve one 3 way intellivalve on the suction to switch from the skimmer return 2" line to a seperate swim jet return 3.5", then a second 3way intellivalve to bypass the filter, heat exchanger and SWG to go direct to the swim jet upsized to 3.5". In addition a 3rd 3 way intellivalve placed after the SWG to divert water to the waterblade feature when required.
I'm hoping I can set up two features in easytouch, a "swimjet " that will operate the 2x 3 way Intellivalves to the dedicated swim jet suction and return and set the pump to full speed.
And a second one, "waterfall" that will operate the other 3 way valve to the water feature and increase the speed of the pump to around 45GPM.
The rest of the time, I'm hoping to run the pump on low speed for approx 12 hrs during the day for the SWG and for the solar heat exchanger. ( The solar heats our under floor heating for the winter.)
Sorry for the long novel but my questions are;
Does this plan seem feasible? My main question is if you wire the SWG to the pump relay in Easytouch, can Easytouch turn off the SWG when switching the 3way Intellivalve for the swim jet and bypassing the filter/SWG ?
The intellichlor is unavailable in NZ, so I have to go with an alternative and will obviously lose some functionality. My minimum pump run time will be dictated by the need to run water through the solar heat exchanger but presumably I can just adjust the "power output" if I need to reduce the amount of chlorine produced?
Is one 2" return from the skimmer enough to run the water blade at 45GPM or should I get a second return / skimmer ?
Any tips/ comments on swim jets ?
Any tips comments on underwater speakers ?
Hopefully the pool will be going in in about 2-3 weeks so will post more photos as construction begins, for now here is a photo of the pump shed (possibly slightly over engineered
)
Thanks in advance for any advice, it's been a steep learning curve, but this site has been fantastic
Long time lurker, first time poster. After a long time investigating building a DIY 25 metre lap pool (including a container pool & other options ) but just hitting too many hurdles we decided to go for a fibreglass pool with swim jets as a slight compromise but the benefit of actually having a pool while the kids are still at home!
So we have gone for a 9 meter x 4 meter fibreglass pool. Like a lot of posts I've read on here the pool builder has his standard supplier of equipment and not that interested/knowledgeable about alternative options so this site has been an invaluable source of information on my very steep learning curve. The plan is to have a 3 ft waterblade and swim jets. There will also be a heat exchanger for solar heating.
My preference was for 2 x 4hp Badu swim jets but they are twice price of a locally sourced 2 x 3hp pump/swim jet available here in NZ. My second issue was the poolshed for the equipment I've built is on the opposite of the house to our entertainment area so I realised I would need automation to switch a valve to divert water to the water feature or else I would never turn it on.
So I've gone for
Easytouch 10 + screenlogic,
Pentair intelliflo VS pump
Freeflo SWG 35g/hr (by Pentair)
Pentair Globrite LED lights x 2
Clark Synthesis underwater speaker
Sand filter (with glass media ) 4sqft filter area
swim jets 2 x 3hp pumps
3 x Intellivalve 3way valve actuators
I've run 3 phase power 240v to the pool shed and will run each pump off a separate phase
So my plan is, by upgrading to the Intelliflo 3hp pump, I can also use it as a 3rd pump for the swim jets when required (to give me a stronger/ wider swim jet). This would involve one 3 way intellivalve on the suction to switch from the skimmer return 2" line to a seperate swim jet return 3.5", then a second 3way intellivalve to bypass the filter, heat exchanger and SWG to go direct to the swim jet upsized to 3.5". In addition a 3rd 3 way intellivalve placed after the SWG to divert water to the waterblade feature when required.
I'm hoping I can set up two features in easytouch, a "swimjet " that will operate the 2x 3 way Intellivalves to the dedicated swim jet suction and return and set the pump to full speed.
And a second one, "waterfall" that will operate the other 3 way valve to the water feature and increase the speed of the pump to around 45GPM.
The rest of the time, I'm hoping to run the pump on low speed for approx 12 hrs during the day for the SWG and for the solar heat exchanger. ( The solar heats our under floor heating for the winter.)
Sorry for the long novel but my questions are;
Does this plan seem feasible? My main question is if you wire the SWG to the pump relay in Easytouch, can Easytouch turn off the SWG when switching the 3way Intellivalve for the swim jet and bypassing the filter/SWG ?
The intellichlor is unavailable in NZ, so I have to go with an alternative and will obviously lose some functionality. My minimum pump run time will be dictated by the need to run water through the solar heat exchanger but presumably I can just adjust the "power output" if I need to reduce the amount of chlorine produced?
Is one 2" return from the skimmer enough to run the water blade at 45GPM or should I get a second return / skimmer ?
Any tips/ comments on swim jets ?
Any tips comments on underwater speakers ?
Hopefully the pool will be going in in about 2-3 weeks so will post more photos as construction begins, for now here is a photo of the pump shed (possibly slightly over engineered
) Thanks in advance for any advice, it's been a steep learning curve, but this site has been fantastic
Since you are asking about some specific issues (hydraulics and electric), I'll tag a couple of our experts below. Maybe they can help validate your concerns.
