Would be pool owner, and need your guidance!

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apg1428

Active member
Jun 16, 2022
32
San Francisco Bay Area
Hello, I'm a newbie here and I've never lived in a house with a pool. We are building a house with a pool and our contractor recommended the following for pool filtration/sanitization. I'd really appreciate your feedback. Thank you!
(1) Jandy JXI 400K Heater, (1) Pentair CCP520 Cartridge Filter, (1) Intelliflo XF VS Filter Pump, (1) Intelliflo XF VS Spa Jet Pump, (1) Polaris Sport
Quattro Pool Cleaner and Pump, (1) spa side remote, (1) indoor controller and (1) Intellicenter I5PS Controller. White LED lights.

In addition to the above, they recommended that we get Pentair Bioshield UV system + Intellichem.
 
I would match all equipment. Why not pentair heater? Why not I device control vs poolside remote and indoor remote?

Bio shield uv. Run away run away! Someone is looking to make some money. Useless.

Intelichem. Mmmmmh. My buddy has it. He thinks it’s ok.

Others will jump in but that’s the stuff I’m thinking so far.

We need pool size to help with sizing of equipment.

Salt cell? Or did I miss it.
 
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Appreciate your quick response, Jim!

For salt water, the contractor said that - these units are great for smooth water. Their main drawback is the degradation of equipment from the corrosive nature of salt. We would want to make sure the pool coping is not a soft stone or brick. The cover rail that is metal normally takes the biggest hit from the salt and lasts about 7 years before needing to be replaced. Lastly, combining the pentair intellichlor (salt generator) with the UV and intellichem can provide some fantastically clear water.

The pool size is 18' wide x 50' long with a small spa on one end.
 
Why Jandy heater when all other major equipment is Pentair? Maybe the Pentair Heater is out of stock.
The IntelliCenter Automation is great but not sure why you want a spa side remote and an inside controller when everything can be controlled by app on your phone.
Please post picture/graphic of your Pool and Spa along with volumes.
The UV system is not a great sanitization system. Best if you go with a saltwater chlorine generator (SWCG) which would be less maintenance and not that more expensive then what the PB is probably charging you for the UV system. The UV system does not come with a SWCG but it can be paired with one - not sure why you need to spend that extra money for UV as the SWCG works great as thousands of people on this forum can attest to .
 
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I'll quote @Donldson on the UV

Donldson said:
Is the device itself a scam? No. It does produce UV-C light which does kill microbes. When it's working properly.

Is the sales pitch a scam? Ehhhhhhh, I won't go that far, but it is full of half-truths and exaggerations. UV provides supplemental sanitation of pool water, it doesn't have the capacity in a pool to sanitize very effectively so it doesn't really affect the need for proper chlorination. Nor is it needed in the low bather load situation of a residential pool. It can be handy in an indoor pool to help burn off CCs, but even a shaded outdoor pool gets enough UV from sunlight to accomplish this many times over. UV also has its place in the commercial pool arena where the high bather load for extended time benefits from extra sanitation, but those units are much larger (and greatly more expensive) than the units for a residential pool. Residential models are so anemic that they barely do anything.

So why are they pushed so much? Because the costly UV bulbs need replaced regularly. They advertise it as producing UV, but it produces way more RI... Residual Income.
Click to expand...

I'll let @Jimrahbe jump in with the salt-equipment/stone issue. I personally believe builders are looking for a villan and have settled on salt. A salt water poolgenerally has about 3,000 parts per million salt in the water. A not salt water pool after use will get close tothe at level of salt. Why? Cjhlorine as it's consumed in the sanitation process turns to salt.... It's going ot be in the water one way or the other.

I'm personally not a fan of intellichem. The sensors that determine pH and chlorine levels are just not good enough. They work for a while, then they don't.

Go with a salt water chlorine generator.
 
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I also am curious on the Hayward heater with all the other Pentair equipment, but like @HermanTX theorizes, maybe it is a stock thing. Not sure how the Hayward heater ties in with the Intellicenter (great choice on automation by the way), but if it can, guess there isn't a big downside.

In your first post, you do not mention SWCG, but do mention...
apg1428 said:
Pentair Bioshield UV system
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Really not a sanitization method at all, you'll still have to add liquid chlorine all the time, which is why a lot go with the salt water chlorine generator.

apg1428 said:
White LED lights
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Why just white lights? If you go with Pentair lights, go with the Microbrites. Pentair's newest light, no special niche, easy to swap out when needed, but their life span is much longer than the other Pentair lights.

apg1428 said:
indoor controller
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Not sure what the cost of this would be, but with he Intellicenter, everything can be controlled with the app, not sure I've seen a lot of need for this.


apg1428 said:
The contractor said that - these units are great for smooth water.
Click to expand...
apg1428 said:
Their main drawback is the degradation of equipment from the corrosive nature of salt.
Click to expand...
These suggest you are looking at the Pentair SWCG, and the builder does understand it, but the myth of corrosive nature of salt is just that, but more of a builder myth, and no real science behind it. If you have a choice in sanitation, and you can chose between adding liquid chlorine every day, or take advantage of a device that can produce the chlorine for you, and tie into your automation, I'd chose no jug lugging and dumping.
 
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apg1428 said:
The cover rail that is metal...

The pool size is 18' wide x 50' long with a small spa on one end.
Click to expand...
You didn't say explicitly, but can I infer from this that the pool is rectangular and you'll be installing an automatic motorized safety cover? If so, great!

Here in drought-stricken California, an auto-cover is fabulous for preventing evaporation and the resulting need to periodically top off the water level.
 
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The salt problem is just a myth. I'll never have a pool without an SWG.

And like others have said, ditch the indoor controller -- you'll use your phone 99% of the time. And ditch the UV.

And definitely get multicolored lights.
 
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APG,

I have three saltwater pools and in total they have been running as saltwater pools for over 25 years. I have seen nothing corrode or go bad due to the saltwater. They all have the same equipment that I installed when they were converted to saltwater.

Just use a little common sense. Pentair sells the IntelliChlor Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG) that is installed on all three pools. Why in the world would they sell a unit that would corrode their own equipment. It is just silly to think they would. If a SWCG caused any damage, they would be fools to sell it.

We do not recommend the IntelliChem as they are not very reliable and they make a simple pool system into a complex mess that only the pool builder understands.

It is your pool, and you should get what you want, but I suggest you dump UZ and IntelliChem and go with a saltwater pool. Simple and easy to maintain.

The pumps, the filter, and the IntelliCenter automation are all great products, so you will be fine there.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Just some observation on the UV system. I’ve used UV on potable water systems and it does what it says. Potable water is not exposed to sunlight. Pools usually have heavy exposure to sunlight (keep that water TFP clear!). Do you see my point? :)

(there’s also lack of residual sanitation which makes UV secondary, etc. I’m all in favor of you can’t take it with you so buy whatever you want, but there might be other thing you want for that money that provide more value. )
 
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For the way we use our pool, that is a perfect pool. I slightly regret going deeper than 5’. Nobody uses depth anymore (it seems) so above the chin becomes a frequent no-man’s-land. For you, figure out (as best you can) how you foresee using it and go from there. (If I had it to do all over again (and could convince the dear wife), I’d have a large spa without a pool, but I’m odd lol).
 
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apg1428 said:
With the SWCG, do I need IntellipH® pH Controller or ChemCheck or both?
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apg,

For the vast majority of SWCG owners that is all that is needed.

You don't "need" an ipH or pH controller or intelliChem.

I have three saltwater pools with just an IC40 SWCG and they all work just fine.

I do routinely add acid, but it is easy to do, and I see no reason for any addition problem making equipment.

Some people "want" an automated way to add acid, and that is fine, but I suggest that you wait to see if you have a problem before going off to find a solution.

Once you've run your SWCG for a year, you will know if you want to invest in the extra equipment or not. It is easy to add later.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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apg1428 said:
With the SWCG, do I need IntellipH® pH Controller...
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The Pentair IntelliPH system is a device that automatically adds a small amount of acid to your pool every hour when your pump is running. I added one to my pool a few months ago and love it. Some prefer to add acid manually. It serves basically the same purpose as a SWCG in that it automates adding chemicals to your pool.
 
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apg1428 said:
With the SWCG, do I need IntellipH® pH Controller or ChemCheck or both?
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I say neither.

The sensor that determines the FC level is called an OPR sensor. To be blunt, they suck. Do a search of ORP her and all you will find is thread after thread of issues with them

Jimrahbe said:
We do not recommend the IntelliChem as they are not very reliable and they make a simple pool system into a complex mess that only the pool builder understands.

Jim R.
Click to expand...
 
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Lets talk water depth. Make sure the PB is talking WATER depth. That is measured from the floor to the middle of the waterline tile and middle of the skimmer opening. Some people measure it as from the bottom of the pool to the coping. Doing it that way you lose about 3 to 4" of water depth.

Pool depths-3'6" is kind of shallow. You risk scraping your knuckles on the bottom of the pool when doing a crawl stroke. I say go for 4' in the shallow end.
5' that is an odd one there. Put a tape measure on the smallest adult in the house and wee where 5' hits them. On me it hits just under my nose and I am 5'5" so NOT a fun depth for me. It is also not good for cannon balls. You need at least 6' depth for a cannon ball with out hitting your bum on the bottom.

If you want just a lounging/social pool with some some fun playing around in it then go all 4'. If you want a volley ball pool then go 4'x5'x4'. If you want some play and some cannon ball then go 4' to 6'.

Kim:kim:
 
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apg1428 said:
With the SWCG, do I need IntellipH® pH Controller or ChemCheck or both?
Click to expand...
Probably not, but if your pool needs MA all the time you might find it beneficial. As has been posted earlier it’s not a big deal adding MA. Some pools need a lot, some don’t need much at all. My pool is an old school pool built back in the late 70s early 80s so I have no water features at all that aerates my pool and raises my PH. I let my TA drift down to 60. I have gone though exactly 1 and 1/4 gallons of MA last season and this season combined. I haven’t had to add any MA in a month. Point is it may or may not be worth the expense. Problem is you won’t know until you build and start maintaining the pool.
 
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SoDel said:
For the way we use our pool, that is a perfect pool. I slightly regret going deeper than 5’. Nobody uses depth anymore (it seems) so above the chin becomes a frequent no-man’s-land. For you, figure out (as best you can) how you foresee using it and go from there. (If I had it to do all over again (and could convince the dear wife), I’d have a large spa without a pool, but I’m odd lol).
Click to expand...
Depends on where you live. My previous neighborhood pool was only 5ft at its deepest point. It got almost as hot as a hot tub once July rolled around. We only swam in it after the sun went down. My 8ft pool has been sitting at around 85 on days when the temp hits 100.
 
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