Greetings TFP! I’ve been a pool owner since 2001. It was built in 1956 to the best of my knowledge, 18’ x 36’ and 9’ deep at the deepest end.
I have kept the original stainless steel Pentair SM/SMBW 2000 series canister filter (rebuilt the backwash about 10 years ago.) Whisperflo 2 speed Pentair pump was upgraded from the original brass body pump in 2006. I replaced the barely working heater that was in place at the time of my house purchase in 2001 with a Raypak 2100, which I hobbled back together a couple times with new control boards, governers, temp probes and manifold. The final straw was a leak in the main exchange.
I just finished the install of my new low-nox (required in Southern California) Raypak Aria with Wi-Fi. In that process I redid the entire plumbing system at the equipment to suit the new heater input/output arrangement. I added another check valve and a flow meter. I will upload a picture of the arrangement. I still need to paint the lines to protect them from the sun. Everything is controlled by a digital Intermatic timer for now, but I have been researching DIY automation heavily on this site and others and will take dive into that with either the Raspberry Pi or Sonoff option. My needs are simple for control, but I know once I start, I foresee a desire to control more.
Upon seeing that I did the pool equipment upgrade myself, my PB fired me by text as a client stating they don‘t work with DIY clients, so I decided to take the chemistry and care on myself again. I did this way back from 2001-2003 and then got too busy and lost interest. After years of paying for subpar service with multiple providers, I have renewed interest.
The pool is embedded in clay and silt so cracks are a problem (not to mention earthquakes.) In October of last year I had $15k of crack repairs done by Torque Lock. I have had rebar staples done twice before in the past and I just don’t think they work. The Torque Lock owner suggested waiting a few months to replaster the pool to make sure the repairs are holding. So far so good, but now I think I should wait until after the heat of summer to give the new plaster a fighting chance.
*Planned upgrades soon include: automation, LED pool light, SWG (after replaster), VSP (after replaster and in conjunction with SWG upgrade), removal of Hayward inline chlorinator after research here.
*Chemical changes in the near future: Salt Water conversion, addition of borates to help reduce chemical swings
*Recent projects completed: replumbing equipment, DIY PVC Venturi attachment for sump pump for aeration, install of new heater, rebalancing of pool chemistry from previous pool care contractor (still battling the chemistry a bit)
Thank you to all the members of this forum and the informative threads and stickies!
Glen
I have kept the original stainless steel Pentair SM/SMBW 2000 series canister filter (rebuilt the backwash about 10 years ago.) Whisperflo 2 speed Pentair pump was upgraded from the original brass body pump in 2006. I replaced the barely working heater that was in place at the time of my house purchase in 2001 with a Raypak 2100, which I hobbled back together a couple times with new control boards, governers, temp probes and manifold. The final straw was a leak in the main exchange.
I just finished the install of my new low-nox (required in Southern California) Raypak Aria with Wi-Fi. In that process I redid the entire plumbing system at the equipment to suit the new heater input/output arrangement. I added another check valve and a flow meter. I will upload a picture of the arrangement. I still need to paint the lines to protect them from the sun. Everything is controlled by a digital Intermatic timer for now, but I have been researching DIY automation heavily on this site and others and will take dive into that with either the Raspberry Pi or Sonoff option. My needs are simple for control, but I know once I start, I foresee a desire to control more.
Upon seeing that I did the pool equipment upgrade myself, my PB fired me by text as a client stating they don‘t work with DIY clients, so I decided to take the chemistry and care on myself again. I did this way back from 2001-2003 and then got too busy and lost interest. After years of paying for subpar service with multiple providers, I have renewed interest.
The pool is embedded in clay and silt so cracks are a problem (not to mention earthquakes.) In October of last year I had $15k of crack repairs done by Torque Lock. I have had rebar staples done twice before in the past and I just don’t think they work. The Torque Lock owner suggested waiting a few months to replaster the pool to make sure the repairs are holding. So far so good, but now I think I should wait until after the heat of summer to give the new plaster a fighting chance.
*Planned upgrades soon include: automation, LED pool light, SWG (after replaster), VSP (after replaster and in conjunction with SWG upgrade), removal of Hayward inline chlorinator after research here.
*Chemical changes in the near future: Salt Water conversion, addition of borates to help reduce chemical swings
*Recent projects completed: replumbing equipment, DIY PVC Venturi attachment for sump pump for aeration, install of new heater, rebalancing of pool chemistry from previous pool care contractor (still battling the chemistry a bit)
Thank you to all the members of this forum and the informative threads and stickies!
Glen
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