I am getting ready to embark on a complete refresh of my pool equipment and this is the first in a series of questions I know I will have.
By way of background....Bought a foreclosure with a swamped out pool. Needless to say, it has been an adventure. For example, after cleaning it, we discovered a tile R (dot-matrix style) blazened on the pool bottom. Previous owners thought it was a good idea to put thier initial I guess. The process of getting that removed, patched (contractor couldnt match the color of Diamond Brite), re-removed, mosaic installed, cleaned, equipment started, etc is a story for another time. The pool is a Blue Haven, kidney shaped, gunite pool. It is 3.5' shallow, 8.5' deep. Diving board, swim bench and half round stairs. 1 skimmer (indirectly connected to the bottom drain as I understand), 2 standard returns and 1 pressure cleaner return. Equipment is a 1HP Hayward Hydramax II pump, Tegalus TA-60/600 sand filter, Intellibrite 5G light, 1 manual valve, intermec timer and worthless Flextemp propane heater (scrap because it is rusted shut).
We got everything running for a summer, used the BBB method to keep it open, but have had problems with leaks in the suction line, return line and pressure line. Couldnt retain a vacuum and right at the end of the season, the pump crapped itself.
So here is my plan....
So, here is my first set of questions...Automation related...
As I read the forum, it seems that everyone says the IntelliTouch is more expensive then the EasyTouch..but I am not coming to the same conclusion so I assume I am ignorant and missing something. Please help me see the error in my ways. (all prices from various internet sources for comparison)
Intellitouch
EasyTouch
a) What am I missing? Did I leave out a component in the Intellitouch? Or has the price of the Intellitouch just dropped that much?
b) Do you think these automation choices would cover the equipment I have mentioned above?
c) Also, did I read somewhere that the i5 does not allow macros and that I would have to jump to the i7 or i9 if that was important to me?
Thanks in advance for your guidance and wisdom
By way of background....Bought a foreclosure with a swamped out pool. Needless to say, it has been an adventure. For example, after cleaning it, we discovered a tile R (dot-matrix style) blazened on the pool bottom. Previous owners thought it was a good idea to put thier initial I guess. The process of getting that removed, patched (contractor couldnt match the color of Diamond Brite), re-removed, mosaic installed, cleaned, equipment started, etc is a story for another time. The pool is a Blue Haven, kidney shaped, gunite pool. It is 3.5' shallow, 8.5' deep. Diving board, swim bench and half round stairs. 1 skimmer (indirectly connected to the bottom drain as I understand), 2 standard returns and 1 pressure cleaner return. Equipment is a 1HP Hayward Hydramax II pump, Tegalus TA-60/600 sand filter, Intellibrite 5G light, 1 manual valve, intermec timer and worthless Flextemp propane heater (scrap because it is rusted shut).
We got everything running for a summer, used the BBB method to keep it open, but have had problems with leaks in the suction line, return line and pressure line. Couldnt retain a vacuum and right at the end of the season, the pump crapped itself.
So here is my plan....
- Get the pool operational again so that I can hire American Leak Detection to find my leaks. Then repair the leaks.
- Once operational, I plan to move the equipment pad from its current location to a new location about 15 feet closer to the house.
- Replace most if not all of the equipment with the following...
- Pentair VS pump (likely 011018)
- Pentair Automation (see below)
- Heat pump (TBD - 140HC???)
- Salt generator (IC60)
- Stenner pump for acid (45MPHP10 or similar)
- maybe add some deck jets (if we end up having to tear up the deck to repair the leaks)
- flow meter and check valves (TBD)
So, here is my first set of questions...Automation related...
As I read the forum, it seems that everyone says the IntelliTouch is more expensive then the EasyTouch..but I am not coming to the same conclusion so I assume I am ignorant and missing something. Please help me see the error in my ways. (all prices from various internet sources for comparison)
Intellitouch
- 521213 - Load Center with transformer for IntelliChlor ($600)
- 521223 - i5 3S Personality Kit ($475)
- 522104 - SL2 kit with interface and wireless ($362)
- 521105 - IC60 cell (700)
EasyTouch
- 521150 - 8SC-IC60 - 8 Function with IC60 Salt ($1860)
- 522104 - SL2 kit with interface and wireless ($362)
a) What am I missing? Did I leave out a component in the Intellitouch? Or has the price of the Intellitouch just dropped that much?
b) Do you think these automation choices would cover the equipment I have mentioned above?
c) Also, did I read somewhere that the i5 does not allow macros and that I would have to jump to the i7 or i9 if that was important to me?
Thanks in advance for your guidance and wisdom