Pool Build - Atlantic County, NJ
- Thread starter Montare67
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Looks like it's going to be a beautiful pool in a beautiful setting.
We can save you money and headaches, so jump in. Tell us about your equipment selections and we can give you some advice your pool builder may not have given you.
Looks like it's going to be a beautiful pool in a beautiful setting.
We can save you money and headaches, so jump in. Tell us about your equipment selections and we can give you some advice your pool builder may not have given you.
Welcome to TFP. A few New Jersey people joining lately. Nice looking so far. Keep the pictures coming. 
Thanks Dave
I've attached a print of the pool layout.
20' x 39' + 70sq ft sun ledge
30' raised beam w/3' sheer decent
4 deck jets
Approx 24k gallons
Jandy 2hp PlusHp pump w/2" lines
2 Skimmers / 2 returns
Jandy 460 Cartridge filter (although I could chage to DE)
Polaris 28- w/booster pump
Frog XL Pro (thinking I should nix this as it only seems to be a $ maker for the pool company - sort of like giving away the razer and making the blades expensive)
Have not decided on a heater. Friends have a mix of NG, Heat Pumps, solar and they all seem to like......
Tahnks again
I've attached a print of the pool layout.
20' x 39' + 70sq ft sun ledge
30' raised beam w/3' sheer decent
4 deck jets
Approx 24k gallons
Jandy 2hp PlusHp pump w/2" lines
2 Skimmers / 2 returns
Jandy 460 Cartridge filter (although I could chage to DE)
Polaris 28- w/booster pump
Frog XL Pro (thinking I should nix this as it only seems to be a $ maker for the pool company - sort of like giving away the razer and making the blades expensive)
Have not decided on a heater. Friends have a mix of NG, Heat Pumps, solar and they all seem to like......
Tahnks again
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Absolutely ditch the Frog. 
I would swap it for a basic inline chlorinator that you can use during new plaster startup (I assume a plaster pool?) and especially for vacations. 
I LOVE my cart, and my heater I would def recommend one to extend the life of your pool season, your yard looks lovely but it looks like you have a lot of trees? So you may need the heater to get comfy pool temps. 
Is solar an option with your yard layout?
Is your pump a 2 speed?
Welcome to TFP!
I would swap it for a basic inline chlorinator that you can use during new plaster startup (I assume a plaster pool?) and especially for vacations. I LOVE my cart, and my heater
I would def recommend one to extend the life of your pool season, your yard looks lovely but it looks like you have a lot of trees? So you may need the heater to get comfy pool temps. Is solar an option with your yard layout? Is your pump a 2 speed?
Welcome to TFP!
Since your build is moving along quickly, get a good test kit. I like the one in my signature. You get more tests out of it than other test kits. Take a look at "Pool School" at the top of the page. A great place to read while your waiting for your pool to be completed.
I'm indifferent as to the trees, but my wife wanted to save as many as possible. But with her love of a sunny spot and my not wanting to be constantly cleaning, I think I'll be knocking down more.
Is it possible to use the frog without the mineral cartridge - i.e. as just an autochlorinator?
Natural gas prices seem to fluctuate quite a bit and heat pumps have a high initial cost + I expect the cost of electricty to increase (carbon tax and all that) With 240+ 'sunny days' a year in my area, I'm leaning towards solar. I'm just finishing work on an 18 x 36 pavilion and could place the panels on it's roof.
Is it possible to use the frog without the mineral cartridge - i.e. as just an autochlorinator?
Natural gas prices seem to fluctuate quite a bit and heat pumps have a high initial cost + I expect the cost of electricty to increase (carbon tax and all that) With 240+ 'sunny days' a year in my area, I'm leaning towards solar. I'm just finishing work on an 18 x 36 pavilion and could place the panels on it's roof.
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Pump is not 2 speed - I've not found any good info on why these are better - so any advice is appreciated. Amperage ratings between the high/low speeds seem insiginificant.
Pool is white plaster, again there is an option for 3M Colorquartz, but I only looked at one pool that used it and it was too dark of a color for me.
Pool is white plaster, again there is an option for 3M Colorquartz, but I only looked at one pool that used it and it was too dark of a color for me.
This link addresses pumps pretty well. Mas985 a contributor here wrote it, I believe he is the resident pump guru.
hydraulics-101-have-you-lost-your-head-t915.html
hydraulics-101-have-you-lost-your-head-t915.html
"Official" company line is the Froggy cannister cannot be converted for regular puck use. I don't know if that's true, I didn't try....I would think the parts in there would clog up the flow...(I don't know if you've looked inside it at all). I would think your builder should be willing to swap it out, don't let him convince you the Frog is a "good" thing, cause it isn't, trust me!
Using a 2HP pump on low speed will garner significant elec savings. I run mine on low 24/7 and only use high speed for vacuming....love it. Hardly impacts my elec bill at all...
That cabana roof looks like a great place to run the solar, if you can swing the plumbing and still have it looking attractive, your yard is so pretty. I would love your outdoor living space- it's gorgeous!
Using a 2HP pump on low speed will garner significant elec savings. I run mine on low 24/7 and only use high speed for vacuming....love it. Hardly impacts my elec bill at all...
That cabana roof looks like a great place to run the solar, if you can swing the plumbing and still have it looking attractive, your yard is so pretty. I would love your outdoor living space- it's gorgeous!
A variable speed pump such as the IntelliFlo or IntelliPro 4X160 will offer the lowest operating cost but have the highest up front cost. Next would be a two speed pump as suggested before. The worst is a single speed pump.
I have not heard anyone say they wished they hadn't got a 4x160. I run mine as slow as I can and still keep my SWG flow switch in the green (approx 1300RPM). At this speed you can hardly hear it running and it uses very little power.
Do you only have one light planned? What kind of light? My pool is nearly the same size as yours and I have three lights. I was going to have only two but plan to get LED in the future which are less bright so I added one at the last minute. I suspect the end opposite the light may be a bit dark. Would you like to see a picture of mine with only one light on?
I have not heard anyone say they wished they hadn't got a 4x160. I run mine as slow as I can and still keep my SWG flow switch in the green (approx 1300RPM). At this speed you can hardly hear it running and it uses very little power.
Do you only have one light planned? What kind of light? My pool is nearly the same size as yours and I have three lights. I was going to have only two but plan to get LED in the future which are less bright so I added one at the last minute. I suspect the end opposite the light may be a bit dark. Would you like to see a picture of mine with only one light on?
I'd also strongly encourage an Intlliflow or IntelliPro pump. Yes, it's extra money now but is by far the most efficient pump and will pay for itself very quickly. Especially in a brand new pool it's a slam dunk decision in my book. Plus the adjustable nature of it is AWESOME. You can tweak it to only pump the flow that you NEED, and not waste extra energy.
Montare67 - looks good. I'm guessing that your PB only deals in Jandy and doesn't offer much choice on the pump. Is it a S-M pool, by chance? Did Bob Lang do your deal? S-M built my pool....overall, I'm happy with it. They built it very quickly for me. I would suggest being there when they install the coping so that it is all layed out as you prefer. I've found a couple small "fit & finish" issues in mine....nothing major that others would really notice, but they bug me at times, nonetheless.
Wish I would have found this site sooner!
Let's see,
1) ditch the Frog - seems I should still add some sort of auto-chlorinator for using tr-chlor pucks when out of town. Suggestions? Maybe a SWG?
2) upgrade the pump to at least a 2-speed or better yet a variable, although seems my choices are limited to Jandy with S-M.
3) Cobra46 - Only 1 light - last pool (fiberglass) had only 1 (Spectrum Amerilite) and it seemed blinding most of the time. I am concerned about shadows due to the shape of the pool though. So a photo would be appreciated
Smuggs - RayM did the layout based on a photo. Most of what I read on S-M has been good, even post sale / installation. Fit and finish is definatley something I'll be watching. I bought my own stone/caps for the RB so that it matches the house and I am wondering how they're going to cut the 12x37" cap stones to make all those curves.
How do you like the white plaster? They're pushing me to upgrade to the 3m, but every pool I've seen with it looks blotchy and uneven - the worst being their display model in the store. Not sure if this is the quality of the install or the product.....
thanks all
Let's see,
1) ditch the Frog - seems I should still add some sort of auto-chlorinator for using tr-chlor pucks when out of town. Suggestions? Maybe a SWG?
2) upgrade the pump to at least a 2-speed or better yet a variable, although seems my choices are limited to Jandy with S-M.
3) Cobra46 - Only 1 light - last pool (fiberglass) had only 1 (Spectrum Amerilite) and it seemed blinding most of the time. I am concerned about shadows due to the shape of the pool though. So a photo would be appreciated
Smuggs - RayM did the layout based on a photo. Most of what I read on S-M has been good, even post sale / installation. Fit and finish is definatley something I'll be watching. I bought my own stone/caps for the RB so that it matches the house and I am wondering how they're going to cut the 12x37" cap stones to make all those curves.
How do you like the white plaster? They're pushing me to upgrade to the 3m, but every pool I've seen with it looks blotchy and uneven - the worst being their display model in the store. Not sure if this is the quality of the install or the product.....
thanks all
white plaster is OK....fine for me. I do like the look of the 3M, but wasn't willing to spend the $$. We get full sun for most of the day, so our water gets pretty warm. I was actually just in the store yesterday to pick something up, and noticed that the display pool was splotchy. Since they use their own people for plaster, i'd expect a similar result.
Looks like a beautiful pool and setting, I agree with previous posts "A variable speed pump such as the IntelliFlo or IntelliPro 4X160 will offer the lowest operating cost but have the highest up front cost. Next would be a two speed pump as suggested before. The worst is a single speed pump."
I really don't like my choice of a heat pump as it is slow to heat our pool here in southern Ontario, it has been running for about 48hrs now with warm days (75 f) and cool nights (55f) temp is now 75 degrees up 8 degrees and I know with cool weather in our forcast we will lose some of this rise, the heat pump is also way to noisy, forget relaxing by the pool if it is close by.... drives me nuts **!! I am working on on solar!
Good luck with your oasis!!
I really don't like my choice of a heat pump as it is slow to heat our pool here in southern Ontario, it has been running for about 48hrs now with warm days (75 f) and cool nights (55f) temp is now 75 degrees up 8 degrees and I know with cool weather in our forcast we will lose some of this rise, the heat pump is also way to noisy, forget relaxing by the pool if it is close by.... drives me nuts **!! I am working on on solar!
Good luck with your oasis!!
tsunami
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Nice pavilion!
About the light: you said that your previous light in the fiberglass pool "seemed blinding", but I noticed that the light in your plans maybe facing the house. You may have the same situation while looking out at the pool from the inside of the house. Also, for the same reason, you might want to consider facing any lights away from the pavilion as well.
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the progress!
About the light: you said that your previous light in the fiberglass pool "seemed blinding", but I noticed that the light in your plans maybe facing the house. You may have the same situation while looking out at the pool from the inside of the house. Also, for the same reason, you might want to consider facing any lights away from the pavilion as well.
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the progress!
The SWCG works well for me. Personel preference, it does have a higher up front cost to add a SWCG. I bought mine and had the pool installation crew add the manifold for me. At the time they didn't offer a SWCG.
An SWCG most of the time isn't much of a money saver, especially when you consider the cost of replacing the cell at the end of it's lifetime. The ease-of-pool-maintenance savings are huge though.
