Renovate Existing Pool - Equipment Help

[orca123]

[FONT=&quot]Hi,
First post here.

I am considering renovating my pool and have gotten a few bids from some contractors and wondering what is the best way to go about my equipment.

My current pool is 38 feet x 17 feet about with a shallow end at about 3 feet deep and a deep end at about 8 feet in deep.
My current spa is about 8 feet x 8 feet with a dept of about 4 feet. The spa is detached from the pool.
I had one contractor recommend to put 1 heater, 1 filter and 1 pump and share these between the pool and spa with a separate booster pump for the spa jets. (This equipment will be shared between the pool and spa alternating throughout the day)
I had another contractor recommend to 1 filter and 1 pump for the pool and 1 heater, 1 filter and 1 pump for the spa. (No heater for the pool as it gets warm enough to use the pool without a heater here)

The first option being more economical which way would be the best option to have my equipment? Also what equipment would you guys recommend? How much horsepower for the pump on the pool and spa, what size filter for the pool and spa, and what kind of heater for the spa?

Thanks in advance for your help
[/FONT]

 

[Jimrahbe]

orca,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all your pool renovation questions...

What specific equipment did your contractors recommend?

With the Pool and Spa using shared equipment and "alternating throughout the day", I would assume some type of automation would be involved??? If so, it would be important that the Automation, Pump, and SWCG (if you plan on one) all be the same brand so they can talk together.

As far as heaters, most people here recommend the Ray-Pak units..

With the main pool pump, I would recommend a variable speed pump (or at least a two speed pump) to save on electrical costs.. A lot of areas in California have credits for installing an energy saving pump.

I can see no advantage with having two sets of equipment, unless you live in a part of California where you would normally close the pool in the winter, but still want to use the spa.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

I agree, one set of equipment that can be isolated from pool to spa as needed should be fine. Tell us what they recommend and we can help fine tune it. They've seen your current set up so their opinion is helpful.

 

[mfk0213]

If your spa has a waterfall/spill over, it'll be a lot simpler to have one circulation system with valves. I've installed a pretty complicated system to allow for separate spa/pool circulation, but every time I look at the number of valves, I ask myself, "really dude?"

I like Pentair pumps - I find them more serviceable, with bolt on motors instead of wedged on ones. I like the Hayward DE filter, but I think Pentair is also good. Pentair heaters are more or less the gold standard around these parts. Once I switch from Hayward to Pentair heater, I haven't had to replace the heater every 2 years. However, could just be operator error or my experience. I like Jandy valves, even for backwash. It's a pain to use the Jandy backwash valves on non-Jandy DE filters, but if you look at the flow rate, you'll see that the multiport backwash valve from Hayward is like 10 times more restricted flow.

I've used Jandy, Intermatic, and Hayward valve actuators. I think Jandy is the gold standard, but you have to shell out some gold. I like the Hayward actuators - seem to be doing just fine.

Good luck with your selection!

Take care,
Mo