New home with pool

drilldaddy78 · Mar 3, 2018

Hello all,
I have been lurking on the forum since deciding to buy a home with a pool. I have already learned a lot on pool chemistry and care just by reading up on here. Now for the questions. We are in escrow on a home with a pool/spa combo. The heater is broken and from the looks of it I will need to re plaster the pool. The house is 14 years old and I would guess the pool is as well. It has also not been taken very good care of. These issues have been dealt with on the purchase price and I am not too worried about that side of it. My biggest question is with equipment. With a 18 year old pool if I am doing a remodel should I go ahead and replace all the surface equipment? Also wondering if there is and need to replace the tile other than for asthetic reasons. I was really hoping for a pool only so I could get a stand-alone hot tub but the combo will work. I am thinking about an automation system when I replace everything. As far as equipment I believe I want to replace with Pentair. Looking forward to spending time on this board. Thanks again.

Texas Splash · Mar 3, 2018

Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave:

With a 18 year old pool if I am doing a remodel should I go ahead and replace all the surface equipment?

It's quite possible, but only time will tell. IN the meantime you have plenty of time to do some research here for help.

Also wondering if there is and need to replace the tile other than for aesthetic reasons.

Aesthetic is one thing, but shell integrity and on-going erosion and/or leaking is another. So if it's real bad, now might be the time to get it re-plastered. As for equipment overall, the choices are endless. Get your wish list together an post back and we'll be happy to help.

Nice to have you with us.

kimkats · Mar 4, 2018

I also say you should go ahead and order your test kit if you have a closing date so you will have it when you get the keys to the ~~pool~~ house.

Once you get in the house make sure you can turn the pump on and have some bleach or liquid chlorine to put in the pool to keep it clear while you get settled in the house. You will need to add the chlorine each day until we get you all set up with your equpment.

Kim :kim:

drilldaddy78 · Mar 5, 2018

Thanks. I am looking forward to it. I was able to get in and look a bit closer. The owner installed a pentair superflo vs pn: 342001 and a Haward swim Lear cartridge filter could not find a part number. I plan on becoming a supporting member and will order the Taylor kit this week. Like the discounts offered plus I can keep the forum alive to bug you all with questions. The pump is only a year old bee the seller but if I decide to automate I don’t think I can do much with it from what I have read. I do have a 1-1/8” lng line to the heater so I can get a 450k unit. Had an inspection done and I will need to re plaster soon. Was hoping to get one season so I could get ideas for a full remodel but oh well. With starting fresh on everything would it be wise to set myself up with a saltwater system? Pros and cons as I am out of town a lot and want the system simple for my wife.

Texas Splash · Mar 5, 2018

With starting fresh on everything would it be wise to set myself up with a saltwater system?

Certainly a good time to take the salt-water plunge. If you do, make sure to go big with SWG itself. You'll find here at TFP we generally advise members to obtain an SWG twice the required size for the pool. Bigger can always be dialed-down via pump speed and/or percentage output, but smaller ones tend to get over-worked and reach the end of their service life a bit faster. Most who have SWGs simply love them for the convenience factor and exactly what you mentioned about being away for a while.

kimkats · Mar 5, 2018

Don't worry about replacing your plaster until we get our hands on it. Unless the pool is losing water you do not NEED to replace it. Now you might WANT to replace it and we can help with that when the time comes says the BLING QUEEN!!!

Kim :kim:

drilldaddy78 · Mar 9, 2018

Thanks for all the input. Here is what I was thinking to get up and going. Can someone please tell me if I am on the right path or need to make adjustments to this list.
Currently have:
Superflo VS pn: 342001
Hayward swim clear PN: unknown

Want to buy:
Master Temp heater PN: 460736
EasyTouch 8 PN: 520540
Screen logic2 PN: 522104
Intellibrite 5g color PN: 640122, 601002

I have a couple questions. All I have is 2 valves for the pool spa. For automation I am wanting to be able to push a button and turn on the spa to heat and circ, and or swap valves to circulate mode. It looks like the EasyTouch comes with remotes. With that and the screen logic do I need to buy the hard wire control for the house? From what I am reading the EasyTouch 8 will be able to do this and leave me a few functions for later such as landscape lights. Am I correct on this? Last question. Will the superflo work with this setup or do I need to upgrade the pump as well to control speed and flow? Thanks again.

Jimrahbe · Mar 9, 2018

drilldaddy78 said:
Thanks for all the input. Here is what I was thinking to get up and going. Can someone please tell me if I am on the right path or need to make adjustments to this list.
Currently have:
Superflo VS pn: 342001
Hayward swim clear PN: unknown

Want to buy:
Master Temp heater PN: 460736
EasyTouch 8 PN: 520540
Screen logic2 PN: 522104
Intellibrite 5g color PN: 640122, 601002

I have a couple questions. All I have is 2 valves for the pool spa. For automation I am wanting to be able to push a button and turn on the spa to heat and circ, and or swap valves to circulate mode. It looks like the EasyTouch comes with remotes. With that and the screen logic do I need to buy the hard wire control for the house? From what I am reading the EasyTouch 8 will be able to do this and leave me a few functions for later such as landscape lights. Am I correct on this? Last question. Will the superflo work with this setup or do I need to upgrade the pump as well to control speed and flow? Thanks again.

DD,

The EasyTouch is designed to work with the 3 HP IntelliFlo pump... It is controlled by a serial cable that tells the pump what to do. You can kluge together a way to control your VS SuperFlo using relays, but then you are just making your VS pump a three or four speed pump. Plus it will bug you every time you use ScreenLogic...

Most people here recommend the Raypak brand of heaters.. The EasyTouch will control all brands of heaters.

If you are going saltwater, which I highly recommend, then you will want a EasyTouch that comes with the Built-in Salt cell power supply, like this one.. Pentair Easy Touch Control System 521150. EasyTouch 8SC-IC60 Control System. Pentair 521150. This model ET, comes with the IC60 salt cell.... It is very important to know the volume of your pool before buying anything..

Easytouch systems do not normally come with remotes... the one you listed comes with two valve actuators.. This will let you switch between the pool mode and the Spa mode with the push of an icon..

You might want to keep in mind that adding equipment to an old pool can sometimes be pretty hard to do. Especially if the equipment pad is surrounded by 10 feet of decking. You have got to be able to route all your wires to the EasyTouch... As an example.. If the switch for the pool light is in the house, or far away from the equipment pad, it might be pretty expensive to reroute the wiring...

ScreenLogic allows you to control your pool from your PC, Tablet, or Phone.. While you can also have Pentair remotes, they are not required.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.