Best Pool equipment

[Keyvan]

Hi All,
I am a consumer planning to build a pool in my house. It will be a 40 x 18 in ground pool. Besides, various bids from builders each one is trying to push a specific brand. I wonder if I can get some advice for the best filter, pump and heater out there in term of reliability, duability and energy efficiency. Is there any manufacturer brand in market that is considered 'Best" for anything they make?

Thanks for yout help,
K.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

All the big name brands are pretty similar. Usually builders have an agreement with a manufacturer thus they push that brand.

I know Pentair (maybe others) extend the warranty to 3 years from 1 if you buy 3 pieces of equipment at once. So there is that benefit to sticking with the same brand over piecing things together.

Raypak heaters seems to be well thought of on the forum.

If you had more specific questions about equipment we could offer thoughts/opinions.

 

[techguy]

I would read the articles in Pool School, especially the equipment related ones. Each choice has different factors and people have different financial and performance requirements.

If you are going to use the BBB method, you don't need things like "tablet chlorinater" but a liquid chlorine injector or SWG might be good options.

 

[Seanhan]

Its also important to get the correct sizes for , heater, filter, pump and motor.

 

[Isaac-1]

Personally I always get the feeling that Pentair is at least more innovative than the other companies and generally aims at a slightly higher market segment, then you have Jandy and Hayward and then everyone else is a bit player. When it comes down to it though it is much like comparing the American auto companies 50 years ago, they all made roughly equal quality products.

 

[crek31]

My flakey-pool boy who I mostly trust explained to me today that some pumps have non-standard, proprietary things that make it time-consuming and expensive to get parts. He did not go into detail and I am bad with the lingo, but an o-ring issue prompted the discussion. I have a Penatair Superflo and went to Ace Hardware to pick up the 99 cent item he had me waiting 8 days for to be fed-exed. When I called him on it, he explained Whisperflo (a different Pentair model) has non-standard o-rings so he assumed Superflo did too. Then went on to name some other brands that have non-standard sizes for things. I have NO idea if any of that is valid or if it was a cop-out on why I went so long without a working pump - but it might be something to look at when comparing makes/models. I'd want the standard fittings for everything possible so a trip to the local hardware store gets the job done.

 

[Seanhan]

I just got a new pentair light, very impressed with the quality .
Hayward is kinda like a ford , not the best but runs forever and spare parts are everywhere.

 

[techguy]

My Ford/Hayward setup has run flawlessly since I bought it used from the LPS. It was a demo pool at the store.

The motor... looks like a standard AO Smith motor based on my years of commercial AC parts sales. The AO motor numbers are the same series as most "generic" condenser and evaporator fan motors.

 

[crek31]

I don't know enough about any of the brands to compare, but I can vouch that Pentair customer service was excellent when I was installing my heater last year. That said, they had to be contacted because their manual had a pretty major error in it (relating to placement in relation to a house), so that is a point in the "not so great column." But the phone help was outstanding. In fact, called them again at closing and the guy literally walked me through one part of the closing I could not figure out from the manual.

 

[Seanhan]

I would ask your builder about a caretaker 99 in floor cleaning system ... Worth every penny.

 

[rmturner54]

My new build will be all Hayward equipment with a 3 yr warranty