New To Me 30' AGP

[CT-Mike]

So a friend is selling his house, and he gave me his 30' AGP, most likely an Esther Williams. The pool is 10 years old, but the pump and filter are 1 year old. I am paying the original pool store to install the pool, along with a new liner, new skimmer, and all new plumbing. The wall is in very good shape with no rust whatsoever. The pump is a Hayward 1.5 HP and Sta-Rite 200# sand filter.

I do have a 525 gallon hot tub and am familiar with the BBB method of chemistry control, as I am basically doing the same thing in the spa. I am definitely not a fan of paying pool/spa store prices for baking soda.

The dig was completed yesterday, they will install the sand and blocks when they return to finish the install.

I do have a couple of questions:

1 - Is the 45 degree foam coaming and foam underpad worth the money? No sense wasting money if it is junk?

2 - The ground where the pad was dug sloped about 3 1/2' from high to low. So on the high side the pool will be about 2 1/2' below grade once the sand is installed. I plan on installing a retaining wall on the high side to keep the grade from eroding into the pool wall. I will also be installing a wall on the low side to keep the pad from washing out. Should I wait until the pool is installed so that the wall doesn't interfere with the installation?

3 - For the electrical, I will be putting in an 18" trench and conduit to feed the pump and convenience outlet. The pool will be bonded back to the main panel. Are there any other electrical needs I am overlooking?

4 - How deep is the sand typically below an AGP?

5 - A friend at work recommended spraying the sand with an ant/termite killer prior to putting the liner down. Does this make sense?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[kimkats]

The pool cove is worth the money-that is the curved pieces that stop the liner from coming out of the bottom of the pool are well worth it. You can use sand but I worry about it washing out.

I WISH had put the foam on the bottom of the pool. It would make quite a difference in the smoothness of the bottom. My installer did a good job but...........there are little dips and such that you can see at night when the light is on.

YES spray the sand with ant/termite killer AND full strength round up for weeds.

You will want a timer for the pump. Believe me it is worth it.

Don't know how deep most sand is under most AGP.

Good luck!

Kim

 

[CT-Mike]

Sadly I am still waiting on the building permit. In the meantime can someone give me a clue as to how much chlorine the pool will eat each day? I am trying to size a stenner pump for continuous injection vice manually dumping it in. Also, do these pumps need protection from the weather or can they be left exposed?

Thanks for any help,

Mike

 

[msgtdan]

If you use the foam bottom you won't need the sand, a sand bottom should be about 2" packed.

2-4 ppm chlorine usage per day based on many varibles, sunlight, temp, CYA level being some. There are two ways to do the stenner, get a varible sized to your pump runtime, or a fixed rate on a separate timer sync'd to run for the time needed when the main pump is on. Check out "I've defected to the dark side" for details. The stenners change output rate by tube size so if you get it wrong just change to a different tube size.

 

[CT-Mike]

Thanks Dan, I appreciate the feedback. Any idea on the Stenner withstanding the weather?

I did ask the owner of the pool store (they are doing the install) about using the foam, and he stated that the foam was a bad idea as it would attract ants.

Any thought?

 

[DKT113]

Our AGP Installer said we could go with foam, but he did not recommend it. He said he would be glad to place it if we wanted it, but on his pool and his family member's pool he would not use it. He didn't go into the reasoning & I didn't ask for the cons (it was apparent to me he could list no pros).

Nobody I know with an AGP in our area has foam under theirs so we just went with sand. Our bottom is smooth ~ tonight I felt a dimple, but it's the first one I have felt (we're in year 2). I have no problems running the vacuum & the dimple is not visible when we look in. There are no wrinkles.

I manually dose. I test daily and keep ours a bit above target non shock range (this is based on current CYA level). When I get close to target I usually add 1 bottle of bleach and let it coast back down again near target. Friday night prior to the weekend when ours gets its heaviest bather load I make sure I bump it up a bit to compensate for sun lotion, grass clippings stuck to little feet, neighborhood kids, nieces and nephews. I personally like the level up when I know people are in there as I don't have to panic that my level is going to fall below target and allow something mean and green to take hold. Everyone kind of gets their own rhythm going as it relates to how they handle theirs, this just works for me. I also wouldn't want a machine feeding my pool ~ I would be too worried of malfunction ~ that's just something goofy inside of me though. I truly take pride in testing, manually adjusting and keeping it totally awesome looking. We have had a funky, wet season. Rain every single day for weeks, I have had to remove water every couple of days so I will say I top off with a gallon of bleach (8.25%) every 3rd day. My CYA diminished so I was dosing more frequently but I have added stabilizer to bump my level up and get some longevity out of my bleach.

Enjoy the pool

 

[Suziqzer]

We have the foam coping because it came with our used pool. We asked our pool guy who helped us w/install if we should use it and he was indifferent. We went ahead and installed it and I'm glad we did.

I would probably go with a foam bottom, or something more solid on the bottom if we did it again. We are on season 4 and we have lots of lines on the bottom due to a drought that literally caused cracking in our yard.. including under the pool. The sand under the pool went right into the cracks and the lines are all over. Makes for more frequent vacuuming because little things just don't flow to the center drain like they used to, and get caught in those crevices.

 

[pwrstrk]

I have the foam coveing and love it.


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[msgtdan]

On the stenner outside in the weather what I've read is it does fine. You can get a rain shield for it though I found one place that said it was for vertically mounting the pump so the tubes point down. From that I assume that horizontal mounting isn't a problem. If you buy the stenner pump/tank combo you'd need it as the tank looks to be set up for vertical mounting. If you get a separate tank you may need the rain shield if you plan to mount the pump vertically exposed to the weather.

 

[zea3]

Use the termite spray whether you use foam or sand, but also be sure to use nut grass killer before you put down sand or foam.

In all the time I have been at TFP I don't recall anyone posting that they have had trouble with the foam attracting ants or deterioration in general. Sand and foam both have their pros and cons so I think it comes down to cost and personal preference.

 

[CT-Mike]

Finally got the pool up and running this morning. I had to replace the 4 way valve on the top of the filter, and that leads me to my next question. The strainer basket on the inlet side of the pump is only about 1/3 full, with a very weak return flow to the pool, and 0 psi on the gauge. I have stopped the pump, removed the lid from the strainer basket and allowed it to fill, and then restarted the pump.

The basket stays full for a few seconds, with the gauge reading 10 psi, and then the pump sucks it back down again. I have verified the pump inlet ball valve is full open.

Is this normal, or what am I doing wrong?

Thanks.

 

[duraleigh]

You're sucking air. Is the pool full enough so it's not sucking in through the skimmer(s)? Turn the pump on and check.

 

[CT-Mike]

Yup, skimmer is full, no air coming in through it. Is it possible that the O-ring on the inlet strainer needs replacing or lubricated?

 

[pwrstrk]

Try lubing the o-ring. Make sure the lid is on right.




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[CT-Mike]

Just lubed the o-ring and things are a little better. Still adding water to the pool to get it at least halfway up the skimmer opening.

 

[CT-Mike]

Well things are good now, lubing the o-ring seemed to help. Now anyone have any great ideas on how to get the sand that blew out of the filter out?

Just vacuum it? To waste, or back to the filter via the pump?

First time pool owner so this is all kind of new to me?

 

[duraleigh]

vacuum it right back to the filter

 

[CT-Mike]

Thanks Dave, that's kinda what I was thinking.