Just the right setup!

[Jvzweel]

Hello everyone.

I’d like to start off by thanking everyone on this froum for their knowledgeable contributions to help us newcomers in obtaining a "trouble free pool".

The problem however, is that South Africa is rather limited in the availability of a lot of the equipment etc mentioned on this forum, and as such, one often has to imrpovise to obtain similiar results. An example is the availability of automatic vacuum cleaners for AG Vinyl Pools.

I purchased in August this year, the Intex 15' x 42" metal frame pool. Included was the ridiculous cartridge filter. Advice from this forum had me purchase an Intex 1200GPH sand filter and pump combo right from the get go. I cut the liner to accommodate the larger intake and outlet.

Everything was going well, except the manual cleaning had become a schlep and I soon started looking at auto vacs, but couldn't find a cleaner appropriate to the vinyl pool. Importing is just too expensive.

This made me go on a mission to get the right stuff. I eventually ended up buying a Zodiac Barracuda MX8 and fitted to the system. Much to my surprise (not), the Intex pump was not capable of running the MX8.

Picked up a good second hand Speck 1.1kW 220V pump, some adaptors and a ball valve (to regulate pressure to the Intex sand filter) and asembled the lot.

Boy am I impressed at the end result! This MX8 climbs the vinyl walls all the way to the water line and saves me hours of tedious time wastage and frustration.

Two reasons for this thread:

1. Let people (specifically in S.A) know that the MX8 can be made to work in a Intex AG metal frame pool
2. To advise newcomers to carefully plan your requirements before hand, thus reducing the costs of buying equipment not quite suited to your needs.

I now have the standard filter that came with the pool, as well as the pump from the filter set just lying around. I will be upgrading the sand filter to a proper 2 bag filter in January and will then hopefully be able to sell the Intex pump and filter as a combo again, in the hopes of recuperating some of my expenses.

Thanks to the forum and members for all the valuable information here!

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk 4

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! I'm glad our forum has been helpful for you!

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum!

Hope you stick around and enjoy your time here.

 

[Jvzweel]

zea3, Brushpup, thanks for the welcome!

I edited and fixed all the spelling mistakes in the first post (fingers too thick to type on tablet ).

I would like to know if other members are also using an MX8 in their Intex AG pools, and if so, what are their experiences with it?

Mine thusfar;

Worries:
- I doubt the rubber tracks would harm the vinyl liner
- The brushers at the bottom are lifted high enough to prevent them from damaging small creases in the liner (mine has two small creases). The fact that they're soft rubber also lessens risk here.
- Read some reviews on the MX8 being 1. weak and 2. engine easily getting clogged up by debris. My opinion on these reviews? Your pump might not be strong enough. I've had mine running perfectly, opened the engine and it was full of debris. This did not stop it from running.

Pro's:
- The MX8, combined with the 410l/min pump is awesome! It literally climbs the walls to the water level, and has amazing suction power. (I limit the suction power using a ball valve (aprox 50%) between the pump and the sand filter. I fear running the full flow capacity of this pump through the filter might destroy the filter).
- This cleaner is fast, powerful, and reaches everywhere.

Con's:
- Spent much more than I would have liked to get to where I am now. In retrospect, I should not be so hasty when I want something done.

Other:
- To connect the MX8, I simply wrapped some old bicycle tube inner around the small Intex outlet that came with the small canister filter, and forced the Zodiac flow valve over that. Fits nice and tight.
- Getting male / female connectors in South Africa that fit the Intex non-standard fittings is difficult, but I found some and purchased a whole bag full of them just in case.
- Do not restrict the flow of a strong pump at pump inlet or after the sand filter. I believe flow restriction should only be done between pump and sand filter. To prove the reason for this, take a meter and measure the amperage of the pump if the valve between the pump and filter is almost closed. You will notice the pump draws less amps. If you restrict before the pump, you may have a ceramic seal that will be running dry and this will damage your pump. If you restrict after the sand filter, you will have too high a pressure building up in the sand filter. Use it, don't use it, this is just my 2cw...

Hopefully someone else will also be able to pitch in here and provide some useful advice / experiences!

Thanks!