My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a new pool. I feel I have started doing the right thing going online and talking to pool builders trying to learn about pools and pool products. What's good, what's not. I feel like I'm more educated now than I was when we started this process. However, in certain ways I feel even more confused. I have one PB telling me grout under the liner is the way to go because the pool-crete is too soft and dents when your feet hit the bottom. Then I have another PB telling me grout crumbles and pool-crete is the way to go. One pool builder swears by an earth filter and another says cartridge filters only. One PB says salt is the way to go another PB says he wouldn't own a salt system if his life depended on it. So I'm a beginner and any help would be very much appreciated especially from someone who isn't trying to make a profit off of me as well as owned or dealt with the different types of items. Anything that you can think of that is important please share with me. Thank you in advance.
Lots of help needed and appreciated
- Thread starter bobcat1971
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!!!I don't know anything about the surface under the liner, so will leave that to others.
Filter type does not matter. They all have +/- and comes down to personal preference: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/160-pool-filter-comparison
I love my SWG as it reduces my workload of having to lug the bleach and add it everyday. There are automated liquid chlorine injectors, but you still have to fill them up with bleach. Over the long term, the costs between bleach and SWG end up being very similar. But with a SWG most of the cost is upfront and then not much out of pocket until you need to replace the cell. With bleach, you are constantly paying for it.
Do not fall for the trichlor tablet feeders or mineral systems or UV or ozone.
The trichlor may get you in trouble if you do not drain a lot for the winter and get a lot of rain to dilute the stabilizer. (See: How to Chlorinate Your Pool)
The mineral systems may cause horrible staining and turn your hair green.
The UV and ozone are just not needed in private outdoor pools ... chlorine is all you need.
Lots of reading available in Pool School if you have not found it.
Have you had any problems with the SWG? That's the direction I was leaning but I had a PB tell me that the salt can be corrosive and mess with aluminum and possibly the concrete decking. I get the feeling that he just like the chlorine system that he sells. Everyone I talk to really likes the SWG.
I have had it at both the pools I have owned and not really noticed any issue. I don't really have any metal in the water and I do not have any of the soft stone around my pool that can also have issues.
The salt issues are usually worse in areas where there is little rain to wash the accumulated salt off the surrounding areas from splashout.
The salt issues are usually worse in areas where there is little rain to wash the accumulated salt off the surrounding areas from splashout.
We have a salt system and I love it. We also do not have any metal ladders in the pool since we just have the entry steps and a swim out in the deep end.
I've been building pools for 16 years and have not met one person that doesn't like their salt system. It makes maintenance a breeze. They only time I've seen it become a problem is when people install a salt system and they have a heater that wasn't meant for it. As far as bottom material both are good as pool bottoms. I assume poolcrete is the same as vermiculite and portland. I personally don't use grout only because I do my pool shells in two stages. When I pour the footing around the pool I do a concrete shell at the same time and then do a smooth coat of vermiculite and portland over the concrete. I've seen 20+ year old bottoms done both ways and both types hold up very well.
Its funny cause vermiculite in Australia is used to grow plants in hydroponics... Its a type of soil medium...... http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite
Poolcrete is not too soft and will not easily dent. A sand bottom will dent.
This is my first year with a SWG, but so far I am liking it. Get a large filter. I feel like a cartridge filter is a good match for SWG partly because there is no waste of water and chemicals from back washing, but other types of filters will work fine. Don't get too large of a pump. A 1hp 2 speed is usually the economical choice. If you have really high electrical rates or are expecting to have some water features that need high flow, a variable speed pump may make sense. If you are getting a SWG, you may not want steel walls; a leak could cause some corrosion.
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This is my first year with a SWG, but so far I am liking it. Get a large filter. I feel like a cartridge filter is a good match for SWG partly because there is no waste of water and chemicals from back washing, but other types of filters will work fine. Don't get too large of a pump. A 1hp 2 speed is usually the economical choice. If you have really high electrical rates or are expecting to have some water features that need high flow, a variable speed pump may make sense. If you are getting a SWG, you may not want steel walls; a leak could cause some corrosion.
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Is it true that the SWG has a higher chlorine level than a typical chlorine system?
No. Typically it is somewhat lower because you can control your FC more precisely with and SWG.
Filters. Does anyone recommend or not recommend a certain brand? I have heard that pentair, heyward and Jandy are all pretty good. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with any of these filters?