Just purchased a house with a pool -- what is a good setup?

[loki5311]

Hello all,


Just purchased a house with a 18X36 in ground pool. Upon our home inspection (at quick glance) it seems the pool heater (natural gas) and pump are dated.
So I'm sure that I will be looking at updating the equipment soon. The current owner is to have the pool open and functioning upon closing of house.
Now, I am green when it comes to the pool game but I do realize and appreciate the importance of maintenance and use of proper equipment.
I am also prepared to spend some money to update the equipment. I would like to make it as easy and efficient as possible, while protecting the investment and not to make a small problem a big problem.
With that being said I am looking for some advice / guidance in the following areas:

What is a good "rig" (i'll call it) to start out with?

What are the important things to improve?

Where to effectively spend the most money?

Is salt water a good option?

Best Regards,

Jay

 

[Casey]

Welcome Jay and congrats on the house and pool. If you want to do this right, I'd start out with arming yourself with knowledge in Pool School. READ EVERYTHING! They even have a write up about pumps and filters. I would also HIGHLY suggest you get yourself a good reliable test kit and since you stated you want the best, go for the gusto and get the TF100. You're going to need it! If you want to talk pumps, someone else will have to talk it with you because I am not as knowledgeable as you would hope I am.

So welcome to TFP! Dive right on into Pool School!

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok, thing one, read the pool school link in the upper right, then read it again, and maybe a 3rd time, most people get a lot more out of it the 2nd or 3rd time through.

The questions you ask are sort of open ended, like asking what is a good car, without stating what your needs are. A Porsche 911 may be a very good car for some, but is lousy if you need a Jeep to get to your mountain cabin. Easy can mean simple, or easy can mean highly automated, it just depends on your point of view. In general my advice is to not get in a hurry, if things are functional, try to make it through the 1st swim season and deal with upgrades in the off season, hang around here, read up and get a feel for things.

Ike

p.s. get a good test kit, being in Canada your options are limited, you will either have to creatively "import" a TF-100, or pay an arm and a leg for a Taylor K-2006. Taylor has an exclusive distributor in Canada and they know they have a captive market, since the TF-100 uses Taylor reagents, Dave is not allowed to ship to Canada.

 

[freqz]

I bought a new-to-me pool last fall and had a lot of the same questions.

The big question I have is what's the hurry? If your equipment is functioning now, why rush? Spend some time learning the pool and what you'd like to function differently and what you'd like to keep the same.

For instance, I learned I'm not really interested in salt (for my reasons...but I was ready to spend that money when I moved in).

Most important thing you can buy is a good test kit...

You have the luxury of not being in a hurry-- take advantage of that. Screw everything up after swim season

 

[PrivatePilot]

x2 start with what you have before rushing to buy new shiny stuff. Just because the cosmetics of some of the equipment might not seem perfect it doesn't mean they aren't still perfectly functional - pool stuff lives a hard life outdoors 365 days a year (especially in our neck of the woods here in Canada, I'm not that far from you) and even 2-3 year old equipment can look aged beyond it's actual years.

Unless there's an overwhelming reason to start replacing things don't rush into it. Perhaps posting details of your equipment (photos always helpful) will help others give advice as well. If effeciency (gas and electricity) is in the back of your head for reasonings, keep in mind that replacing good functional equipment with new (expensive high-effeciency) equipment can take many years to provide a good ROI. IMHO, wait until it's lifespan has reached it's natural end and then replace it with the high efficiency replacement equipment.

Reading about filtration (AKA, how many hours a day do I need to run my pump) here will save you a lot more in the long run. I know friends that run their pumps 24/7 all summer long, whereas I run mine for a maximum of 8 hours a day - we have the exact same water quality and I save a ton of money not running my pump needlessly.