Diy from royal swimming pools

[Kmaz]

Just wanted to post my experience in hopes to help others. It came down to royal or pool warehouse . Communication with both was great. Although I went with royal I spoke to Luke at pool warehouse and he was great to deal with, no pressure, follow up emails but not in a pushy way. If I would of ended up getting liner over steel steps I would of went with pool warehouse. Only a $300 upgrade versus $1000 at royal. I ended up going with royal for a couple reasons, their not as brand specific at royal as far as , I was interested In particular coping profile that cardinal systems makes called their "PC" profile. It kind of mimics the look of a cantilevered concrete profile. While I was at it I dictated that I'd also prefer to get the cardinal steel walls as long as I was getting their coping. In hindsight wall brand probably wouldn't of mattered and William , the guy I dealt with at royal said at one point not to get too hung up on wall brand kinda insinuating pretty much all the same. I also went with cantilevered steps with matching coping Trim kit so as not to have the plastic top exposed.full run down
14x26 rectangle , 1-1/2hp 2speed hayward tristar pump, hayward star clear 175 sq ft cartridge filter, 2 aqua genie skimmers , step returns , solar cover, equator 28mil Colorado sundance liner.
I know some on here might not like the aqua genies but the more I thought about them the more it makes sense .... Too me anyway.
Now the amazing part . I ordered all this on December 30th....... I got a call from r&l carriers to schedule delivery to my house on January 6!!!!! I couldn't believe it . I opted to bring a trailer to their terminal to pick up because I was gonna unload myself at the house. ( 2 trips)Yikes.... 8' panels are HEAVY!!!!! Not to mention picture this , unloading , by myself, an 8' straight back sit n step stacked on top of all the panels. Luckily it all worked out and every thin came through in great shape wrapped nice and no damage. Only thing missing where the 2 skimmer panels , came 3days later and filter and liner, 2 days later from ups. I'm still waiting on the coping apparently it's somewhat custom for the cantilevered steps. The steps that I got are hydra branded and I'm happy with those as well. I'm in upstate ny so my build is a few months away.
If anyone has any questions , feel free to ask.

 

[Patrick_B]

Thank you Kris, and welcome to TFP.

Be sure to post up your build in the "Under Construction" forum for us to see. Enjoy your time on TFP!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi Kris,
Welcome to TFP!

Looking forward to your DIY pool build! Keep us posed and ask any questions that you might need help with.

For What It's Worth, I have a aqua genie skimmer. My take in the thing is that it works ok for the most part, but could be better. It works better as the only return back to the pool than it does with other returns in the mix.

So, if I could make a recommendation based upon personal experience and observations with the Agua Genie. Install all of your return lines independently, not in a loop, and install valves at all of your returns at the equipment pad. This will give you a lot of circulation flexibility and ultimately, the ability to better control how well the aqua genie actually works.

 

[Kmaz]

Thanks for the welcome .. And input on aquq genie. I did read in their instructions not to go crazy with additional returns. One of my concerns is that since I have two of them if thy would be effective sharing return water or if I would be better off just using one. Also if they would operate when the pump is on low. If anyone out ther has experience with using 2 aqua genies I'd love your input .my only other returns would be step returns and all runs would be plumbed in 2" , each with there own valve.
Kris

 

[smforte]

I have an Aqua Genie and no other return (not by choice..bought house w pool) my only negative experience w it is since the return is built in below the skimmer and as it is skimming it has a tendency to push trash back into the pool. The skimmer is in the middle of the side wall and because there are no other returns each end of my pool doesn't get as much circulation. I think 2 skimmers would do the job! Wish I had extra returns.

 

[Divin Dave]

Yup. I experience the same thing. I found that by raising the water level about 1/2 up from the "center mark" to the top of the skimmer helps with this a little bit.. I also have a VS pump, and lowering the speed down to about 1200 RPM seems to also help a lot in my case. At 1200, I get a decent but not overly strong retun flow like my pump is capable of doing (can prolly put out a house fire with this pump!)

I have an Aqua Genie and no other return (not by choice..bought house w pool) my only negative experience w it is since the return is built in below the skimmer and as it is skimming it has a tendency to push trash back into the pool. The skimmer is in the middle of the side wall and because there are no other returns each end of my pool doesn't get as much circulation. I think 2 skimmers would do the job! Wish I had extra returns.

 

[Divin Dave]

With a 1.5 HP pump, I dont think you will have any problem on either the suction or the return side.

As far as how well the 2 aqua genies will work in your pool, depens more on where they will be located than anything else.

Thanks for the welcome .. And input on aquq genie. I did read in their instructions not to go crazy with additional returns. One of my concerns is that since I have two of them if thy would be effective sharing return water or if I would be better off just using one. Also if they would operate when the pump is on low. If anyone out ther has experience with using 2 aqua genies I'd love your input .my only other returns would be step returns and all runs would be plumbed in 2" , each with there own valve.
Kris