Design finished, just need to finalize equip and pebble choice

[Titan7]

Any reason to go with the pentair 011012 over the 011018? Both VS 3hp. The 012 is the VF version of the pump. I am going to dump the idea of a 3/4hp booster pump I assume the circ. pump will be more than adequate for the 7-8 foot spa with 6-8 jets unless you experienced pool owners think I will need it? No other water features.

The pool is 32.6x 18at its widest points, 3.5 to 5.5 deep. Probably about 15-17k gallons.

Pebble finishes. Any stonespace mini pebble owners out there. How does this finish compare to PT pebble sheen? Looks like my builder is going to put the screws to me on this and PT will cost more, still waiting on the quote. I have not read of issues with the SS pebble finish like I have with the PT, but that could just be not enough SS owners out there?

 

[pooldv]

Consensus around here is that the VS is the better choice over VF. There are a number of issues with VF pumps trying to keep up with a flow rate with blocked filters, skimmers. etc that cause the pump to continuously ramp speed to increase flow. There are a number of threads discussing this more in depth. I love my 11018.

Get a tape measure and hold it up to everyone to check the various depths to make sure you are comfortable with them. We have found that 3.5 is too shallow and 5.5 is too deep. For us 4x5x4 is juuuussst right!

 

[Titan7]

Thanks, VS 11018 it is. Still thinking on the depth. We are here in Maui now and the pools are 3.5-4-5-5.5 so it's given us some real world experience. The Baja deck will be 12" deep, that's perfect for us. Ours is 8 ft x 11 ft.

 

[pooldv]

Wowie maui! LOL! Our shelf is 6" and 9-12 would be better. People with deeper water on shelves all say they like it. I will admit that I didn't want a shelf at all but wife and PB won that and I have to say I do like it.

 

[txnole]

1 vote here for a blower on the spa, rather than a second pump. We added a 1HP blower to boost the spa during our build and it was one of the smartest things we did at very low cost.

We have a similar size pool to your design. Here's a pic in spa only mode with the VS at 3,000 and the blower on. PURE BLISS!

 

[rphpool]

1 vote here for a blower on the spa, rather than a second pump. We added a 1HP blower to boost the spa during our build and it was one of the smartest things we did at very low cost.

We have a similar size pool to your design. Here's a pic in spa only mode with the VS at 3,000 and the blower on. PURE BLISS!

Our pool is very similar to both your pools. We have a Pentair VS and blower for pool and spa ( 9 jets ), you will not need any more. Our pump runs at 3450rpm when we have spa on and all 9 jets have plenty of power!