All new equip for 40 yr fiberglass pool

[dianedebuda]

24K gal in ground; out of service for 4 years. Pump worn out (more JB Weld than orig housing now ), SS DE filter in good shape, but can't find replacement gasket (American Products).

Have always done DIY since the pool was built, including moving all the equipment to another location, but this time the job may be too big at our age. Want to research and select what we think we want before contacting locals, particularly since we're in the midst of the virus thingy.

Current Equipment to be replaced/installed:
pump (VS)
timer
filter (probably another DE, but considering cartridge with DE)
SWG (probably instead of current inline tab chlorinator)
solar heater (never installed)
Polaris cleaner (never installed)
air jets in pool (incomplete after equip move)
12V pool light

Understand that pump & SWG should be same brand. Looks like first selection should be automation. Will be looking at Pentair, Hayward & Jandy. Not a fan of web connections, so would prefer to use a tablet on a local Lan instead.

Sound like I'm on the right path?

 

[setsailsoon]

D,

You're definitely on the right track. Here are my comments:

• Definitely consider cartridge and make sure it's sized right. 400 sq ft minimum.
• There are advantages to using the same brand for swg and pump because some allow you to control this way but it's not really necessary. The only disadvantage is that there can be better warranty and price for swg that is different brand from best pump. I believe Pentair makes the best pump not necessarily best swg so I don't think the advantage of same brand is necessarily the best way to go. There are many examples of people that go with same brand and that don't. I think they're all happy so it really depends on your preference.
• If you go with automation you don't need to link to the internet you can just use local control or get a model that uses it's own remote. If you do this it will replace the timer.
• Solar heat works great for me and will pay out but longish payout period, about 5 years last time I checked. I have much more sun that you do thought and we swim year round. So check performance for your area.
• I strongly recommend a robot instead of Polaris. Polaris was great in its day but robots are now the way to go.
• Are you trying to add air jets in pool?
• Are you adding lights that have never been installed? If so, LED's have many new features but they don't last as long as they should. Technology is rapidly evolving right now so you may be better off with incandescent and replace with LED bulb conversions. Other's more expert than me will have better information for you.

If you're planning to go DIY Jandy offers you no warranty. They make very good equipment also therefore if this isn't important to you and you're going with an authorized installer the warranty is not an issue for you.

I hope this is helpful and please do ask any questions. We have a huge number of experts on every aspect of your renovation project. We also sell nothing so you can be assured our advice is never conflicted by something we want to sell you on.

Good luck!

Chris

 

[dianedebuda]

Solar: we bought all of the solar panels, sensors, etc. a number of years ago, built a shed to mount the panels and ran plumbing and control wires to the pad area. I herniated a disc about 4 years ago and everything stalled at that point. Pump motor died then too.

Polaris: will check into robots, but bought top of the line Polaris right before injury, so have $$$ invested.

Air jets: part of the orig build. Have a replacement blower, but just hadn't installed it and plumbed the loop.

Light: Have a Pentair LED light. Unfortunately doesn't fit well in American Products housing. Had pool resurfaced a few years ago and they used wedges to secure it - which have floated off somewhere in the algae void.

Realize many warranty issues with DIY and part of reason I'm leaning towards a pro. Mostly it's because I'm an old coot now and everything takes me forever to do. But consults now are difficult with virus stuff, so we'll see.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'm curious as to what the air jets are intended to do in the pool? Is there a spa area? Do you already have the place in the fiberglass shell to install this?
I'd love to see a picture of your pool. I love the older pools and yours is really quite large compared to so many newer fiberglass pools.

Maddie

 

[dianedebuda]

The air jets just blow air into the water at a few points along the seating edge, kind of like a spa. They were added by the installer when the pool was built in 1978. Trust me, you don't want to see my pool, aka frog pond, at this point. It's roughly 16x32 with a 7 ft deep end IIRC.

 

[sktn77a]

Two questions:
1. You have the top of the line Polaris (380?) but do you have the pump and plumbing already? If not, sell the Polaris and get a robot. If yes, go ahead and use it. They were and still are the best of the "piped" cleaners.
2. Air jets will cause your pH to raise constantly, which means you'll be adding muriatic acid constantly. Do you really want/need them?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Actually.... we love seeing frog ponds. Then we love helping you clean them up

Maddie

 

[dianedebuda]

Two questions:
1. You have the top of the line Polaris (380?) but do you have the pump and plumbing already? If not, sell the Polaris and get a robot. If yes, go ahead and use it. They were and still are the best of the "piped" cleaners.

I'll have to go to the shed to check the model #. Yes, already have the pump (but who knows its condition now since it's been out in the weather) and was plumbed for during the orig install.

2. Air jets will cause your pH to raise constantly, which means you'll be adding muriatic acid constantly. Do you really want/need them?

Hubby enjoys them occassionally. There's only 3 or 4 jets IIRC and were seldom on for more than 1/2 hr at a time. Never had an acid problem because of them before, so wouldn't expect one now. I'm not a hot tub/spa type.

Actually.... we love seeing frog ponds. Then we love helping you clean them up

When we got a tiny taste of the outer edges of Harvey, some of the frogs tried to get inside. "Dang" I said, "It's too wet for frogs!"

 

[dianedebuda]

Ok, looked at the cleaner box in the shed and it says Polaris 9600 Sport. Finding almost nothing about this on the web except that maybe it's robotic? Much too long since we bought it. Guess opening the box in the not too distant future will be an adventure... Our luck will be that all the seals have gone bad.

 

[sktn77a]

Post a picture of the cleaner, that will tell us what we need to identify it.

 

[dianedebuda]

Been busy researching and digging up old docs of existing system. Pics here, text next post.

The Pool (sales flyer):


SS DE filter - last I looked, it seemed to be in good shape, but can't find tank O-ring (6 on parts list)


Jets (bubbler) plumbing layout.

 

[dianedebuda]

Been trying to get a feel for what we actually need in the automation area. Most of the stuff I've looked at is more than we need. I think we'd rather keep our existing subpanel. Trying to identify how many relays/valves we should be looking for.

Control situations:
--general pump/filter
--solar on/off
--jets on/off Originally we would turn the multivalve to Recirc then turn the blower on; reverse to shut it down
--SWG
--pool light Couldn't find any docs on the light yet, but it was a 12v Pentair LED Intellibrite vintage 2009. Never hooked up, so not holding my breath that it works. Would replace with similar if needed.
--inline cleaner (maybe)

The existing cleaner is inline: Polaris 3600 Sport. Was told it was top of the line when we bought it - but I was amazed when I looked at the receipt: 2009. Funny that the rebate form is filled in as a model 380... Box was never opened. Yeah, now remembering that we had some significant health issues then... Anyhow, was this a decent cleaner? Because of its age, wonder about seals. Worth dealing with? If I replace, I think I will want to go with a robotic. This one requires an external pump. Can the VS pumps handle this or does it need to be a separate pump? A robot would just require a 110 V outlet, right?

Similarly, suspect we'll need a pump for solar heater. Again, separate unit or can VS pump be configured?

Think I'd like to keep the existing SS DE filter, but have never been able to find a replacement tank gasket. The orig is well worn...

Have tried to contact a couple of local pool places, but no response yet - probably because of virus lock-downs here. Know there are equipment lines only sold through pool builders/services, but are they significantly different than what can be purchased from Leslies or on-line? From what I'm seeing, DIY installations effectively have either no warranties or very short ones.

Have some time before the equipment has to be installed. Looking doubtful that I can find someone to dip leaves and muck out of the pool, so I'll have to do it. With my bad back & current shoulder problem, will probably take me more than a month @ 6 to 10 dips at a time. Trying to come up with a contraption that will make getting a loaded net easier for me to lift out of the pool and move for dumping. Anyone done this?

 

[dianedebuda]

Update:
Will ditch the existing, unused Polaris 3600 Sport cleaner. Plan to go with a flavor of Nautilus robot instead. So can eliminate booster pump need for inline cleaner.

From threads, think I can use a VS pump instead of needing a booster for the solar (1 story roof-top). Sound right? From the Pentair line, maybe the Intelliflo VS pump? No guess about hp needed. Existing, original (Hayward) pump was 1 hp, but didn't have solar or SWG in setup. Haven't checked yet about Jandy or Hayward flavors for replacement. Feel there's a Pentair preference on the site, but is the Intelliflo really pick of the litter?

For SWG (24,500 gal pool), IC40 or IC60? Think I read that the Pentair SWG isn't pick of the litter, but haven't found what was better. Assume that pump would be a higher consideration than SWG if trying to stay with a single company's products.

Have read the Head sticky and think I understand the high-level basics, but am floundering in the details. Figure that pump hp & cartridge selection are going to need this info, so is there a Head for Dummies step by step somewhere? I have nothing from the orig build.

 

[dianedebuda]

Found a youtube video on Pump Sizing from inyopools that had a simple head determination technique. So now that I know mine (33), I find that it's not needed with the Intelliflow pump - at least at the purchase stage. Guess I'll need to figure out something about head for the solar part if I consider some other multispeed pump...