Howdy TFP,
Been a lurker for a few months and I've loved so much of the advice I've gotten here. Y'all are phenomenal and I really appreciate "sticking it" to BigPool that eats the wallets of too many people out there.
Anyway, I am posting because I'm in a weird situation that I'm trying to figure out the best course of action for. I bought a house with a pool that has been neglected for many years and none of the equipment works.
Well, the equipment worked for a bit until I got new electric work done and the electricians ripped out the connections to everything. But even when it was "working", it was more "limping" and had some major issues (stuck 3-way valve meant water would siphon to waste, so it wasn't possible to use anything).
I'll get into the actual equipment in a second for what exists. Let me talk a bit about where I'm at today.
Pool Specs:
Around 11-12k gallons. It's a weird irregular jellybean shape, and this is my best estimate after SLAM'ing and seeing how chlorine levels change. There is a small hot tub next to it as well with separate pipes for jets/return loop.
It's plaster, I believe, and once upon a time I had drained it (before I realized the risks) and it never floated or cracked (fortunately!). Seems pretty sturdy and solid.
Current (jank) Setup:
I have an Intex above-ground pool pump running with glass sand (link, I have the 2,800 GPH version).
It's just chilling next to the pool with one hose in the skimmer and the other running water in a circular motion at the bottom. It seems to work alright -- I've been able to remove the grotesque amount of leaves and get it so that I can see the bottom after SLAM'ing it to heck and back. (thanks to everybody on the forum that posted to help with this)
I also bought a pool roomba (Dolphin Cayman) which helped. Current getting RMA'd.
Biggest issue was that I had used flocculent early on (advice from a pool store) and clogged the sand up after partially vacuuming it. Took me a while to figure out the filter was clogged -- ended up hosing down the sand and blasting it until the water ran clear.
Anyway, now I'm at the point where it's _almost_ fine, but it's still jank and I'd like to figure out a long-term solution that lets me heat it to a warm enough temperature for lounging (it's around 74f currently).
OG Equipment:
Sand Filter: A gigantic sand filter that's a pain in the rear to open up, like 30 rusty looking bolts. The body is carbon fiber, I believe, and it's ancient. (I'll upload pics at the end of the post)
Pump: Some old pump that only ran when I manually primed it. Seems fine but likely super inefficient.
Heater: Zodiac LRZ250MN from 02/2012.This was seemingly replaced by the last owner but it doesn't work.
(Note: I had a pool repair guy come out to look at it and he said the control board was fried (it's a "microvolt" heater type that uses the gas to power the circuitry instead of external AC). I couldn't find a replacement board when I looked online.)
The pipes are all 2" PVC I believe. Like I said, the three-way valve on the sand filter is stuck partially open and none of it works anymore so I can't test it.
BigPool's Advice:
When I had the pool repair guy come out and I asked him "how much to fix it?" he gave me the ballpark estimate of $30k. For something that adds close to $0 in property value in the Seattle area... I was not interested. This was maybe ~18 months ago. (And that didn't even include resurfacing the pool which has some pitting
That's what spurred me to eventually think about this more and decide to try out the off-the-shelf Intex sand filter. It's jank, sure, but it's $250 + $80 for glass sand. A literal drop in the bucket by comparison! If I could get that to work then at least it wouldn't be an algae pit for mosquitoes (one problem solved).
Fast forward a few months, and a lot of lessons along the way, here I am looking for advice. Let me spell out what comes to mind for me.
Current Questions:
Even if I had $30k to spend, I don't really want to give it to BigPool unless it's what TFP recommends. I'd rather "hack" my way to a solution and help future pool owners out by sharing that information more broadly.
Question #1, turn temporary into permanent?
I could rip out the existing equipment and hook up either the Intex 2,800 GPH setup or buy a different off-the-shelf-ish filter + pump to wire up.
I feel like this could work but I'd be worried about the longevity of the Intex pump. It has been pretty slow to filter the water off (maybe my fault for not realizing it was clogged) so either it's too small or I'm too impatient. (Maybe it's fine if I properly cover the pool in the winter and, once I get the water spotless, it won't be an issue again?)
Any thoughts around what makes sense would be appreciated. It seems like going from 2" PVC -> 1.5" at the filter won't be a big deal. (GPH limits for 1.5" pipes seems to be somewhat of a myth anyway if I did try to "size up" the pump but not the filter.)
Question #2, what to do about the heater?
It's a natural gas heater that's 250k BTU and about 2ft from the electrical sub-panel. But it doesn't work and I'm not sure why. I do have an oscilloscope and I can solder, so I'm not afraid of trying to debug it. But power electronics that deal with natural gas is not my ideal hobby project
I'd be open to paying to get a new heater installed, but will anybody install it if it's connected to an off-the-shelf pump? I don't want to accidentally find myself in a spot where the heater is on but water isn't flowing. I assume heaters have fail-safes for this, but who knows.
If replacing it seems like the better move, what's the ballpark cost for that? If it's just a few thousand that would be fine. It already has exhaust venting to a chimney, natural gas laid to it, and an electrical panel accessible. (I'd be open to a heat pump but with the hot tub it feels like gas is the better choice.)
Question #3, am I crazy? Or just naive?
Maybe all of this is complicated enough that it is worth getting a professional to turn-key replace everything. I just feel like there is a way to do this for not a wild amount of $$$. If y'all think that's wrong though and I should just save up the money, I'm open to that too. I just want to check in first.
Thanks for reading this wall of text. I am very appreciative of any words of wisdom others have to share. Cheers!
Been a lurker for a few months and I've loved so much of the advice I've gotten here. Y'all are phenomenal and I really appreciate "sticking it" to BigPool that eats the wallets of too many people out there.
Anyway, I am posting because I'm in a weird situation that I'm trying to figure out the best course of action for. I bought a house with a pool that has been neglected for many years and none of the equipment works.
Well, the equipment worked for a bit until I got new electric work done and the electricians ripped out the connections to everything. But even when it was "working", it was more "limping" and had some major issues (stuck 3-way valve meant water would siphon to waste, so it wasn't possible to use anything).
I'll get into the actual equipment in a second for what exists. Let me talk a bit about where I'm at today.
Pool Specs:
Around 11-12k gallons. It's a weird irregular jellybean shape, and this is my best estimate after SLAM'ing and seeing how chlorine levels change. There is a small hot tub next to it as well with separate pipes for jets/return loop.
It's plaster, I believe, and once upon a time I had drained it (before I realized the risks) and it never floated or cracked (fortunately!). Seems pretty sturdy and solid.
Current (jank) Setup:
I have an Intex above-ground pool pump running with glass sand (link, I have the 2,800 GPH version).
It's just chilling next to the pool with one hose in the skimmer and the other running water in a circular motion at the bottom. It seems to work alright -- I've been able to remove the grotesque amount of leaves and get it so that I can see the bottom after SLAM'ing it to heck and back. (thanks to everybody on the forum that posted to help with this)
I also bought a pool roomba (Dolphin Cayman) which helped. Current getting RMA'd.
Biggest issue was that I had used flocculent early on (advice from a pool store) and clogged the sand up after partially vacuuming it. Took me a while to figure out the filter was clogged -- ended up hosing down the sand and blasting it until the water ran clear.
Anyway, now I'm at the point where it's _almost_ fine, but it's still jank and I'd like to figure out a long-term solution that lets me heat it to a warm enough temperature for lounging (it's around 74f currently).
OG Equipment:
Sand Filter: A gigantic sand filter that's a pain in the rear to open up, like 30 rusty looking bolts. The body is carbon fiber, I believe, and it's ancient. (I'll upload pics at the end of the post)
Pump: Some old pump that only ran when I manually primed it. Seems fine but likely super inefficient.
Heater: Zodiac LRZ250MN from 02/2012.This was seemingly replaced by the last owner but it doesn't work.
(Note: I had a pool repair guy come out to look at it and he said the control board was fried (it's a "microvolt" heater type that uses the gas to power the circuitry instead of external AC). I couldn't find a replacement board when I looked online.)
The pipes are all 2" PVC I believe. Like I said, the three-way valve on the sand filter is stuck partially open and none of it works anymore so I can't test it.
BigPool's Advice:
When I had the pool repair guy come out and I asked him "how much to fix it?" he gave me the ballpark estimate of $30k. For something that adds close to $0 in property value in the Seattle area... I was not interested. This was maybe ~18 months ago. (And that didn't even include resurfacing the pool which has some pitting
That's what spurred me to eventually think about this more and decide to try out the off-the-shelf Intex sand filter. It's jank, sure, but it's $250 + $80 for glass sand. A literal drop in the bucket by comparison! If I could get that to work then at least it wouldn't be an algae pit for mosquitoes (one problem solved).
Fast forward a few months, and a lot of lessons along the way, here I am looking for advice. Let me spell out what comes to mind for me.
Current Questions:
Even if I had $30k to spend, I don't really want to give it to BigPool unless it's what TFP recommends. I'd rather "hack" my way to a solution and help future pool owners out by sharing that information more broadly.
Question #1, turn temporary into permanent?
I could rip out the existing equipment and hook up either the Intex 2,800 GPH setup or buy a different off-the-shelf-ish filter + pump to wire up.
I feel like this could work but I'd be worried about the longevity of the Intex pump. It has been pretty slow to filter the water off (maybe my fault for not realizing it was clogged) so either it's too small or I'm too impatient. (Maybe it's fine if I properly cover the pool in the winter and, once I get the water spotless, it won't be an issue again?)
Any thoughts around what makes sense would be appreciated. It seems like going from 2" PVC -> 1.5" at the filter won't be a big deal. (GPH limits for 1.5" pipes seems to be somewhat of a myth anyway if I did try to "size up" the pump but not the filter.)
Question #2, what to do about the heater?
It's a natural gas heater that's 250k BTU and about 2ft from the electrical sub-panel. But it doesn't work and I'm not sure why. I do have an oscilloscope and I can solder, so I'm not afraid of trying to debug it. But power electronics that deal with natural gas is not my ideal hobby project
I'd be open to paying to get a new heater installed, but will anybody install it if it's connected to an off-the-shelf pump? I don't want to accidentally find myself in a spot where the heater is on but water isn't flowing. I assume heaters have fail-safes for this, but who knows.
If replacing it seems like the better move, what's the ballpark cost for that? If it's just a few thousand that would be fine. It already has exhaust venting to a chimney, natural gas laid to it, and an electrical panel accessible. (I'd be open to a heat pump but with the hot tub it feels like gas is the better choice.)
Question #3, am I crazy? Or just naive?
Maybe all of this is complicated enough that it is worth getting a professional to turn-key replace everything. I just feel like there is a way to do this for not a wild amount of $$$. If y'all think that's wrong though and I should just save up the money, I'm open to that too. I just want to check in first.
Thanks for reading this wall of text. I am very appreciative of any words of wisdom others have to share. Cheers!
