Equipment selection & saltwater question - 9k gallon pool

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B

BDY

Gold Supporter
Apr 2, 2022
802
Houston, TX
Pool Size
10000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Good morning,

Sorry to be so long between postings but this has been a saga of permitting, planning, weather, family matters etc. The good news is that the pool is dug and gunited, and now moving forward!

There are a few last minute equipment decisions that I wanted to see if I could ask for any advice on, especially given the fact that we had to downsize the size of the pool from 13k to 9k for new city code dimensions vs power lines. The pool is now 11x29' and has a max depth of 5.5' in the middle and 3.5' on the ends, and is calculated at 9000 gallons. We managed to convince the PB to go with a salt pool too.

The questions are:

1) Pump: The PB recommended a 2hp Pentair Intelliflo VS. This group highly suggested a Pentair VS 011028 or VSF 011056 as the "gold standard" due to running more efficiently at lower RPM. The 011028 is now discontinued and replaced by the IntelliFlo3 VSF pool pump 011075" per the Pentair website. The PB acknowledges the lower RPM statement but says that it would really only be noticeable in a bigger pool, and that for a 9k gallon pool the 3 or 3.95 hp pumps are overkill. Would putting a big pool pump on a small pool be disadvantageous for power, plumbing, etc? waste of cost? I am trying to balance the size of pool vs pump recommendation. And/or should I be thinking of something else?

2) Automation: the PB has spec'd the Easytouch 8 w/ screenlogic, with an IC20 salt cell. We have asked for the Intellicenter, but the PB says that given that we don't have a spa or waterfall, and that we have the IC20 (not the IC40 which would be integrated in the Intellicenter) that the Intellicenter is again overkill. I am leaning towards forcing the Intellicenter but could we run the IC20 off of the integrated IC40? Or would we have to upsize the IC20 to an IC40 and again have a salt cell 4x the size of the pool? (not sure if I am asking my question correctly).

3) Autofill: We have a water softener on the house. Originally the autofill was to plumb to hose bib which would be softened water. Because of the fact we are redoing all the irrigation at the same time we have the possibility to add a separate irrigation water meter on the house, which we could also tie the pool to. This would be untreated water then. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having softened vs untreated water when using a saltwater pool?

thanks in advance again!
Brian

PS - I will post pictures when I can figure out how to get them to computer and post.
 
BDY said:
1) Pump: The PB recommended a 2hp Pentair Intelliflo VS. This group highly suggested a Pentair VS 011028 or VSF 011056 as the "gold standard" due to running more efficiently at lower RPM. The 011028 is now discontinued and replaced by the IntelliFlo3 VSF pool pump 011075" per the Pentair website. The PB acknowledges the lower RPM statement but says that it would really only be noticeable in a bigger pool, and that for a 9k gallon pool the 3 or 3.95 hp pumps are overkill. Would putting a big pool pump on a small pool be disadvantageous for power, plumbing, etc? waste of cost? I am trying to balance the size of pool vs pump recommendation. And/or should I be thinking of something else?
Click to expand...

The only advantage to a large pump in your small pool is the larger pump will be more efficient at the same flow rate as a smaller pump. So if you want to maximize energy efficiency you run a large pump at a low RPM.

Otherwise a smaller VS pump will be fine on your 9K pool.

What model number Intelliflo pump is your PB recommending? There is a 2HP Intelliflo3 pump.

BDY said:
2) Automation: the PB has spec'd the Easytouch 8 w/ screenlogic, with an IC20 salt cell. We have asked for the Intellicenter, but the PB says that given that we don't have a spa or waterfall, and that we have the IC20 (not the IC40 which would be integrated in the Intellicenter) that the Intellicenter is again overkill. I am leaning towards forcing the Intellicenter but could we run the IC20 off of the integrated IC40? Or would we have to upsize the IC20 to an IC40 and again have a salt cell 4x the size of the pool? (not sure if I am asking my question correctly).
Click to expand...

A few things.

The EasyTouch is a 20+ year old system that works fine but is getting no new Pentair development.

The IntelliCenter is a 3 year old system that Pentair is developing and adding new features to. It has networking builtin so ScreenLogic addon is not needed. The IntelliCenter can get over the air updates for its firmware from Pentair.

Pentair Automation Systems - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Both the ET and IntelliCenter can have the IntelliChlor power center integrated in the cabinet. The IC20, 40 and 60 cells all use the same Power Center. Pentair sells a bundled system at a bit of a discount that includes the systems with the integrated IntelliChlor Power Center and a IC40 cell.

You can get the bundle with the IC40 cell and either use the IC40 or sell the IC40 and buy an IC20. cell to use in your pool. I think a new IC40 will be readily marketable.

I would get the IntelliCenter with the bundled cell, sell the IC40, and buy and IC20 to use.

BDY said:
3) Autofill: We have a water softener on the house. Originally the autofill was to plumb to hose bib which would be softened water. Because of the fact we are redoing all the irrigation at the same time we have the possibility to add a separate irrigation water meter on the house, which we could also tie the pool to. This would be untreated water then. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having softened vs untreated water when using a saltwater pool?
Click to expand...

You will have less CH accumulation problems in your pool if you fill it with softened water.

Make sure your autofill is connected through a Back Flow Preventer - Further Reading
 
Get the IntelliCenter, it's not overkill. The bundle below has everything you need (if 5 relays is sufficient). Having a larger SWG cell isn't necessarily a problem as you can dial down how much chlorine will be generated and others report that this increases cell longevity.


Regarding the pump you can probably instead get the Whisperfo or even Superflo which should meet your needs. They all have RS485 connections and will therefore work with the IntelliCenter.

 
BDY,

I do not understand the idea that there is some kind of link between the size of the pool and the size of the pump. :scratch: The only people that think this also believe in the turnover myth that says you must turnover X amount of water per day to prevent algae.

Big pools can use smaller VS pump and small pools can use larger VS pumps. The larger the pump, the slower you can run it and still move a lot of water. This means the pump will be much quieter.

I would go with the new IntelliFlo3 which will integrate perfectly with the EasyTouch or the IntelliCenter.

Operation wise your pool builder is correct, an EasyTouch would work fine on your pool. I have three EasyTouch systems and I love them. But... An old black rotary dial land line can still make a phone call, but would you not pick a smart phone if they were about the same price??? :mrgreen:

An EasyTouch (ET) with an IC40 and ScreenLogic is almost the same price as an IntelliCenter (IC). The ET is an alphanumeric black and white system. The IC has a color touch screen. The ET has a max of 12 schedules, the IC has a max of 100. The ET is hard coded and can only be updated by a factory tech, the IC is updated just like your PC. The list goes on, but you get the point.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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