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And More Questions...

Trying to not drive everyone crazy, but I do appreciate the help. Again...I'm in Long Island. Going to have 16x36 pool (said 18x36 yesterday...oops) that is going to be in the shade most of time...partially from my house, but mostly from neighbor's trees. I'm a little concerned about algae. Before I construct (or PB constructs), any hints for pool pumps that are better than others for algae. Do I need to supersize pump to keep water moving faster/better? Will that help in any significant way? How about SWG? I have no idea if anything helps, but thought I would ask now and not be sorry later that I didn't at least ask...Thanks.
 
I can't speak to #1 as I do not have a heat pump.

#2 - You're not getting much more for the cost when you go to a thicker liner. They won't necessarily last longer or have better color fastness. They are more labor intensive to install. If you're going to have vinyl over steps, there's an advantage in durability to having a thicker liner in that area at least. What thicknesses is the builder offering? 20 mil? 25 mil? 27/28 mil? 20 is the budget (but certainly good) thickness. 25 is a nice compromise of a bit more durability to cuts/abrasion without increasing the weight and install difficulty too much. 27/28 is likely not needed, but might be nice only in the vinyl over step area, if you are going with that configuration. I'm not sure how your builder phrased it, but all vinyl liners are "special order" unless they are building the exact same pool over and over again and ordering liners in bulk. It's true that thicker liners are more expensive because of materials cost and are more difficult to install, but not just because they are special orders.
 
Re: And More Questions...

Pool Novice2 said:
Trying to not drive everyone crazy, but I do appreciate the help. Again...I'm in Long Island. Going to have 16x36 pool (said 18x36 yesterday...oops) that is going to be in the shade most of time...partially from my house, but mostly from neighbor's trees. I'm a little concerned about algae. Before I construct (or PB constructs), any hints for pool pumps that are better than others for algae. Do I need to supersize pump to keep water moving faster/better? Will that help in any significant way? How about SWG? I have no idea if anything helps, but thought I would ask now and not be sorry later that I didn't at least ask...Thanks.
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Your pump has almost nothing to do with algae. Your pump is there to evenly distribute the water and provide skimming action. It may also be used to run a pool cleaner. The only considerations to think about with your pump is that it has enough power to achieve good flow and is efficient (less operating cost). A 1 HP pump is likely sufficient for your size pool as long as there isn't an attached spa or a large amount of water features. A two-speed or variable speed pump will allow you to run the pump at lower RPMs, saving money on electricity costs.

Algae is avoided by maintaining proper sanitation (chlorine levels), dependent on your CYA level. A SWG can help maintain more consistent FC levels when properly configured and monitored.

Spend some time in Pool School - Pool School. Specifically with the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. This is the foundation for all we teach here at TFP.

Once you know more about your build, add the details of your pool to your forum signature. Edit Signature
 
I live in Boston and have a gas pump. I will be honest with you, it's useless. Temperature drops in September very quickly taking the fun away and making it impractical to heat the pool. If you keep the pool warm and the temperature is low specially at night, you lose tons of water due to evaporation. I keep adding water almost everyday. What makes some sense during September is using a solar cover. After September it's time to close the pool. Btw, everyone close the pool here the first week of Septemper. I wouldn't invest a dime in any kind of heating except if the pool was indoor.

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From what I've heard from my pool guy, is that heat pumps have a high profit margin, which is why they get pushed so hard.

My parents have a heat pump here on LI, and it's pretty useless. The only time of year it works, you don't really need to heat the pool. Also, our electrical costs are crazy.
I plan on getting a gas heater, but I'm having a hard time justifying paying $3k just for the gas plumbing. I'm waiting until I get a gas electrical generator, and I'll install both at the same time.
 
wkhedr said:
I live in Boston and have a gas pump. I will be honest with you, it's useless. Temperature drops in September very quickly taking the fun away and making it impractical to heat the pool. If you keep the pool warm and the temperature is low specially at night, you lose tons of water due to evaporation. I keep adding water almost everyday. What makes some sense during September is using a solar cover. After September it's time to close the pool. Btw, everyone close the pool here the first week of Septemper. I wouldn't invest a dime in any kind of heating except if the pool was indoor.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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I disagree with the thought of not investing any money in a heater except for indoors. While you may not extend the swimming season much past the time you'd be swimming without a heater, you can get a couple weeks on either end of the season, plus make sure you have consistent temps throughout the season. We had no heater for almost 20 years and just got one 3 years ago at my mother's house, and while we may not be swimming in early May or late September due to outside temps making it not that enjoyable, we do swim more comfortably during the normal swimming months with the water temp at a constant 85 degrees and I see the pool being used a lot more by family and friends.
 
We enjoy the pool without heating at temperature between 71 and 75 without solar cover and I hear from friends that using the solar cover gets the water temperature above 80.
I used the solar cover in septemper and it definitely helped to heat the pool 2-3 points during the day and stop the loss to about one point at night.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
jtrovato21 said:
I disagree with the thought of not investing any money in a heater except for indoors. While you may not extend the swimming season much past the time you'd be swimming without a heater, you can get a couple weeks on either end of the season, plus make sure you have consistent temps throughout the season. We had no heater for almost 20 years and just got one 3 years ago at my mother's house, and while we may not be swimming in early May or late September due to outside temps making it not that enjoyable, we do swim more comfortably during the normal swimming months with the water temp at a constant 85 degrees and I see the pool being used a lot more by family and friends.
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Since I think we used ( will use ) the same PB can you PM me with what they want for a heat pump and do you know if it can added after the fact
 

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Hi...I've selected a PB, but he only uses Zodiac/Jandy equipment. From what I've read, that equipment is more trouble prone than competing brands, specifically a Jandy LXI 400,000 natural gas BTU heater. It sounds like it's had more than it's fair share of problems and issues....but that is what I specifically looked up and I'm sure I focused on the issues. Not sure if other brands' heaters are actually better. Also not sure if I can mix and match different brand equipment (Jandy pump with Pentair heater, etc) or that is recipe for issues. I don't even know if PB will use other brands, as he seemed to balk at using Pentair pump. Any thoughts?
 
Appreciate the feedback. Here are a few thoughts:
- I don't really know if my concern about Jandy products is accurate.
- I had same issue with every PB I spoke to...everyone is a dealer/distributor of some brand.
- What's more important (and I'm serious), the builder or the product brand? I'm guessing the builder, but perhaps I'm incorrect.
 
The PB is about 20 times more important than a brand. If there was one really best brand, it would dominate the market and none of them do that.

If your PB wants to use a brand that he deals with and knows, why not make it easier for him to do a nice job for you?

Your faith has to be in the PB first and foremost. Form a "partnership" with him and don't make the process adversarial......he should do the same in return. If he does not, then he was a poor choice but the brand he uses would likely have little influence.
 
My pool builder originally quoted everything Hayward. After I started looking at automation and told him I wanted the Jandy iAqualink, he recommended that we switch all other products to Jandy to keep things universal. It seems Pentair is pretty popular around here (and also the most expensive) but I'm sticking with Jandy.

Any product can fail and people only come online to talk about failures. And if you switch to Pentair and that fails, you'll be kicking yourself anyway.
 
Pool Novice2 said:
Hi...I've selected a PB, but he only uses Zodiac/Jandy equipment. From what I've read, that equipment is more trouble prone than competing brands, specifically a Jandy LXI 400,000 natural gas BTU heater. It sounds like it's had more than it's fair share of problems and issues....but that is what I specifically looked up and I'm sure I focused on the issues. Not sure if other brands' heaters are actually better. Also not sure if I can mix and match different brand equipment (Jandy pump with Pentair heater, etc) or that is recipe for issues. I don't even know if PB will use other brands, as he seemed to balk at using Pentair pump. Any thoughts?
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My brother had good luck with his builder and got the equipment he wanted by working with the guy. He also wanted a minimal system so he could upgrade, and add later as he had more funds.

For example, he had an oversized pad put in, and a plumbing loop so he could add a heater later. He bought the heater himself, saving the PB markup. While the PB then would not warranted the heater, the manuf. does, so for less money, he got more for his dollar, got the exact heater he wanted, and still has manuf warrantee. Now he is handy and could make plumbing and leak repairs Himself, so that is something to consider.

in summary, there are some PBs that will work with you to get you what you want.

Having Said that, if you are getting into plenty of automation, you really want to 1) get the system you really want, and 2) get it all from one supplier. Especially if you are doing features, SWG, and PH control. As an example, do you want to be able to change your spa temp from your watch? If yes, you had better choose your automation based on that. Do you want to turn on your heater while at work? So if you want automation, pick the manuf that has the features you want.

If you just want basic circulation, and filtering, go with what your PB wants to use. Pumps are mostly pumps, and motors are mostly motors. Id suggest a VFR or a two speed to save in power costs.
 
borjis said:
Surely concrete will last MUCH longer than that shouldn't it?
My vinyl lined concrete pool is nearly 40 years old and was in great shape when the liner was replaced last year.
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The first poured concrete basements where introduced in the US in the 50's and most of them are still ... fine
If done right, it is virtually indestructible, especially now with this synthetic fiber reinforced concrete.
Which can also be a downside ! What if you want to get it out of your yard: almost impossible...
 
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