Hello! My name is Scooby and I'm an idiot.....

[Scoobyvroom]

So long story short. Found our dream home that included a pool. Wife was on the fence saying it was alot of work. Of course wanting the pool myself I told her it was no big deal.

One leaking water heater, one dying pump, three days of the hottest weather, rain and a swamp later....

All in all it was good that the pump died. After getting in to replace the pump I found the wire insulation had been destroyed by the water/chlorine. The wires were pretty much bare right where it went into the pump housing.

Replaced the pump with a new Pentair Superflow VS, and also replaced the undersized sand filter with a 425 clean clear 4 element cartridge filter. Pool is a 30K Vinyl in ground, so I feel the upgrade was worth it. After getting the pump fixed and everything back together, the pool was a green mess. Shocked it was some stuff I bought at the pool store. It used Sodium Dicloro... something..... Everything I saw said use calcium hypochlorite. Found some 1lb packs of shock from the previous owner. Did a double hit of shock, and vwala.... pool was crystal clear and just in time for a hear wave. Finally got one good day to enjoy the pool.

Came hear to do some reading and learn something. Hopefully I can stop cleaning/maintaining and start enjoying the pool.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[gingrbredman]

Hopefully I can stop cleaning/maintaining and start enjoying the pool.

Welcome to TFP, you cam to the right place to maintain a Trouble Free Pool!

Shocked it was some stuff I bought at the pool store.

The first step is to stay out of the pool store and listening to any advice they give you.

The second step is to get a good test kit and take over the pool yourself. The TFTest Kit Pro is an excellent choice.

TF-Pro

tftestkits.net

A little price up front, but you will save that in the end by not going to the pool store to buy any of their magic potions again and again and again. What you have done is probably cleared up a temporary situation with algae but without proper maintenance and testing, you can not be sure. You will see this forum is much different, based on a specific set of protocols that begins with your own testing. It is super easy and sounds exactly what you are looking for.

 

[Scoobyvroom]

Update...
Things I did...
Replaced the appliance pads with base, and 3" on concrete.
New CircuPool RJ-60 Plus SWG
Raypack AVIA NG 266K BTU heater.
New plumbing, and valves.

Plan on SLAMing the pool, then balance, then salt, then turn on SWG? <Tell me if I'm wrong about this...

Old and Broke:


New and clean:

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What is the grey thing after the heater? If it’s a trichlor puck feeder then you absolutely do not want to use it as it is plumbed. Trichlor is very acidic and the constant acid load will destroy your brand new SWG and, since I’m not seeing a check valve between the heater and the grey thing, the acidity will also destroy that nice new heater as well.

If it is indeed a trichlor feeder, I suggest you cut it out and dump it in the trash. You don’t need it.

 

[Oly]

What are you using to test your water chemistry? You need a quality test kit to make this work, Test Kits Compared You will also need to include a salt test kit before adding salt, Taylor K-1766. The TF pro includes the salt test I believe. Using a Smart Stir magnetic stirrer is smart. Trying to save some $ with a cheap test kit will wind up costing you big $ in the end. Also loosen the caps and rotate your RJ-60+ so the bulge is down. This will ensure your cell plates are fully in contact with your pool water when running your SuperFlo at lower rpm. Nice work on your pad overall.

 

[RLP]

The radius elbows that you used are for drainage, and not rated for pressure. The sockets are much shallower. However, they will probably be ok.

CPVC should be used after the heater, it is rated for the higher temperature. PVC is not.

 

[Scoobyvroom]

What is the grey thing after the heater? If it’s a trichlor puck feeder then you absolutely do not want to use it as it is plumbed. Trichlor is very acidic and the constant acid load will destroy your brand new SWG and, since I’m not seeing a check valve between the heater and the grey thing, the acidity will also destroy that nice new heater as well.

If it is indeed a trichlor feeder, I suggest you cut it out and dump it in the trash. You don’t need it.

It is a Nature2 for a mineral filter? It was in the system. So I added it back in case I wanted to utilize it in the future. Not sure if it's worth it.
You are correct that I am missing a check valve. I had one coming but it was delayed. The pool was turning into a swamp and I needed to get it going. So for now I am not running the SWG until I get that installed, but like I said, I'm waiting until I am done SLAMing the pool and get it balanced.

What are you using to test your water chemistry? You need a quality test kit to make this work, Test Kits Compared You will also need to include a salt test kit before adding salt, Taylor K-1766. The TF pro includes the salt test I believe. Using a Smart Stir magnetic stirrer is smart. Trying to save some $ with a cheap test kit will wind up costing you big $ in the end. Also loosen the caps and rotate your RJ-60+ so the bulge is down. This will ensure your cell plates are fully in contact with your pool water when running your SuperFlo at lower rpm. Nice work on your pad overall.

I already have a Taylor 2000 kit. I guess all the pictures I have seen were in this orientation. So I ran with it. However that thought had crossed my mind about flipping it over to keep air out of it.

Thanks for the compliment!

The radius elbows that you used are for drainage, and not rated for pressure. The sockets are much shallower. However, they will probably be ok.

CPVC should be used after the heater, it is rated for the higher temperature. PVC is not.

Thanks for the heads up on the DWV fittings. I knew that the larger (4"+)stuff has the thin walled for vent and drain uses. I assumed the smaller stuff was all pressure rated. Whoops.... I had looked into plumbing info before I started and what I read was to use swoopy fittings and to stay away from the tight 90° fittings. Seems that may have been a bit misleading. After doing some looking into this, it appears I am not the first, and didn't see any other people having issues and replacing it. Going to let it ride for now. With the new filter the pressure is low even with the pump at max speed I only see 15psi. Normal every day it it barely gets above 10.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Yeah, many people don't realize that DWV fittings are not the same as SCH40 fittings and make that mistake. Plus, many people just try to grab stuff from their local Big Box hardware store and they rarely carry the correct sweep fittings in SCH40. Your plumbing will be fine but just keep an eye on the glue joints as that is where any failure will occur.

As for the mineral system, trash it. It's not worth it at all. If you go on vacation simply use a chemical puck floater. Buy two if you want. The normal size ones can easily hold around 5 pucks and that would be more than enough for a 10 day vacation. With the SWG, you really don't need it but, if it makes you feel better, then use the floaters. Plus, if you take that mineral thing out of the plumbing, you'll reduce the head loss it causes, making your plumbing more efficient.

 

[Oly]

I already have a Taylor 2000 kit. I guess all the pictures I have seen were in this orientation. So I ran with it. However that thought had crossed my mind about flipping it over to keep air out of it.

The Taylor K-2000 is lacking many of the water tests you will need including CYA, CH, TA and the FAS-DPD test for FC. A quality kit is priority #1, Test Kits Compared

Regarding the cell rotation there is a note in the instruction manual at the bottom of page 15, Installating The Cell.
Where did you locate the flow switch for the SWCG?

 

[Scoobyvroom]

The Taylor K-2000 is lacking many of the water tests you will need including CYA, CH, TA and the FAS-DPD test for FC. A quality kit is priority #1, Test Kits Compared

Regarding the cell rotation there is a note in the instruction manual at the bottom of page 15, Installing The Cell.
Where did you locate the flow switch for the SWCG?

I thought the K-2000 was it I didn't realize there where different versions of it. Mine is the Service Complete. So it has CYA/FC/SALT.

I was just sitting down tonight re-reading and going through the check list again and saw that note. Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

Mine is the Service Complete.

Post a picture of the kit.