If I am in the wrong thread please tell me, but my biggest priority is getting opinons on the SWG. I am about to do a full inground Pool/patio reno and figured while I am at it to do an equipment upgrade/change out if it is warranted. (all of this set up was put in place before I bought the house except for the solar heater which I added)
Pool size is ~10k Gallons
Current setup is as follows:
Single Speed 1.5HP Motor
Filter - Using the Jacuzzi CFR/CFT 75 Cartridge filter (well an equivalent one)
Solar pool Water Heater ( one of those ones where the water basically gets routed up to my roof to warm up with the sun, has a nice sensor box that I set it too so that it heats based on the temp I set)
SWG - Autopilot Pool Pilot Digital Nano (Produces 0.8LB/Day of chlorine see below... but it isn't producing enough).
Location - South Florida (swim in the pool 10 months out of the year thanks to the heater)
Pool is in a screened in patio.
Likes/Dislikes/Commentary on current equipment-
Thanks to the advise of the people in this forum, I have successfully been algae free for the almost 2 years since I fired the pool guy. I have also learned so much about the chemistry of my pool... much more than I thought I could ever know, and given my experience here are my biggest observations (things I am trying to resolve).
SWG Specific:
1. Chlorine Generation - During the summer months my current SWG just is not/was not able to keep up with the amount of chlorine burning off the pool. My CYA was fine, but I had to regularly supplement or run the pool 24 hours a day at 100% just to get the chlorine generation I needed (and some days even that was not enough. Based on that, I think my best bet would be to get a system that produces a lot more than this one can and does (I am thinking of targeting around 1.2-1.5LB of chlorine production a day). Does anyone have thoughts on sizing. I live near Fort Lauderdale FL if that is a good frame of reference for others.
2. SWG Cartridge's - Personally I think it makes more sense to replace a SWG cartridge (like the auto Pilot) than having to replace a whole system (Like the Pentair one I saw) when the cartrige goes bad. It looks more economical but maybe someone has more insight.
3. Sensors and options of the SWG system - I like the fact that the Autopilot can at the push of a button tell me salt count (I have tested and it is pretty accurate). My biggest frustration with the autopilot is there is no way for me to know if my SWG cartridge is actually producing or not without having to remove the cartridge and buy a fake cartridge or keep an old one (Which I always get rid of before remembering I need to keep it to test if the old one is finished, or if there is something else going wrong with the system). If there was something that could just tell me that the cartridge is all used up that would be awesome.
4. Reliability - For the most part the autopilot has been reliable but I expect almost any of them to be reliable. The only complaint I have is really the whole power cable plug in being finicky as heck to the point where sometimes I don't know if the cartridge is used up or if the power cable is just being difficult.
Pool Pump and filter setup:
The stuff works, not sure if it is worth changing. Similarly, Variable speed vs single speed, I dont really see the huge benefit there, other than that I know that if I don't have at least 1HP running I don't believe it is enough power to get the water to my roof to heat the pool. When I had a 1HP motor it didn't feel like it had good suction on the skimmer when I was running both top and bottom (1.5HP took care of that).
About me and my abilities:
I am more than capable of doing the testing, normal brushing and vacuuming of the pool, and changing SWG cartridges etc... Not really an electronics expert (e.g. soldering stuff ).
Anyone gone through something similar, and have any advise or opinions or suggestions?
Since we are having the pool re-plastered and the company is going to do the initial pool set up as part of all this, once I do the SWG change out, assuming nothing else, the only thing I will probably have to do is (assuming I don't buy a new filter system if anyone has advise/suggestion) buy 2 or 3 replacement filter cartriges given that I can only imagine that at least 1 if not 2 will be completely destroyed by the initial pool startup.
Thanks in advance for comments and advise.
Pool size is ~10k Gallons
Current setup is as follows:
Single Speed 1.5HP Motor
Filter - Using the Jacuzzi CFR/CFT 75 Cartridge filter (well an equivalent one)
Solar pool Water Heater ( one of those ones where the water basically gets routed up to my roof to warm up with the sun, has a nice sensor box that I set it too so that it heats based on the temp I set)
SWG - Autopilot Pool Pilot Digital Nano (Produces 0.8LB/Day of chlorine see below... but it isn't producing enough).
Location - South Florida (swim in the pool 10 months out of the year thanks to the heater)
Pool is in a screened in patio.
Likes/Dislikes/Commentary on current equipment-
Thanks to the advise of the people in this forum, I have successfully been algae free for the almost 2 years since I fired the pool guy. I have also learned so much about the chemistry of my pool... much more than I thought I could ever know, and given my experience here are my biggest observations (things I am trying to resolve).
SWG Specific:
1. Chlorine Generation - During the summer months my current SWG just is not/was not able to keep up with the amount of chlorine burning off the pool. My CYA was fine, but I had to regularly supplement or run the pool 24 hours a day at 100% just to get the chlorine generation I needed (and some days even that was not enough. Based on that, I think my best bet would be to get a system that produces a lot more than this one can and does (I am thinking of targeting around 1.2-1.5LB of chlorine production a day). Does anyone have thoughts on sizing. I live near Fort Lauderdale FL if that is a good frame of reference for others.
2. SWG Cartridge's - Personally I think it makes more sense to replace a SWG cartridge (like the auto Pilot) than having to replace a whole system (Like the Pentair one I saw) when the cartrige goes bad. It looks more economical but maybe someone has more insight.
3. Sensors and options of the SWG system - I like the fact that the Autopilot can at the push of a button tell me salt count (I have tested and it is pretty accurate). My biggest frustration with the autopilot is there is no way for me to know if my SWG cartridge is actually producing or not without having to remove the cartridge and buy a fake cartridge or keep an old one (Which I always get rid of before remembering I need to keep it to test if the old one is finished, or if there is something else going wrong with the system). If there was something that could just tell me that the cartridge is all used up that would be awesome.
4. Reliability - For the most part the autopilot has been reliable but I expect almost any of them to be reliable. The only complaint I have is really the whole power cable plug in being finicky as heck to the point where sometimes I don't know if the cartridge is used up or if the power cable is just being difficult.
Pool Pump and filter setup:
The stuff works, not sure if it is worth changing. Similarly, Variable speed vs single speed, I dont really see the huge benefit there, other than that I know that if I don't have at least 1HP running I don't believe it is enough power to get the water to my roof to heat the pool. When I had a 1HP motor it didn't feel like it had good suction on the skimmer when I was running both top and bottom (1.5HP took care of that).
About me and my abilities:
I am more than capable of doing the testing, normal brushing and vacuuming of the pool, and changing SWG cartridges etc... Not really an electronics expert (e.g. soldering stuff ).
Anyone gone through something similar, and have any advise or opinions or suggestions?
Since we are having the pool re-plastered and the company is going to do the initial pool set up as part of all this, once I do the SWG change out, assuming nothing else, the only thing I will probably have to do is (assuming I don't buy a new filter system if anyone has advise/suggestion) buy 2 or 3 replacement filter cartriges given that I can only imagine that at least 1 if not 2 will be completely destroyed by the initial pool startup.
Thanks in advance for comments and advise.
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