New pool-Looking for comments, advice and admonishment on design/gear - construction begins

[Feaker]

Pool is 15x34.5’
Depth 3.5-6
Gallons: 14,600
Pool area: 547
Plaster: pebble sheen
Decking: Koolcote

You can’t tell from the pics but the lowerpatio section is bar height and we’ll probably move the kitchen down there and the dining area where the kitchen is. We have 9 and 11yo boys and they like to host their friends and teammates so we currently are hosting 10kids plus parents regularly. I’m a little concerned about having enough shallow space and having enough width. We have a pretty steep drop off in the back which makes for a great view but makes adding width pretty expensive. I also intend to move the in pool seating benches to the faux edge side and maybe make the one in the deep end corner a little bigger.


Gear:
Pentair Intelliflo 3HP VS
Pentair Cartridge Filter 520sq
Pentair PL 4
Screen Logic WiFi
Pentair LED glow bright x3
Inline chlorinator (I believe a rainbow) - I know
Auto fill valve
Robot: KK Prowler 920

I’m considering adding:
Heat pump (we don’t have gas) rheem
intellichor or SWG in the future.

I’m planning to learning how to work my pool myself first, them decided where I want to go. I’m getting the scare from my builder about the salt generator. I’ve read the threads here about that but like I said I wanna try in myself for a while and learn as much about it. I’ll probably cave on the salt thing after a season.
We’re in Austin TX on a huge limestone rock and have a 5mi view off the pool so hopefully it’ll all look great when we’re wrap. Thanks for input, advice and admonishment in advance!

 

[Jimrahbe]

F,

Welcome to TFP.. A great place to learn all about pool maintenance..

Nice looking set up.

We don't do "admonishments" we do "suggestions...

I suggest that you dump the PL4.. The "L" stands for "lite" and just like lite salad dressing it just is not up to the task, neither is the PL4.

It has a limit of 4 programs/schedules and a very limited set of functions... I have the EasyTouch and it has 12 programs and that is almost not enough.

A "real" EasyTouch, something without an "L" in it, would be better and the new IntelliCenter would be the best.. You should at least look at the pricing. I can tell you now, that in less than a year you will be kicking yourself for going lite.

The pump and filter are great and ScreenLogic is great...

You already know how we feel about tab chlorinators...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

The average life span of the GloBrites seems to be about 2-4 years. They crack and water enters and they get destroyed.

The GloBrites use a proprietary niche so you're stuck to using them.

If you are planning a pool build Pentair has a new version called MicroBrite you should consider.

 

[Feaker]

F,

Welcome to TFP.. A great place to learn all about pool maintenance..

Nice looking set up.

We don't do "admonishments" we do "suggestions...

I suggest that you dump the PL4.. The "L" stands for "lite" and just like lite salad dressing it just is not up to the task, neither is the PL4.

It has a limit of 4 programs/schedules and a very limited set of functions... I have the EasyTouch and it has 12 programs and that is almost not enough.

A "real" EasyTouch, something without an "L" in it, would be better and the new IntelliCenter would be the best.. You should at least look at the pricing. I can tell you now, that in less than a year you will be kicking yourself for going lite.

The pump and filter are great and ScreenLogic is great...

You already know how we feel about tab chlorinators...

Thanks,

Jim R.

Awesome thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking that the intellicenter would be a smart upgrade and I’m sold. With such a simple pool (no water features or spa -only 3 lights) would I use many of the features on that unit?

 

[Jimrahbe]

F,

I would compare the pricing between an EasyTouch with the ScreenLogic add on, and the IntelliCenter which has a ScreenLogic like built-in system.. If the pricing is close, I would go with the IntelliCenter..

It is a little over kill for your pool, but there is no down side for going with the latest technology..

That said, a "real" EasyTouch with ScreenLogic will do all that you want..

I agree with Allen about the lights.. I am not a fan of colored lights just because of what I've seen on this site.. As long as you understand that they have a short lifespan, then whatever works for you, works for me..

The PL4 also does not have a load center for all the circuit breakers.. This means you have to have a box for all the breakers plus the box for the PL4.. Just a real cheap design.. The EasyTouch and the IntelliCenter both have load centers.. The EasyTouch is "pre-made" so what you see is what you get.. The IntelliCenter is modular so you can buy only what you need and add more later if needed. If I built a new pool, it would have the IntelliCenter, but I already have the EasyTouch and it does everything I need it to do, so upgrading to the IntelliCenter does not make any sense for me.

How the lights work is important... If you have three lights and you want them to be different colors, your automation needs to have three relays and three transformers... This is so that you can control the lights independently.. You can use just one relay and one transformer, if you want all three lights to be the same color.. You can change colors, but all three lights would have the same color. If you bought an ET4 that would use up all four relays.. One for the Pump/Filter relay and the other three for the lights. Decisions... Decisions...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Feaker]

Changes:
Added 2 feet of width so now we’re 17x34’ area: 616’
Switched to intellicenter
Plan is to eventually enclose the whole kitchen area with counters/fireplace/pizza oven etc.
Also having a bigger equipment pad put in to make sure there’s plenty of space to expand.

RE: globrite vs microbright what’s the difference?

 

[Robski]

We put a 50cm bench along the whole width of the deep end. It’s great because you can all sit there and chat; underneath the waterfall too if you want. The bench has a built in bubbler which is also great fun.

Two features I wish we’d installed are an overflow drain and an inlet for top up for simpler level control.

We have 8 function pentair easytouch controller and have used any spare ones to control garden lighting.
Heating-wise we have an Evoheat DHP-R series and it hasn’t missed a beat.
We run the whole pool off a single variable speed pump, works great.
Hope this helps.

 

[ajw22]

RE: globrite vs microbright what’s the difference?

See post #3 in this thread.

Globrite has a proprietary niche. MicroBrite fits in a standard 1.5" wall fitting.

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/product-related/product-brochures/pool-and-spa-equipment/MicroBrite-Install-Users-Guide-E-S-F.pdf

 

[Locotl]

Changes:
Added 2 feet of width so now we’re 17x34’ area: 616’
Switched to intellicenter
Plan is to eventually enclose the whole kitchen area with counters/fireplace/pizza oven etc.
Also having a bigger equipment pad put in to make sure there’s plenty of space to expand.

RE: globrite vs microbright what’s the difference?

I feel pools are like TVs, if you can afford it you need to go bigger.
Nice looking pool.
If you plan to have SWG I would think you would want that to be automatic and I doubt a PL4 would suffice.

 

[setsailsoon]

Changes:
Added 2 feet of width so now we’re 17x34’ area: 616’
Switched to intellicenter
Plan is to eventually enclose the whole kitchen area with counters/fireplace/pizza oven etc.
Also having a bigger equipment pad put in to make sure there’s plenty of space to expand.

RE: globrite vs microbright what’s the difference?

Your gonna love the Intellicenter. I replaced my Jandy RS after a lightning strike with it. Install and setup was a snap. It'll do way more than I'll ever need. Where's your swg? You're not going to be like me and wait for it are you? I went 5 years lugging the yellow jugs... really wished I'd listened to Jim and others a long time ago.

Great choices in general and good luck with your pool.

Chris

 

[Feaker]

Your gonna love the Intellicenter. I replaced my Jandy RS after a lightning strike with it. Install and setup was a snap. It'll do way more than I'll ever need. Where's your swg? You're not going to be like me and wait for it are you? I went 5 years lugging the yellow jugs... really wished I'd listened to Jim and others a long time ago.

Great choices in general and good luck with your pool.

Chris

Yeah I know. Somethings you gotta learn the hard way I guess.

 

[walkinpool]

Good looking setup! The kitchen out by the back of the pool gives you a nice sunken bar. Although having the kitchen right out the back door is nice too (your first design had it that way). What will you do more, throw big parties in the summer (people in the pool) or grill for the family all year round?

FWIW me entire setup is going out in the yard so I'm walking far to grill regardless. I don't mind

 

[livinwell]

The site looks great and the boys will love it. Mine are grown but we did same back when. Always preferred they have the fun at our house so we could keep an eye on them and the friends. ?
We don’t have gas either so did a lot of research on heat pumps. Poolheatpumps.com was very helpful. We wound up purchasing a Gulfstream.

 

[kimkats]

Love what I have read so far! I am still lugging chlorine jugs. Had plans to change that this summer until *life* got in the way so jugs it is for now. No biggy really.

So I have gone back and forth on this idea. It has pros and cons-------------move the deep end bench to the other side.
-Pro-can sit and chat with those in the spa (WONDERFUL IDEA having a stand alone)
-Con-people jumping in from the decking could hit it when going in.
I think the Con out weighs the Pro but wanted to throw it out there.

Oh I need to see where this pool is going! Pretty please!

Kim

 

[Feaker]

Love what I have read so far! I am still lugging chlorine jugs. Had plans to change that this summer until *life* got in the way so jugs it is for now. No biggy really.

So I have gone back and forth on this idea. It has pros and cons-------------move the deep end bench to the other side.
-Pro-can sit and chat with those in the spa (WONDERFUL IDEA having a stand alone)
-Con-people jumping in from the decking could hit it when going in.
I think the Con out weighs the Pro but wanted to throw it out there.

Oh I need to see where this pool is going! Pretty please!

Kim

Yeah we moved The deep end bench to the other side so kids wouldn’t hit it jumping in and so that there was a place on the deep side where you could grab onto if you were having trouble as the faux edge thing is slippery. I wanna make the corner deep end bench a little bigger so you can sit on that back corner and chat. We’ve already purchased a new Master Spa Twilight hot tub:

Twilight Model Overview

Compare the Twilight Series hot tubs by Master Spas

www.masterspas.com

I want to add conduit for speakers, control stuff etc. researching:
-Mister system (I believe I could control this via my intellicenter.)
-landscape lights (via intellicenter.)
-Russound 8 area system.
-Outdoor movie screen at the deep end
-Building my own kitchen from a kit
-DIY building a fireplace/pizza oven in the lower kitchen.
-The roof over the patio is an extension we’re probably going to go ahead and cover the lower kitchen as well.

Final tweeks and hopefully down payment this Friday. This is all the kids are getting this Christmas. Builder says they can start right after Christmas. If they finish it too early, I may have to go ahead and do the heat pump thing now as there’s no way we’ll be able to just look at it till summer.

 

[kimkats]

I have just the guy to help you with all of the "systems" you are talking about. He knows this stuff to the max! Oh Jim!!! @jimim this one is for you dude!

Kim

 

[jimim]

You just need conduit to and from everywhere u want speakers or need wires to be run. Where u putting the projector if u have a movie screen at deep end? Ur deep end is at the other side of yard where there is no building or structure?

 

[Feaker]

You just need conduit to and from everywhere u want speakers or need wires to be run. Where u putting the projector if u have a movie screen at deep end? Ur deep end is at the other side of yard where there is no building or structure?

Planning to add a roof to the kitchen area. I’ll pull my projector (or use my spare) for movie night. Projector screen I’m looking at is: Backyard Theater

 

[jimim]

So r you shining all across ur pool? I thought kitchen was on one side and screen will be on other. That’s a heck of a throw.

 

[Feaker]

It is. My epson L1100 laser (6k lumens) should be able to put 25-28 foot-lamberts on a 16ft screen from a 36ft throw. However it might be nice to watch from the patio as well as the pool...