New pool selection

[Bosley]

Hi everyone. I have been following this site intermittently for years. Have had a few intex pools. Even ran a heater on my last 2. We have now moved to an acreage and ready to take the plunge so to speak on an AGP. I really really need some help with a few things. Space is not a issue but looking at a 24 or 27' and want to run a SWG as i had it on my old intex pools and loved it. The heater i used to run was propane and a 100 LB tank would give me about 3 heat cycles. Very expensive to fill all the time. By the way, I live near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and our summers can be hit and miss temperature wise. Soooo.....my questions.
1.Resin/aluminum for salt water? Some say it dosnt matter steel or not but its not that much more for the resin components.
2.The heater. Heat pumps are pricey but from my research a NG heater can be extremley expensive to run. One site calculates it at $1000/ month for NG based on $2 per cu ft of gas. Seems crazy to me. I figured 200-300 per month.
3. Anyone have experience with pool supplies canada? we are considering their Galaxy from Aqua Leader.
4. From what I gather, bonding a pool is not required if you run a double insulated pump? Just want to make sure we do this right and are safe.

Any suggestions are muchly appreciated!!

Cheers

 

[tim5055]

4. From what I gather, bonding a pool is not required if you run a double insulated pump? Just want to make sure we do this right and are safe.

Welcome to the TFP pool! :splash:

I'll answer the one question I can add some value to-

In the US, the double insulation of the pump has nothing to do with the bonding requirement. I can't say for the Canadian electric code.

Bonding and double insulation deal with two different electrical hazards, so I would still want it bonded if it were mine.

 

[Bosley]

Welcome to the TFP pool! :splash:

I'll answer the one question I can add some value to-

In the US, the double insulation of the pump has noting to do with the bonding requirement. I can't say for the Canadian electric code.

Bonding and double insulation deal with two different electrical hazards, so I would still want it bonded if it were mine.

Thx Tim..Thats a good start

 

[Bosley]

We went ahead and ordered the pool today. A 27' round resin pool. 54" deep. They have great pricing on Janby NG heaters so made sure to include that as well. Cant wait till April to get going.

The green circles are crab apple trees. They will be getting cut back.

 

[hotchalupa]

We went ahead and ordered the pool today. A 27' round resin pool. 54" deep. They have great pricing on Janby NG heaters so made sure to include that as well. Cant wait till April to get going.

The green circles are crab apple trees. They will be getting cut back.
View attachment 88761

Glad you went with 27' vs 24'! Like the saying goes... Get the biggest pool you can fit and afford. A 27's is pretty good size.

So, as for a few of your questions, here's my observations from my own experiences (though it sounds like you've already purchased/ordered the components, so some of these may not be applicable)..

- Resin all the way (which you did...yay!) It will NEVER get hot to the touch. It also will not dent/bend. We have a deck built around about half (in an offset way) our semi-inground oval and our 10.5" resin top rail looks great against the tucked-in deck, and we sat on the rail during hot and sunny days with no issues.

- You're way further up north than I am (I'm in the Puget Sound), so NG is probably more efficient when the weather begins to turn a bit. I went with a heat-pump, which is much more *energy* efficient, but will not do much once the temps drop into the 40's Fahrenheit. I did keep the pool open through late October (bad idea...$$$$ wise) and for that month, combined with my pool pump running 24/7 (VS, so low speeds during the day), my energy bill was about $250 more a month than the prior year with the equipment not running! Now, all things considered, that may still be lower than NG, but the key here is that it was not really bringing the water temps up to a safe level... I would have still suffered from hypothermia if I ventured into the pool.... My specific pump can both heat and cool (the latter not really necessary here...), and it's supposed to work all the way down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (Icebreaker model). That sounds great on paper, but as I mentioned above, pretty much useless in practice.

- Bonding: This is a requirement in my state (WA), and our electrical inspector's first checklist item. Check your local codes. Bonding, as mentioned above, deals with a different electrical hazard and insulation is irrelevant. Even if code doesn't require it, it is highly advised you still bond your pool and equipment (and any metal structures within 5 feet of the pool or equipment.)

Observation from your site plan... Septic... Where does the septic system drain field reside??? Make sure the pool is as far away as possible and upstream from it... In addition to putting your pool's structure integrity at risk (big hazard), this could potentially cause liner issues.

Anyway, welcome to TFP and keeps us posted on your build progress!!! We're all suckers for seeing pools being built (always brings back fond memories of our own builds....)

 

[Bosley]

Pool will be here next week!
The septic drains straight south of the tank. About 150' away. the pool will have to 15' from the tank and it just fits with those trees there. Once all the snow is gone in the spring we will re-evaluate and could move the pool directly south of the hot tub. We just wanted to incorporate the new pool deck into the existing deck on the house. I have a couple acres so im sure we can find a suitable spot!!!
Since my original post I did get all the bonding figured out. You tube is a great resource! We considered a heat pump but NG runs a little cheaper here than electricity. We have not ordered the SWG yet as they one they recommended was more basic than i want and did not stock anything else for a pool of my size.

 

[Bosley]

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations on adding a solar heater to use in conjunction with the NG heater? We get a fair amount of sunshine here in Alberta with average summer temps around 75-80 degrees F. I would like to have have everything purchased/planned by March.

 

[Bosley]

well spring cant come soon enough. pool and gas heater are sitting in the garage. In the meantime i will continue to research SWG and automation systems to control the solar and gas heater. It dosnt appear to be an issue mix matching brands...atleast not that i have found. Anyone know for sure?

 

[ajw22]

well spring cant come soon enough. pool and gas heater are sitting in the garage. In the meantime i will continue to research SWG and automation systems to control the solar and gas heater. It dosnt appear to be an issue mix matching brands...atleast not that i have found. Anyone know for sure?

SWG and VS pump work best with the same manufacturer as automation panel. Heaters work fine with any automation.

 

[Bosley]

well then since my pump is a hayward...looks like it narrows it down to the prologic system.

SWG and VS pump work best with the same manufacturer as automation panel. Heaters work fine with any automation.

 

[ajw22]

well then since my pump is a hayward...looks like it narrows it down to the prologic system.

You have a 2 speed pump, not a VS pump. Automation just uses relays to control a 2 speed pump and mixed vendors work ok. VS pumps use a digital comm bus to communicate with the automation and needs the same vendor.

Select what you want and check back and see what comments folks have.

 

[Bosley]

well the prologic seems to best bang for the buck. Hayward Goldline PL-PLUS ProLogic 40,000-Gallon Electronic Pool Chlorinator: Amazon.ca: Patio, Lawn Garden

also last night sitting in the hot tub, we are now looking at a different location in the yard to put the pool up. closer to the existing shed because then we can put all the pool equipment in it and we can also put the solar heaters at the treeline. the only concern i have if the shed is approximatly 2 feet lower than the pool and the solar would be a couple feet lower than the equipment. would this be an issue?

 

[nick_wa]

well the prologic seems to best bang for the buck. Hayward Goldline PL-PLUS ProLogic 40,000-Gallon Electronic Pool Chlorinator: Amazon.ca: Patio, Lawn Garden

also last night sitting in the hot tub, we are now looking at a different location in the yard to put the pool up. closer to the existing shed because then we can put all the pool equipment in it and we can also put the solar heaters at the treeline. the only concern i have if the shed is approximatly 2 feet lower than the pool and the solar would be a couple feet lower than the equipment. would this be an issue?

Interested to follow along with your build! I am in Ontario, Canada and will be ordering a 21' AGP this spring. Won't be putting a NG heater on right away (just a solar one for the time being), but will be doing a salt-system.

The Hayward PL-PLUS you quote on Amazon, does that include the T15 cell and all required installation components? I was considering the Hayward AQR15 (Hayward Aquarite with T15cell) which is $1375 CAD. The PL-PLUS you quoted is only about $200 more which, if it includes everything needed for the install, the T15 cell, plus automation, seems like a really good deal!

 

[Bosley]

Interested to follow along with your build! I am in Ontario, Canada and will be ordering a 21' AGP this spring. Won't be putting a NG heater on right away (just a solar one for the time being), but will be doing a salt-system.

The Hayward PL-PLUS you quote on Amazon, does that include the T15 cell and all required installation components? I was considering the Hayward AQR15 (Hayward Aquarite with T15cell) which is $1375 CAD. The PL-PLUS you quoted is only about $200 more which, if it includes everything needed for the install, the T15 cell, plus automation, seems like a really good deal!

nick,

being that your in Ontario your solar should work much than here being that your summers are significantly warmer. I still havn't finalized my solar plans yet but I think my max size will be 250 sq ft as the best location to install it is directly over my living room based on the pool location on the diagram I posted. If we choose to install the pool in my alternate location then we will be putting in more panels.
the Hayward system I am looking at includes the salt cell but no breakers or wiring components. I will also be looking at upgrading my pump to a VS but not this summer as they are expensive.

I appreciate everyones replys and hope others continue to post comments and or ideas. Happy new years!

 

[Bosley]

here is another option we are leaning toward. there is a 8X16 shed 10' south of the pool that is not showing on the lay out. we would put the pool equipment in there and then set up solar panels on the ground at the tree line which is another 10' south of the shed. any opinions on either location? of course once we are able to break ground i will update with more pictures!