As I understand it, the fixed heads run whenever the IFCS is in use. The circuits with the single head use a head that is much larger than my old PV3 heads, with a large opening that allows them to flow a lot of water and cover a larger area. The heads on the steps and benches appear to be similar to my old PV3 heads, and the number on a circuit is related to the size of orifice cap that is installed on the heads. I did some fine tuning of the steps and benches in my old PV3 system by swapping out orifice caps. Watching the pressure gauge on the water valve was a good way to tell if the combination of the number of heads and the orifice sizes were in the sweet spot on each circuit.
The down jets may run all the time like regular returns. They run together as their plumbing run is a loop but they are on a separate plumbing run from the skimmer venturi return, so they may be turned off when the water pots are on, etc. My old pool didn’t have automation, so this part of the new pool will be a fun learning adventure.
In Arizona, before Paddock pools got mismanaged into oblivion, they had a PCC 2000 demo pool with a big underground viewing window so you could watch it work. They would throw a bunch of stuff in the pool so you could watch it systematically clean it out. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently, at least in the Phoenix area, Paramount had an exclusive deal with Paddock, so if you wanted the PCC 2000, you had to have your pool built by them. Now that Paddock is gone, more builders can offer it. An analogy that just popped into my head is that the old IFCS is like the less expensive robot house vacuums that don’t know anything about you house, but just randomly bounce around and happen upon a lot of stuff on the way, where a new engineered IFCS is more like the expensive robot house vacuums that have vision systems and learn your floor plan and clean systematically.
I’m really looking forward to the garage. I had it built with a half bath and A/C just in case I end up spending a disproportionate amount of my time there. ? I only wish that I had found the house before the slab was poured so I could have gotten the 8x8 roll-up door leading to the cabana that they offer as an option.
I probably won’t have an update on the pool until sometime next week. Apparently the city hasn’t completed some portion of the permit (gas, I think) and it apparently is not appropriate to request a city inspection until the last bit of the permit comes back early next week.
For anyone with eagle eyes, the Construction Manager did come back and tie in a bit more steel in a few areas where the plumbers had to tweak the steel to make all the spa plumbing fit, but the system is holding pressure at 35-38 psi (cold vs hot) and is ready for pre-gunnite inspection.