Pool dig started Manteca, CA

[mihzyd777]

If that is going to get wet, you will see calcium build up on it.

So what do you suggest insted of plain old tile? Is there anything such as sealing them I can do to make them easier to clean off the calcium? Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

There are sealing agents. I have no experience with them. And not sure if they will work in your situation. Like I said earlier, when new, it will be very pretty. After several years, it will have calcium buildup and not look as pretty.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Depends on the soil profile. I'd like to see stone down with some compacting and then the cage installed. After pool is shot that area should be compacted in lifts with good material, whether that's some native coarse sandy mix or stone imported

 

[mihzyd777]

Hi All ...need some help with this one.

When we built the house we had 6 gauge 220v thhn 2 pair (4 wires total) ran from the main panel across to the opposite side of the home inside the walls about a 65-75 ft. run.
Question is can this feed our Pentair Intellicenter 125 amp sub-panel. I plan on connecting the following to the sub:

50amp for Heat pump
20 amp for pump
20 amp for intellicenter
15 amp pool lighting
15 amp 120 volt outlet

Can this be done with what I have? The pool at my old house has a 90 amp breaker from a sub panel feeding a 125amp Pentair Easy Touch load center.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If it's #6 copper it's good for 55 amps, so you're really pushing it to run what you've listed above. The heat pump alone will max it out when it starts.

In my opinion you're going to need much larger wiring.

 

[mihzyd777]

Thanks for the info. So question where does load calculation come in? Does load calculations use watts determine breaker size? If so I'll be using about 11,000 watts divided by 240v that would be rounded up a 50amp breaker to feed the subpanel right? This is what I've seen in load calculators so trying to determine what is what.

 

[swamprat69]

The electrician doing final hookup should be able to answer your questions. Is there a single conduit from main panel to the subpanel? Do you have more than the 4 #6 wires in this conduit ( neutral for 120v circuit is also a current carrying wire)? Has the wiring been derated for having more than 3 current carrying wires in the conduit? Am assuming that your circuits shown for the subpanel are breakers loaded to 80% of their ratings? What is the configuration of the power feed in the subpanel ( does it need to be double lugged?).

 

[Bama Rambler]

The NEC has rules about amperage for conductor size and voltage drop calculators use voltage, amps, and length of wire to determine wire size. The breaker size is determined by load requirements of the equipment or wire ampacity.

 

[tim5055]

Does load calculations use watts determine breaker size?

No, the size of the breaker is determined by the size of wire and length of the run. The breaker is there to protect the wire.

http://www.paigewire.com/pumpWireCalc.aspx

 

[mihzyd777]

So I do have 6 awg wire in the grey sleeve as per the pic. It doesn't run in conduit at all. The home us a new 2 story and when they built it the ran this grey sleeve wire from the main panel to the other side of the house between the 2 floors. See picture. I know electrician can tell me, but I'm trying to find out prior to that so I can budget.

 

[ajw22]

You need to budget for a new pull of wire unless you want to eliminate the heat pump.

 

[Bama Rambler]

That's aluminum wire, so now you're down to 40 amps capacity.
Definitely going to need to pull a new run.

 

[mihzyd777]

That's aluminum wire, so now you're down to 40 amps capacity.
Definitely going to need to pull a new run.

It's copper with aluminum ground

That's aluminum wire, so now you're down to 40 amps capacity.
Definitely going to need to pull a new run.

OMG I just noticed that when you said it!! Noooooooooo For some reason I thought it was copper So good news is the PB gives us 100 ft. included but it's probably for 6 or 8 awg wire and 1" comduit. I'll have see after subtracting that how much more it will be. Hopefully they take it easy on me. I'll update once I hear.

 

[mihzyd777]

So somewhat good news I think. Just spoke to pool builder and they confirmed 100 ft. Of electrical is included. What gauge and all that is still to be seen or if they will run whatever is required for my setup. Standby.

 

[mihzyd777]

I have another question this time regarding pool tile on steps as accent pieces. We are doing krystalkrete quartz bottom and we were told it's no extra cost to cut some of the tiles and add them in as accent pieces on steps. However, we were also told by a friend that outting tiles into plaster like that causes a weak loint around those tiles and the plaster which could over time cause it to chip away much easier.

Is this true? Has anyone had this issue? We still have time to say yes or no to this.

I have a picture of the tile they woukd use. I woukd imagine they would onky take 1 or 2 tiles to make each accent.

 

[ajw22]

Your friend does not know what he/she is taking about. It is common practice to set edge tiles in thinset on the edge of steps and ledges and then they plaster around them. Look at most pools, especially commercial pools and you see tile markers inset in the plaster. The tile will last longer then the plaster.

 

[Nikilyn]

Another thing to think about is that they are a safety feature. I’ve been in pools without them and have missed steps and almost fallen off the Baja step. Not a huge deal since you’re in the water but not a good thing either. Worse is when you can’t see the bottom step and run into it or trip. I would do that at my BILs pool. Plus, the tile can add beauty and sparkle. With those tiles I would want them to be a trim and run the full length of the step. If you just want markers then you might want to choose either 2x2s or 1x1s that can be cut into a bigger square.

 

[mihzyd777]

@nikilso your saying if I use the rectangular square which is our plan then to use a single row and connect them to where they are a single tile spaced out about a inch or 2 from the next? Thanks!

 

[Nikilyn]

Here are 3 examples. The first is 2x2. The second is 1x1s to make that square. There are so many options of glass iridescent tile you could so this with. The last is using the 1x2 like you have a pic of. You could do 1 or 2 rows.

 

[mihzyd777]

Here are 3 examples. The first is 2x2. The second is 1x1s to make that square. There are so many options of glass iridescent tile you could so this with. The last is using the 1x2 like you have a pic of. You could do 1 or 2 rows.

Oh these are awesome!! Thanks so much!!