Questions on SWG and pump

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Good, so they don't make up for it on shipping. I am very happy to hear that.

Right now, it's the "who knows what is going to happen?" and "$850" and "Can I get chlorine with the panic" that is driving a lot of this for me. I had the plaster/gunite pool completed in September 2019 so it didn't make sense to add the SWCG until spring anyway.. but I didn't obviously expect "Black Death/Great Depression 2.0" right at the time I was planning on adding it ... I am debating if I should get it now and risk a short time of "out of balance" or I should wait... I have a bit over 6 gallons of 13% and about 5 gallons on 10% now, which is a little more than I normally keep on hand (I buy 8 at a time normally)... so I suppose I've hoarded a little too....

Thanks for the reply!

 

[JRC1954]

JRC,

Make sure you get the pump unions!!!

Edit.. Which pump did you get? I don't see a 2 HP pump????

Jim R.

Jim, there is a 2hp pump, although it is not “featured” on the DSP web page. Here’s the link. CircuPool SmartFlo® Variable Speed Swimming Pool Pump | 2.0 THP They also discounted the pump in the package with the SWG. Total with discount was $1748 w no shipping.

 

[onlyjeeps]

My shipping cost was exactly the same as Brett S ($12.40) for the RJ-60+ (Brett S got the RJ-30+) to basically the same area of the country (he's less than 3 hrs away in PA, I'm in DE). Only he got his faster! He got his yesterday and mine should be by my front door in a couple of hours.

As I've mentioned in other similar posts, the bleach shortage is driving my decision to do this right now. I've been wanting to do it but never wanted to spend the money or I got lazy and just started enjoying the pool too much as summer went on to make any changes. Now with all this madness out there, I'm taking no chances of a cesspool forming mid May or June if no bleach can be found all of the sudden!

 

[onlyjeeps]

Since no pool stores are open, I’m going to have to order what I need once I see the layout and let Prime deliver.

Home Depot and Lowe's are still open and may have the unions and adapters you need. Best part is it's easy to return and get the right parts if you mess up the first time.

 

[Newdude]

My Lowe's had the unions but not the O-rings. When i asked the employee he couldn't grasp that i had no desire to buy the parts in 2 separate stores.

 

[Jimrahbe]

You cannot buy pump unions at home depot..!!!

Pump unions are made to screw into the threads on the pump and they seal via an O-Ring around the threaded end vs. using goop on the threads..

If you look at the many equipment pad pics we have, you will often see leaks at the input or output of the pumps when only the PCV treads are used. Leaks happen over time and you will often see where caulk of some type has been used to try and stop them.

Sorry, but not spending $20 bucks to install a $1,000 pump, makes absolutely no sense to me. Beside.. the pump unions make it very easy to plumb the new pump into the system.

They look like this.. Union 1.5

I use the link, just for the pic.. It may not be the size you need. Amazon has them for a lot less $$$

Thanks

Jim R.

 

[waterl0gged]

Jumping on the bandwagon with the same shipping cost this week from Discount Salt . $12.40 shipped from Texas to Central PA . This is for the RJ60+. They must have a standard shipping price model .
I ordered yesterday (Wednesday), and it was shipped out the same day . Tracking shows mine arriving ........Monday . Not going to get this thing installed this weekend I guess !!! At least I can get the pool opened ........and somehow make my way to Walmart safely for 700+ pounds of Morton pool salt . 18 bags at least !

 

[Brett S]

At least I can get the pool opened ........and somehow make my way to Walmart safely for 700+ pounds of Morton pool salt . 18 bags at least !

Do a salt test before you add any salt. Chlorine and some of the other chemicals we regularly use will add salt, so depending on how old your pool is you may already have a significant amount of salt in the water already. I didn’t do this with my old pool and I seriously overshot when I was adding salt and I needed to drain some water to get it back down where I wanted it.

 

[waterl0gged]

Do a salt test before you add any salt. Chlorine and some of the other chemicals we regularly use will add salt, so depending on how old your pool is you may already have a significant amount of salt in the water already. I didn’t do this with my old pool and I seriously overshot when I was adding salt and I needed to drain some water to get it back down where I wanted it.

Thanks for the heads up . I have a tester ordered , should be here early next week. Will wait till a proper test before I run out and buy salt.
I believe the RJ+ series also has an actual salt level readout , not just a high or low light correct ?

I ordered a 3050 salinity meter instead of the Taylor 1766 . Gets great reviews, and a few TFP users like them .
I have a hard time with drop tests that have vague color changes , or like the TFT test CYA test . I need black or white tests , I am no good with the middle "maybe" test results , lol . I hear the Taylor 1766 can be very difficult to read properly , so I went with an electronic tester.

This one ..........
3050 Electronic Salt Tester

 

[wireform]

Thanks for the heads up . I have a tester ordered , should be here early next week. Will wait till a proper test before I run out and buy salt.
I believe the RJ+ series also has an actual salt level readout , not just a high or low light correct ?

I ordered a 3050 salinity meter instead of the Taylor 1766 . Gets great reviews, and a few TFP users like them .
I have a hard time with drop tests that have vague color changes , or like the TFT test CYA test . I need black or white tests , I am no good with the middle "maybe" test results , lol . I hear the Taylor 1766 can be very difficult to read properly , so I went with an electronic tester.

This one ..........
3050 Electronic Salt Tester

One test that's not vague is the K-1766, It is clearly yellow until the first drop that makes it salmon red.

 

[waterl0gged]

One test that's not vague is the K-1766, It is clearly yellow until the first drop that makes it brick red.

Crud ....... I was under the impression that a lot of TFP users had problems with the 1766 due to the various shades of pink that would show up , and very slowly turn to red , leaving the results an unknown.
Oh well, if the 3050 doesnt work out, I will order a 1766 .
Thanks

 

[Brett S]

Crud ....... I was under the impression that a lot of TFP users had problems with the 1766 due to the various shades of pink that would show up , and very slowly turn to red , leaving the results an unknown.
Oh well, if the 3050 doesnt work out, I will order a 1766 .
Thanks

A speedstir definitely helps with the 1766 test, but as long as you have that it seems to be pretty easy to read. The confusion lies in that you are supposed to read the result when the solution turns ‘salmon red’, but if you keep adding drops the color will continue to change. However, there is definitely a point where it very quickly goes from yellow to red and the consensus is that you are done at that point. Some people continue adding drops to try to get it more salmon red, but any color change after that initial one is very subtle.

 

[wireform]

All my testing is via speedstir. I think it makes testing overall more convenient and precise.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I hear the Taylor 1766 can be very difficult to read properly

Sorry, that is total bull stuff..

Jim R.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Jumping on the bandwagon with the same shipping cost this week from Discount Salt . $12.40 shipped from Texas to Central PA . This is for the RJ60+. They must have a standard shipping price model .
I ordered yesterday (Wednesday), and it was shipped out the same day . Tracking shows mine arriving ........Monday . Not going to get this thing installed this weekend I guess !!! At least I can get the pool opened ........and somehow make my way to Walmart safely for 700+ pounds of Morton pool salt . 18 bags at least !

If you are concerned about "safely" in just about any vehicle take two trips. Load the bags evenly over the four corners of the car in front of the seats in the front and back (or in the trunk instead of the back seats, though I think the back seats are easier). If you drive a big vehicle or a truck you can do it in one. You can even probably do it safely in a car, it's like transporting two fat guys like me as passengers or three - four skinny ones.

Thanks everyone for letting me know shipping. Honestly, that and dimensions of the cells are about the only things you can't find on their site!

 

[waterl0gged]

Sorry, that is total bull stuff..


Jim R.

Ok, point taken . I was not personally knocking the K1766, as I have never used it. I just remember browsing through a thread or two with some having problem reading the results . If the 3050 electric salinity meter does not seem to do the job , I will just order a Taylor K1766 .

If you are concerned about "safely" in just about any vehicle take two trips. Load the bags evenly over the four corners of the car in front of the seats in the front and back (or in the trunk instead of the back seats, though I think the back seats are easier). If you drive a big vehicle or a truck you can do it in one. You can even probably do it safely in a car, it's like transporting two fat guys like me as passengers or three - four skinny ones.

Thanks everyone for letting me know shipping. Honestly, that and dimensions of the cells are about the only things you can't find on their site!

Wasnt actually worried about a safe way to physically transport the Salt . Have a truck, so thats no prob.
Was just worried about running out to Walmart safely , as I was concerned if I really should be going into a large public store right now for ........ pool salt . Doesnt really seem like a necessity , given the state of the country (and world) right now.
Might just try to run in the Walmart garden side with a garden dolly/cart , load up the salt quick, and make a hasty exit. Then lather up with antibacterial juice when I get back to the truck !
I am thrilled already that I may actually be able to install the RJ60 without even going to Lowes once !!!

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Oh. Well, the salt is usually by the garden center but at our Walmarts at least the only rock salt type salt they carry is Chlorox brand. (They have the briquette type Diamond Crystal and Morton). Everything I have ever read says avoid the Chlorox salt... A Lowes run might be necessary after all.

I am "essential" so I am not afraid of a weekly Walmart run. It only increases my odds slightly... Sigh...

 

[Captchaos]

I see I’m not the only one using this “situation” to try to justify a SWG that I’ve wanted since building the pool. My issue is the builder installed a single speed pump and wanted $1250 to upgrade to variable speed.
So I’ve got two problems—one I really should upgrade the pump to reduce the required run times. Two, I swear the Circupools were a lot cheaper last year when I was going to do this. I swear the RJ-60 Plus was $1000 after the $1 upgrade from the 45. Am I just remembering wrong and thinking of upgrading the 30 to the 45?

Either way, this got pretty expensive quick! I didn’t have such a hard time finding chlorine last year as I did the year before. The key was online pickup and buying 10-20 bottles at a time at Walmart. This year I’m not so sure I’ll be able to get any at all. I burn a half gallon a day in peak summer.

 

[JRC1954]

Jeff,

Just depends on what you want to do.. If you run (any pump) 24/7, then your salt system would not need a timer.

Assuming your pool is 30K, I took a look and it appears that you would have to run your pump about 9 hours to produce the chlorine you would need with an RJ-45.. this is because the RJ-45 appears to make more chlorine that the major brands.. Most major brands with 40K cells produce 1.4 lbs of chlorine gas.. The RJ-45 makes 2.0 lbs.. Edit.. I see where you say your pool is 26K, so that give you plenty of room to reduce your pump time if you wanted..

Running a VS pump 24/7 costs next to nothing.. Running a single speed pump would cost a lot more.

From my point of view running a VS pump 24/7 makes sense as it allows you to constantly skim and constantly make chlorine.. Running a single speed pump only makes sense if you set the output of your cell to 100%, and run if for as short a period of time as you can.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim,
I rethought the selection of RJ45 and am going to return the SWG unused in the box to DSP. I’ll go with the RJ60 just to make things easier on the SWG in the summer when I need more chlorine output.
As for opening, I have plenty of time to get this setup complete. My usual opening is Memorial Day as I have no heater for the pool. It stays pretty warm with the sun on it for 80% of the day, but is typically slow to get up to swimming temp. Are there things that I should be doing prior to then to get the pool in shape for the first SWG season?
On a related note, I’m pretty worried about getting liquid chlorine around here to get the initial FC charge. I do have some remaining granular that I can employ, but I think liquid chlorine is going to be a stretch in this area. I typically vacuum to waste on opening. What are your thoughts on getting the pool open earlier utilizing my existing inline chlorinator/pump and once the temp comes up, converting to the new pump and SWG given the situation with shortages?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jeff,

I suggest that you use what you have, but try to keep your CYA to 50 or less until you get your SWCG installed.. No rush, but you can also add the necessary salt.. Keep in mind that your pool most likely has some salt in it now, so don't add too much. If you don't have one, you will need to get a salt test kit. I recommend the Taylor K-1766.. I never trust what the cell reports as the truth, unless I can confirm it with the K-1766.

A lot of lowes and home depots have plenty of Liquid Chlorine.. Most people do not understand it is just stronger bleach.

Thanks,

Jim R.