South Jersey Fiberglass Install

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Pibkac said:
is the spa seating comfortable? It’s not as contoured as the stand-alone spas.
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That is like comparing a park bench to a recliner. I did get to chose the jet placement, we did 8 and they cover my back (2 spinal fusions) and knees just right. There's no real comparison between the spa seats and a built in spa. This pool fit the shape, price and warranty we were looking for! WE are very happy!!

John
 
Thanks for the tips we upgraded to the bigger 325 filter. Any feedback on the equipment pad plumbing? Here's a front and back pic. They will probably complete this in the next day or so and want to make sure it's done properly. We've had some rain the last few days so it's been hard for them to get a good days work in.

From what I can tell they still have to attach the salt cell which I guess will go in that long run from the heater. Should I ask about a check valve coming out of heater prior to salt? Anything else? Always appreciate the help!

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You don’t need a check valve between the filter and a SWG. You need it if you had a tablet chlorinator instead of a SWG.

If you had asked before they installed that blue ball valve I would have said to use only Jandy valves. Ball valves eventually stick and get hard to turn.
 
ajw22 said:
You don’t need a check valve between the filter and a SWG. You need it if you had a tablet chlorinator instead of a SWG.

If you had asked before they installed that blue ball valve I would have said to use only Jandy valves. Ball valves eventually stick and get hard to turn.
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I thought I remember hearing something about preventing damage to the heater but I could have misunderstood that. Appreciate the quick feedback!
 
I reviewed my equipment pad with PB and asked them if I could control my spa jets by using automation and they said not with this current setup. They knew I wanted this so I've lost some confidence in their abilities. Before I have them make changes I figured I'd throw it out there for some help. I have two acuators that are going to be installed. I have a pool/spa combo with spa spillover. I have a salt system. I want to have my spa and pool temp automated, and my spa jets and spillover automated. I'm told I will also have my lights automated. Any suggested changes with this plumbing? Feedback please!
 

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What are you being told you will need to do to turn on your spa jets?

You have only one pump and your spa jets will be powered by your main pump? Many folks find the flow from that setup disappointing. Another approach is to have a separate spa jet pump that can be controlled by automation.
 
The spa line is split into two sides (left and right side) and they are currently controlled by two ball valves for each side at the pad. PB said this is a nice way to control the spa jets but it's a manual operation. I assumed it wouldn't be that difficult to automate and do it all with one pump but no experience here so I just don't know. I can't believe my setup is all that unique. What do most people do?
 
You can’t automate ball valves. Ball valves get difficult to turn as they age.

Jandy valves will be easier to turn and motorized actuators can be put on top of them.

How many jets on each side do you have?

I would add a pump and put the jets on its own loop to a dedicated pump. Then no valves or actuators required.
 

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With 1/4" jets, a single pump might work but anything else, you may need more pumps. 1/2" jets require 25 gpm each which is 200 gpm total. Two pumps for just the jets will be required plus one for circulation.

When designing a spa, the.most important decision is the choice of jet. Unfortunately, most pool owners have no idea what the PB is installing and most PBs have no idea how to design a spa.
 
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Okay, I have the Hayward E Command 4, it is connected to two sets of valves, suction and return like all. I can run just the pool, just the spa or a combo of both depending on how I set the trip settings. With the Hayward TriStar VS 950 and blower my jets (8 of them) have a lot of pressure. You might just need to learn where you need to set the valves for optimum Hot Tub or Pool.


John
 
mas985 said:
With 1/4" jets, a single pump might work but anything else, you may need more pumps. 1/2" jets require 25 gpm each which is 200 gpm total. Two pumps for just the jets will be required plus one for circulation.

When designing a spa, the.most important decision is the choice of jet. Unfortunately, most pool owners have no idea what the PB is installing and most PBs have no idea how to design a spa.
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Thanks for the feedback. I'll ask PB about jets.
 
jtburf said:
Okay, I have the Hayward E Command 4, it is connected to two sets of valves, suction and return like all. I can run just the pool, just the spa or a combo of both depending on how I set the trip settings. With the Hayward TriStar VS 950 and blower my jets (8 of them) have a lot of pressure. You might just need to learn where you need to set the valves for optimum Hot Tub or Pool.


John
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Thanks John. We have the same pool, I don't have the waterfall like you, but otherwise want to control Pool, Spa, and Combo (spillover). You have the VS950 which has the Omni Hub automation, why the need for the E Command 4? My equipment pad isn't fully set up yet so maybe I'm getting one of these and it just wasn't fully explained to me by my PB. So frustrating to just not know how this is supposed to all fit together, I'm sure this will all make sense once I have things installed and start actually using it.

I was thinking if I add a valve at the T between spa and pool on my return (red circle) and put the actuator there I will be all set. And then I can decide if I need to upgrade pumps, add a second pump or blower. I wonder how well the spa operates without the blower, I do not have one currently. Easy to add those after?
 

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The waterfall is a separate pump. the E Command allows me to run the pump an different speeds at different time of the day. It also serves as my breaker box for the pool equipment.

My spa jets have a special blower hose connection, see image.
John
 

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Those are venturi jets. Nearly all spa jets use them. They mix the air with the water for a more massaging effect.
 
Ok I think I have my head wrapped around this after doing some more research. If I get my PB to add another three way valve and actuator to that T section on my return between spa and pool and an actuator on the suction side between pool and spa I should be able to put it in spa mode (suction and return on spa only), pool mode (suction and return on pool only) and spillover mode (suction pool only, return spa only). From what I've read here on this forum I'll set up a schedule to run pool mode the majority of the time and then spillover mode for maybe 30 mins twice a day (noon and 6pm example to manage pH levels). If I find I need to run the spillover all day then I could add a bypass line on the return side to the spa later. I'm using the Omni hub which should allow me to control all this from my phone (two actuators, vs omni pump, heater, salt). And if the spa jets aren't sufficient I can always add a bubbler or pump later.
 

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