The more i research equipment the more confused and frustrate i get.

[ahreno]

Going with a inground vinyl pool from royalpools. i30k± gallons i guess. 18x36' to 40'? with a tanning ledge off to the side to make an L. 48" walls. will plumb with 2" pvc. All the prices are similar enough that i dont care about saving $100 or 2.

no water features, DIY solar heater if any heater. no slide. two bubblers in the tanning ledge that would be cool to be able to control by my phone but it's not worth $1000+. Trying to go barebones but not cut corners on essential equipment.

what pump to get? Was leaning towards IntelliFlo3 but supplier says the 1.5hp ($1700) is too small and the 3hp ($2200?) way too big. They're trying to say to get a Hayward Tristar VS 950 ($2K)(originally suggested Tristar XE). It seems fairly unanimous to go pentair pumps over hayward. i said no to hayward and he then suggested Pentair Whisperflo VST 2.6 THP VS ($1650.00) which he says is overkill too.

I dont really care. i like the app control of the intelliflo3 but not sure i'd even use it. I want a **reliable**, **cost efficient** and quiet pump (in that order). nothing crazy just good.

same with salt generators. originally suggested hayward aquarite 900 ($2k), then none and **just** do POOL FROG XL Pro with Mineral Cartridge (red flag), i'm requesting hayward s3 ($2k). haven't had anyone really say to change from the s3.

And lights. wtf with lights. $3k for 3 Hayward Universal 12V ColorLogic? ouch. what about cheaper lights like spa electrics argon? or [srsmith](www.srsmith.com)

 

[ajw22]

There is no such thing as a too big VS pump. Get the IntelliFlo3 011078 with the touch screen and IO board. You need the IO board or a timer to turn the SWG off when the pump is not running.

Hayward S3 is ok.

Pool LED lights are a Crud shoot. None have been proven to be reliable.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

@ahreno I’m probably going to order my L-shape pool from Royal this week. Your build sounds similar to mine. I’m going to do everything myself so it will be a relatively basic build. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[ahreno]

@ahreno I’m probably going to order my L-shape pool from Royal this week. Your build sounds similar to mine. I’m going to do everything myself so it will be a relatively basic build. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

did you order? curious went you all went with? i keep swimming in circles about equipment. did you get a permit? would you mind sharing your drawings if you did? i'm trudging through that stage now too

 

[JohnnyG66]

I installed a 36x18 polymer-walled vinyl-liner pool last summer. Didn't get everything finished by winter and still haven't flipped the switch just yet. I went with a Hayward VS 900 1.85HP. Can't tell you if I'm happy with it yet though, but it seems to have plenty of positive reviews.

For lights, I went with 6 SR Smith micro LEDs that go into 1.5" return fittings.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

did you order? curious went you all went with? i keep swimming in circles about equipment. did you get a permit? would you mind sharing your drawings if you did? i'm trudging through that stage now too

Yes I did order. 18x36x26 L-Shape from Royal. That specific size wasn’t listed on their website, but they were able to configure one for me.

Yes I did obtain a permit before I ordered. I did all that over the winter. Process felt like it took forever. As a DIY pool I felt like they looked over everything I was doing more than an experienced contractor. I would do the same thing if I were in their shoes.

I’ll send you a private message and share with you all the information I provided to obtain the permit.

 

[ahreno]

Yes I did order. 18x36x26 L-Shape from Royal. That specific size wasn’t listed on their website, but they were able to configure one for me.

Yes I did obtain a permit before I ordered. I did all that over the winter. Process felt like it took forever. As a DIY pool I felt like they looked over everything I was doing more than an experienced contractor. I would do the same thing if I were in their shoes.

I’ll send you a private message and share with you all the information I provided to obtain the permit.

i'd love to hear your thoughts so far especially any tips on permitting. i submitted my permit but am sure i'll be gettinga call for more info soon!

 

[DSMinAtlanta]

I followed the advice of @ajw22 and went with an IntelliFlo 3hp VSF pump for our smaller pool (only 10K gallons) and I'm glad I did. I can run it at much slower speeds to save energy and it is super quiet which is what I really cared about. I didn't want to hear the pump running when I was on my porch or more importantly in my bathroom which is next to the equipment pad. Our builder said the same thing - "it's too powerful for your pool" - but we insisted on the 3hp model. We visited a few of their other customer's pool builds and I noticed most of them had smaller pumps (1.5hp if I had to guess) and they were all much louder.