Discountpoolspa

My first guess would be insufficient gas flow. These are 400,000BTU heaters? Propane or Natural gas? What size gas line is run, and how far from the source? One gas line for both heaters? How is the gas line plumbed to the source? In the case of natural gas, you could have a 2" line all the way from the heater to the meter, then whoever installed it reduced it to 3/4" to make it easier to connect to the meter. This effectively reduced your gas line flow rate to that of 3/4" plumbing. Very bad for heaters like this. A short run of 3/4" at the heater is OK, but there should be no reduction between the meter and where the line comes out for the heater. What size of gas meter do you have? It could be undersized. For example, in a residential property in my area, they put in a meter that can only handle about 260,000BTU. We have to get them upgraded to handle a single 400,000BTU heater. I see a lot of heaters with similar symptoms due to low gas flow. (don't confuse this with low gas pressure, though that could cause a problem too) The heater will work great, or at least OK, at first, but soot will clog up the burners or improper flame conditions will damage the heat exchanger over time, and the heater will become less and less reliable.

As for dry ice, I would expect it to lower PH dramatically. I'm guessing at this, but it sounds logical. Some of the new PH control systems use CO2 to lower the PH by injecting it into the water after the filter, so throwing in a chunk of dry ice would (I think) do the same thing. Wouldn't it take a huge amount of ice to make much of a difference in such a large quantity of water as well?

Is this a max-e-therm heater? If so, the service light means that it either failed to light, or had a problem with one of the sensors. Cycle power to the heater (turn off the breaker and back on) and try to use it.. What does it do? Ever hear it light, or a click that sounds like it will? If you are comfortable working on your heater yourself, you can look at the control board on the top (underside of the display) and see if any LED's are on. This may tell us what error it is detecting.

It does sound like your cell has failed. But - How are you cleaning your cell? With those cells, the proper way is: Disconnect the cell from the panel. Fill a 5 Gallon bucket with 4 gallons of water, and one gallon of muriatic acid. Submerge the cell in the acid until it stops bubbling (probably 15 min or so). Pull the cell out and rinse it with a hose. Reinstall the cell. If the instant reading is still that far off, it's 95% likely that your cell has failed. All cells will eventually fail.. how old is yours? Depending on the age of the cell, it may have up to a 5 year pro-rated warranty through hayward/goldline. The warranties on these cells have varied depending on when they were produced however.

It could definitely be a leak in that push-pull valve. They are not too hard to take apart. Just a few screws at the top, and the whole assembly pulls out. Do it carefully though, as it can be very tight, and the gaskets/o-rings can bind it up as you pull it out. Be careful not to break it as you do so. If you want, buy another valve, and pull the guts out of yours, then replace them with the new guts. No plumbing needed that way, and the housing very seldom fails.

Does it only blow D.E. into the pool when you first turn it on, or does it continue to blow D.E. or other debris on after that? If it is just blowing it in when you first turn it on after you clean the grids, you could just be getting DE in the pipes when you remove the grids. If you have a multiport valve (as compared to a push-pull valve) you can set it to rinse and run it for a few seconds to flush out that DE through the backwash line instead of letting it go to the pool. If it is blowing other debris through, or continuing to blow DE through after the first few seconds, there is a leak somewhere that is allowing water to bypass the grids. Perhaps a hole in the grids, or in the manifold they attach to.

I like the waterway jets better as well, but it may not be worth it to tear anything out. As for varying height of the jets, I try to stay away from varying more than just slightly. It seems that if you vary the height much, some of the jets will get much better air flow than others. I would contour the bench instead of moving the jet.

I really like the Hayward ColorLogic lights. I have had very good luck with them, and they have great color. Lighting needs will change a little depending on pool shape, size, and plaster color. If you have white (or very light) plaster, it does not take much light to make it look good. In most white pools, one colorlogic seems to be 'sufficient' for each 500W light. Two for one is excellent, but one will do. Just remember, some colors are darker than others. The white mode on the color logic will be by far the brightest.. and the dark blues or reds will be fairly dim.

I do a lot of SWG installations locally, and it's typically very quick and easy. If your plumbing is in good condition and easy to get to, it could be done in an hour. If it is difficult to get to, brittle, limited space, or leaky, it could take considerably more. I would say under $100 for labor if it's quick and easy. If there are complications, it will probably be charged by the hour (we charge $85/hr).

Any return side cleaner will require a single, dedicated return line in the pool. They are not going to work properly if they are sharing water flow with other pool returns. The polaris 360 does not require a booster pump, and works well, but it will still need a dedicated line coming from the equipment. The 280 and 380 work excellent, but will need that dedicated line plus a booster pump at the equipment. If you don't have large debris, such as large leaves, a suction side cleaner could be connected to the skimmer, or to a dedicated suction line (if there is one). Otherwise, without major work, the robotic cleaner will be your best option, as it doesn't require any plumbing at all.

Is there anywhere I can get an identical mechanical replacement? OE style? Or am I dreaming on this? Also, Where can I get the plate that Hillbilly mentioned?

Hi! I am working with an older calspas spa, I'm not sure what model it is at the moment, as it is about an hour from me. I am doing repairs for a homeowner, but I don't normally work on above ground spas. The spa hasn't been in use for a couple years, and has some problems. I just replaced the pump, as it was seized up, and that is working great now. However, the freeze protection doesn't work and is always on. The timeclock does not kick on anything by the timer at all, and the heater does not heat. I am planning on replacing the electronics on this - preferably with a spa pack and replacement controls. Spa has one two speed pump, one blower, and one light. They live in colder conditions so it does need freeze protection. Any recommendations?

Blowers do not typically connect to a heater, at least never that I have seen. Is that threaded line metal or pvc? Does it have a 90 degree angle on it, and coming from the manifold where the plumbing goes into the heater? IF that is the case, it's probably just the pressure relief on the heater. The blower would typically connect to a 2" or 1 1/2" pvc pipe. Usually sticking up vertically from the ground. As far as the type of jets - it's not too important. Do they get air when the pump is running water through them? Is it enough air? If they are not getting air, or there isn't enough, a blower could be a good option. I prefer the "silencer" blowers, as they are very quiet when installed properly. "Silencer" is a brand/model name.

It is hard to say without more information. Is the air inlet line at the equipment? Hidden in the bushes? Not all spas require a blower. Most spa jets use a venturi effect to pull the air through along with the water and will get air even without a blower. A blower will likely make MORE bubbles, but depending on the jets it may be too much. Of course, it may be a requirement to get bubbles on some jets.. What kind of jets are in your spa?

The SWG would be your best bet in my opinion. This will do more than just sanitize your pool. The water in a salt pool is much more comfortable to swim in as well. I would put one on my pool just for this reason. I have heard great things about ozonators and mineral filter aids, and I have heard people say they didn't notice a difference at all. You can certainly supplement a salt chlorination system with an ozonator and/or mineral filter though. (mineral filter such as the Nature2) All three will work together, but you may or may not notice enough of a difference to justify the cost.

I am assuming you purchased these new. Usually the only way for water to get into the light is through the gasket at the front.. Did you ever open the light before failure? They can be a little tricky to seal if you're not used to them. It's also possible that something in your water caused those gaskets to deteriorate. Or.. You could have gotten a couple of bad lights.. but I wouldn't expect you to have two bad ones in the same pool. I would give the warranty a try. I'm not sure about Sam lights, but they may be able to determine warranty by the serial number on the light. Give Pentair a call and see what they can do for you.

As far as advantages of a SWG, it is largely comfort. The salt water is easier on the skin, hair, and eyes of swimmers. You will still be adding chemicals to your pool, primarily acid instead of chlorine. You will still test your water chemistry regularly. Personally, i wouldn't have a pool without a SWG. Once I swam in a salt pool, 'regular' chlorine just seems so uncomfortable.

Filter - leaning towards sand - What size? I like the hayward Top mount filters. The S310T2 is a great filter. At 500Lbs sand it can handle your pool easily. For filters it is best to have a larger one than one that is too small. Pump - Looking for suggestions - lines run into garage next to pool where pump & filter will be located - What size? There are a lot of options here. 1 - Small single speed energy efficient pump. 3/4Hp Hayward Super II or tristar, or a 3/4Hp Pentair Whisperflo. This is cheapest, but least efficient. 2 - Medium power two speed pump. I recommend the same brands above, but 1.5hp - Little more efficient, little more expensive. 3 - Variable speed pump, such as the new variable speed Hayward Tristar or the Pentair Intelliflo. Most expensive, most efficient. Liner - Needs replaced, torn in one spot to the floor and in a couple other areas around rim Liners can be a whole lot of trouble if you are not experienced. I would hire a professional for this part. Often a much better warranty as well.

I totally agree with flex - unions can be a lifesaver. Also makes your install go easier, since you won't have to force pipes around to get things to fit as much. (btw - the hayward tristar pumps come with unions)

When we built a pool, we did not add salt for at least two weeks for an aggregate style pool, or white plaster, and 30 days for colored plaster. Our plaster guys told us that two weeks was ok for any, but we found that adding the salt made the PH hard to manage, and homeowners always struggled with their new pools, so we didn't want to make it too difficult. High PH in a colored plaster pool can be a disaster. So whenever you do add your salt, watch your pool chemistry carefully.

You could definitely use an automatic system, such as the hayward aqua-logic or pentair intelli-touch to keep the two systems separate, and heat them independently. (I like the aqua-logic) It would also manage your solar system if you chose. You could set the system to run the spa a few hours a day, and the pool separately, and set it to maintain water temperatures in both. If you had a second heater and second pump, the aqua-logic could run both simultaneously for best effect.

Definitely get a second opinion on the salt levels. A malfunctioning or dirty chlorinator cell could be misreporting your salt levels. If you actually are low on salt when you are adding, then something is diluting the salt. If you have a DE or sand filter, you could be backwashing too often. You could possibly have a leak in your pool somewhere. I have seen pools that drop salt levels quickly like that and they have a slow continuous leak underground (usually in plumbing, or at a fitting on the wall) and the automatic fill keeps the pool full even with the leak.

I have seen this with these chlorinators, and in flake form, it is calcium. Clean your chlorinator cell, check your PH, and make sure your water hardness is not too high. High PH could cause the calcium to form flakes like that, especially in the chlorinator cell.

Get the Salt Chlorinator. Salt water is much much easier on the eyes, hair, and skin. You will still have to check your chlorine levels and PH, but you will never have to pour chlorine in the pool, or use those annoying tablets.

Salt water will not damage a vinyl liner, but salt water is more corrosive than fresh water. It could cause a steel sided pool to rust more than fresh water would. Now that salt chlorinators are becoming more popular, most quality pools will have better coatings on them to prevent this, but something resin or PVC based would be impervious to rust. The vogue line of pools are very high quality.