Discountpoolspa

My experience has been that the in-floor cleaning systems CAN work quite well, but a good return side cleaner like a polaris 380 or hayward phantom are more efficient, and far cheaper. I would only recommend an in-floor cleaner if you absolutely can't stand having hoses running around your pool when you're not in it, or if the pool shape/design prevents the use of a return side cleaner (not likely). Pebble tec is fantastic. Pebble sheen is great as well. tec is a little rough, sheen is slightly smoother. They are both very durable. I highly recommend either one. DE filters are the most maintenance and highest cost, but are most effective. (filters out the smallest particles) Cartridge filters are mid-line. Cheaper and easier to use than DE, but less effective. Sand filters are cheap. They are easy to use, and fairly effective, but they let larger particles through than DE or cartridge. If you get a large volume of dirt in your pool, sand is one of the best. Where I live, people in town use cartridge filters to great effect. Those outside town, closer to orchards and farmland use sand filters. In general, a good cartridge filter is great. Ozonators are questionable. Some people see a difference with them, some don't. I would compare them to herbal dietary supplements. Some people they work for, some they don't. If you want one, the only thing it will hurt is your wallet. I definitely like salt chlorinators. Don't expect them to work magic, as they don't really reduce the amount of maintenance you will be doing. They will make your water much more comfortable though. Much easier on the skin and eyes. It still uses chlorine, but if converts the salt into chlorine automatically, so that you do not need to store chlorine at home, or add it to the pool manually. Chlorine is still the most effective sanitizer for swimming pools. There are alternatives that DO work, but most are more expensive and less effective. LED lights usually last longer, use less power, and are prettier to look at than standard incandescent lights. A typical incandescent pool light will use 500 Watts, where most LED lights are 40W-60W. a 500W incandescent light will typically be brighter, so you might have to install two LED lights where one 500W light would have worked. If you want to spend the extra, the LED lights are well worth the cost.

The Northstar pumps work great, but as previously mentioned, they are very difficult to work on. I have installed over a hundred tri-star pumps now, and they have been excellent so far. I can't say how hard they are to work on yet, since none of them have had a problem so far. Both the tri-star and northstar pumps are efficient and quiet when plumbed properly. The Pentair Whisperflo pumps seem to work well, though I have had a lot more failures on them than any other pumps. The intelliflo is a novel idea, but it is a little expensive still. If you can afford it, it is an excellent choice. Hayward also makes a tri-star with the same variable speed technology now. For heaters, I would recommend a 400k BTU heater. Smaller is cheaper, but will take longer to heat the spa. I have had excellent luck with the sta-rite Max-E-Therm heaters, as well as the Hayward IDL2 - Low Nox heaters. Pentair Mini-Max heaters are functional, but not my favorite.

I also live in the northern san joaqin valley (northern cali). I have found that during the spring and fall months, solar panels on the roof are absolutely fantastic. The initial investment can be a bit high, but once it is installed, the costs are minimal. A properly sized system should keep your water about 10 degrees F warmer in good sunlight. Unfortunately, the only way to have warm water during the winter months is a gas heater. Solar panels are ineffective during cold/cloudy weather. Heat pumps are also ineffective in cold weather. Heat pumps work decent when it is hot, but only to bump up the water temperature a bit. I have talked to a few people in this area that keep their pools warm, using a gas heater during winter months, and it can be expensive. The few people I talked to had costs as such: (at the time, I asked them about december 2006) 1 - 20,000gal - solar(bubble) cover, kept at 85F - $600/month 2 - 18,000gal - automatic/electric cover, kept at 85F - $300/month 3 - 25,000gal - solar(bubble) cover, kept at 80F - $750/month Ideally, you would want solar panels on your roof, AND a gas heater. The more insulating your pool cover is, the better. Any cover that keeps the wind from hitting the water will help as well.

You could have a clogged line, or possibly a small leak in that line. I have seen a few cases where there was a very small leak right at the wall fitting. You can try the dye test as the previous posts suggested, that may show you the leak easily. It would be a worth a try to get some pool putty (such as A&B putty) and try to seal up inside that fitting. If you do this, make sure you are careful not to get any putty in the threads of the wall fitting, and leave your pump off for about 24 hours. No need to drain your pool, as A&B putty will cure under water. Sealing that up may or may not fix the problem, but it is cheap and easy, and I have seen it work. You could (hopefully not) have a leaky pipe somewhere.. it would be a very small leak, but it is possible. You might have someone pressure test the line.

Sounds like you have a polaris 380 (possibly a 280) - the 360 does not use a booster pump. That cleaner (280/380) is a pressure side cleaner, which means it operates on water returning to the pool. It is connected properly if the pressure increases when the booster pump is on. There are other cleaners, such as the kreepy krauly or navigator that operate on suction, but this is not one. If it is just one part that is broken, it would be worth repairing, as that is a quality cleaner. You could (in theory) replumb the equipment so that you could use a suction side cleaner, but a return side cleaner is excellent. Hope that helps!