PoolGuyNJ

Put the pic in a Photobucket album. Hover over the pic. 4 Options pop up. Click on the 4th option and paste it here. Scott

I would start with 50 ppm with tabs and 70 for a cell. Then bring the FC levels to 8% of the CYA level. Scott

Seems we have exactly the opposite situation. No free chlorine because there is no CYA with the Texas sun. Begin shocking using dichlor based powder and then get the CYA level up. Powdered CYA in a sock is cheapest but takes a week to show up. Natural Chemistry has a liquid that shows up in 24.hours but is expensive. No algaecide needed. Especially copper or silver based. No metals!! Stain potential. Scott

I'll bet your CYA level is too high and you need to dilute the pool to bring it down. What is the current level and how are you testing? Scott

Have you tried disconnecting the control cable from the pump so the pump runs as a stand alone as a test of the pump? Have you reset the I9+3 to factory defaults and reprogrammed it? Have you called Pentair support? Scott

There is a jumper with two wires on it. It can cover either 1 or 2 spade lugs. For 240V use, the jumper needs to cover both lugs. For 120V, it only covers the upper lug.Scott

RECIRC or FILTER should not make enough of a difference. The blue tank is a surge tank. Do you only have one pump? Scott

What lights are in there now? Please, buy it/them from the pool pro who is putting it in. If you're putting it in, the net may be an option. LEDs are expensive but so is support.

The salesman must be new. Pool Automation 101: Parts of a pool- A timer switch. If you have an pool sweep, another timer switch. For the lights, a third timer switch. They take wall space so plan. If you have an attached spa, then add an Easy Touch or Jandy RS series controller. They have built in timers that they can turn on and off.all of the preceding and operate the valves in everyday use. Scott

All pools, except for the blow up ringed Intex pools should be bonded. If corrosion is present, whether from a cell or other stray current sources, a zinc anode can be added to the water flow path to absorb them, stopping corrosion essentially in its path as long as it's bonded. The Powerflo II is OK but it is a PITA to change motors and seal sets. The Whisper Flow (Pentair) or Super Pump (Hayward), while somewhat more money, will serve you better going forward. They are much easier to work on. Adding drain pots using hard pipe and setting them in vermiculite and Portland cement (too keep the area smooth when changing liners) is easy in the construction phase. They will help, especially if the water is a little too low to run the skimmer. This can happen when vacuuming to waste. The will also help some keeping the bottom clean. If you winterize, they only need to be air locked with a valve. Adding a pint of bleach would be the daily if a tab feeder or a salt cell isn't used. If that took more than a couple minutes, start to finish, I would be surprised. Salt cells know two things, either they are on or they are off. Most cells are designed to have about 10,000 hours of on time however, the friction of the water going through them varies with the water velocity through them. This friction will wear away the coating on the cell blades the faster the water is moving. While a 0.5 HP pump won't push the velocity to extremes, using 2" pipe before the cell and to feed the returns will further slow the water. The returns can be stubbed with 1.5" pipe that are fed via the 2". 2" Pipe can handle twice the flow of a 1.5" pipe at a given velocity. California is another land when it comes to filters. Cartridges are often used here for the exact reason the OP mentioned. Drought areas are also using them to reduce water usage. The reason CYA levels go up is simply due to the lack of backwashing creating a situation where dilution from refilling doesn't happen. Whenever cartridge filters are used, use the biggest that your space will allow. I also highly recommend a 3-way valve be plumbed on the pump's discharge to allow you to both lower the pool, say, after a rain storm, and to allow vacuuming to waste after an algae bloom or period when there is a significant amount of debris. This helps minimize cartridge cleanings and makes emptying much easier.. If you are burying an on ground pool, make sure it is designed for it or it will rot out on you. On ground pools often have thinner liners, shortening their life expectancy. Changing liners on a buried ABG that isn't designed to be buried can result in the walls collapsing when the pool is emptied. Using a beaded liner mean you won't have to remove the top rail like an overlap liner would. Scott

If the spa were full and the edge pump and pool pump are running and the floors are off, the water in the basin should be at or near the bottom of the tile. The edge pump should have a check valve on its discharge. That would prevent the spa from draining into the basin when the edge pump is off. When in pool mode and the floors are off, does the return flow from the main pool pump go though the spa jets? Have you taken a blower or shop vac to the pipe behind the filter? I wonder if that is the 3/4" in the pool. As for the spa mode, yes, all spills should be off. The main pool pump is the only one on but the actuators have set the valves so that whatever comes in from the spa drains gets sent to the jets. Any overflow should go into the pool via its spill way, not via the edge. This picture, http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/5876/returnsl.jpg, has a waterfall return labeled and is shut. Does it lead to the same returns as the edge pump's? How is freshly chlorinated water getting in the catch basin? Is this only to fill the basin from the pool? I assume the flapper for the check valve (same pic) is on the right. You have the valve to its right closed. Another valve actuator should be in place to sort whether you want pool mode or floor pop ups running. What is controlling the pop ups? A Caretaker or Paramount system? Scott

Hayward in line chlorinators restrict the flow to 3/4" and create an unwanted head loss. A Pentair Rainbow 320 doesn't do this. Trichlor gets the nod. Bromine is only good for covered portable spas. Ionizers don't work. I would urge you put a pair of drain pots in for bottom drains and valve it with the skimmer. Use an in-ground pump, not an above ground. Nothing reduces the levels needed in a pool. You can only augment it. IMHO, the N2 is a waste. Chlorine gets whatever the N2 gets only faster already. No real need for a cell. Is it easier? Not enough so here. Just watch the CYA level. Any replacement water used for dilution won't be that much. The sun's UV will be the big fade cause, not chlorine used properly. Scott

Why are formatting codes showing?

<p>As you know, cut out the Frog. It's in the wrong place anyway. Basically, its a Tri-Chlor feeder with a mineral pack. They come after the heater normally.</p> <p> </p> <p>Adding a salt cell after the heater is a good idea.</p> <p> </p> <p>The heater has a Jandy valve sitting between it's intake and output ports. Close it. You don't need a bypass.</p> <p> </p> <p>Spa Return Jet must be on a 3 way Tee. If that is a single pool return to the spa (not likely IMHO), the valve actuator is fine <span style="display: none;"> </span>otherwise it should be opened a crack so freshly chlorinated water gets in the spa and and spills into the pool. This will require a small adjustment in the valve of about 20 degrees from its current position. I would expect that all the jets are connected in a loop here. That would make the single return moot.</p> <p> </p> <p>The 3/4" return in the pool is to keep the negative edge from getting water when the spa is in pool spill over mode when the pool pump is on and the second pump for the negative edge is off. I hope its negative edge is slightly higher than the spillways into the pool otherwise water will spill into the catch basin, uncontrolled, and overflow the basin. This is where having two paths out of the spa gets dicey in the design and construction phase. If the pool pump pushes too much water into the spa for the spillways into the pool to accommodate, the negative edge starts overflowing and the basin fills, unchecked.</p> <p> </p> <p>You have 3 modes available off the pool pump: Pool Mode, Spa Mode, and Floor Cleaner Mode.</p> <p> </p> <p>When using the spa, the edge pump should be off or freshly heated water will go into the basin. The negative edge has enough room to allow for displacement, say if there are a couple bathers using the spa but the pump driving the negative edge should be off.</p> <p> </p> <p>The catch basin should have it's own drains that go to the pump with no valves. I would not expect it's discharge to go the spa's main jets, but it may have more than one return in the spa.</p> <p> </p> <p>The catch basin pictures show a low water condition. I would bring that level to the bottom of the tiles when running.</p> <p> </p> <p>You should be running the pool pump in either the spillover and the 3/4" or the floor cleaner. If the negative edge is reached, the pool would overflow the catch basin. That would mean you're sending too much water to the spa and is why the negative edge needs to be a bit higher than the spills into the pool. The edge pump can then raise the water level in the spa and it's edge can be driven and chlorinate the basin.</p> <p> </p> <p>In Spa Mode, only the pool pump is running and it's getting it's suction from the spa and sending everything it has to the spa's jets. The edge pump should be off!</p> <p> </p> <p>I didn't see a blower. Perhaps that is the cut off line behind the filter.</p> <p> </p> <p>Scott</p> <div id="cke_pastebin" style="position: absolute; top: 120px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; left: -1000px;"> </div>

Did you move the jumper? It has two wires on it. At 120, only one spade lug is covered. At 240, both middle ones are. Scott

Sound like a broken line to me. If it was at the equipment pad, you would have seen it. Hope it isn't too hot to dig! Scott

Use 3/8" gravel. It self compacts. Remove the cracked areas as needed. They could settle otherwise and you're right back where you were. Epoxy new rebar into the parts of the shell remaining. Shoot with gunite or shotcrete. I would chip out all existing plaster. You'll get a more evenly toned finish. Scott

It should be blown out so no water is left in the pipe. No water, no ice, no expansion related freeze cracks.. Scott

Lowes will have the 2" to 1/5" reducer bushings you need. Home Depot doesn't carry 2" pressure rated PVC.

WTG Bugman! PC, great idea! Scott

20 Minutes is excessive to wait for backwashing. I can see it happen with a variable speed pump on low and a big filter. What model and brand pump and filter? Scott

Suction spreads quickly. Try a little food coloring near the drain. Scott

Pop ups don't move when they are up. They ratchet when coming up or going down. Scott

Ask your lawyer whether you can get it fixed. 5 inches is excessive. Scott

A white cotton sock with crushed Vitamin C tablets hung against the stain should make short work of the stain. Scott