LegsOnEarth

What's the square footage of the filter? Probably a 1hp or less would be fine, but it depends on how big your filter is.

According to the measurements you are at about 28k gallons. Assuming you are in a pretty temperate enviroment, the 40k Cell should do fine keeping up with the pool. The cell will operate as long as the pump is circulating and will generate a percentage of the time based on how it is set. I would recommend you set it to something high to start and dial it back as needed. Usually people land around 60-40%

For the Jandy Aqualink system, it is less expensive to buy the PDA wireless control system as part of your basic install then to install a wireless controller after installation. When you are building a Jandy Aqualink control system, you have the option of using their iAqualink, OneTouch or PDA controller options. The OneTouch is not wireless, the PDA is a wireless remote and the iAqualink uses your home computer network to allow for control via smartphones, tablets or PCs. Each has a different price point and each has various pros and cons, but if you want a "basic" wireless controller at any point I would suggest going with the PDA, since adding a wireless controller to the OneTouch system means paying twice for a control unit (basically) and the iAqualink I would only recommend if both you and your installer (well, them more so) are comfortable with setting up your home network. It requires a certain amount of networking savy to get up and running. Not a lot, but enough that if something isn't working and your contractor is technologically illeterate that you will have some fun problems down the road.

Pools are a sealed system. "Drain" is a mis-leading name, as it doesn't drain water from the pool, but acts as the suction/intake portion of your pump system. Water is pulled from the "Drain" at the bottom of your pool and circulated through your filter before returning to the main body of water. There isn't a plug to pull like a bathtub. If you need to drain water from your pool, you can usually do so by attaching a hose to a hose bib at your equipment pad and running your pump to circulate water through the system. Check around your equpment pad for a hose bib (looks just like the fitting your garden hose would attach to) or look at the base of your filter as some contractors will install a hose bib on the filters drain plug. Another option, if your sand filter has a multi-port valve (a valve with multiple positions, not a "push-pull" or slide style valve) then there will most likely be a bypass position that lets you circumvent the filter and drain water out via your backwash plumbing or hose. Hope that makes sense.

The two ports on the bottom are probably floor returns, judging by your plumbing nad the fact that you only have a wall return for your pool sweep. The pool sweep return is both a port for connecting your sweep and a return, but judgin from the way your plumbing was done, it would seem that is will on be acting as a return when the booster pump is engaged (common). You should have 2 drains (technically one split drain) in the deep end, which it sounds like you have. It's a very simple set up over all.

Online Pricing can be a bit skewed. Do you have anymore information about the control system they are installing? Are they selling wireless as an upgrade to the control system for an Additional 2000.00, or is that the price tag for a complete wireless system? A wireless remote alone for most control systems will run about 600-800, with the base system alone costing 1300.00 approximately.

Buy a new one, and get a Letro p/n LA01N. The haywards are kinda garbage, at least in my opinion.

Do you have a heater on your pool? Sounds like you still have copper in the water, and I doubt that the 5in1 is going to be a significant enough amount to cause the problems you're having. Have you had your source water tested as well?

Red DIrt? Red dirt usually means there's iron in the soil, which would potentially stain your pool plaster. You can check to see if it is a metal stain by putting a vitamin C tablet on the stain and seeing if it gets removed. You can also cut a lemon in half and use that if you don't have the vitamins. If that works, you can treat your pool with a small amount of vitamin c to remove the staining. If it doesn't pass the "lemon" test then you might just have an organic stain. Organic stains can be removed by spot application of chlorine to the stains, and sometimes just from super chlorination. What color is your plaster?

Sounds like you may have black algae, not dirt, since it is concentrated in low flow areas of your pool (bench, stairs, etc). If you have a salt system, it is too cold for the cell to produce chlorine (needs water temp to be higher then 59F). I would check your chlorine levels to see if you have any in the water at present.

Do you know who the manufacturer of said remote was? Typically, sales and distribution centers do not do warranty work for companys and those claims and issues are taken care of by the manufacturer. It would probably be a good idea to contact them if you haven't already. I am sorry for you remote though. I don't really feel a need to stick my neck out for PSW, being my competition, but if you were to purchase it from myself or any other outlet you will typically be refered to a manufacturer. They are usually much better equiped to handle you issues and resolve them quickly.

I don't see a lot of reason to use products like PR10000, since you should really never need it when your water is properly balanced. I think most people on this particular board will agree with that staement too. Phosphate removers are, basically, a placebo, and you can find a lot of articles detailing that in the chemistry section of this forum. I would save the money, honestly, and just be aware of your CYA level in relation to your free chlorine. More often than not, I see pool guys dumping gallons of algaecides and phosphate removers into pools with 3ppm FC and 150ppm CYA. They think that the phosphates are the reason that they have green while having available chlorine, when it's really the fact that they dump pounds of trichlor/dichlor into the water and have a CYA level that is paralyzing their sanatizer.

Well, the salt level isn't something you "enter" into the system. The system should be telling you how much salt is in your pool, so if it reads "0" then that would mean you have no salt in the water. However, the salt sensor and cell do not function if the water temperature is below 59F. It's likely that there is nothing wrong with your cell. You just need to wait for the water temp to increase. I used to get calls from people about this all winter. Basically, my advice to anyone with a salt system is don't bother attempting to troubleshoot it until your water temperature raises. (aka Spring)

It will depend entirely on what your rates are locally (for cost) and how quickly you want your pool to heat (for size of heater). Assuming you have a 12k gallon pool (which is what you should have approx based on your size) it would take a 400k BTU heater 2.5 hours to heat your water by 10 degrees. you would then multiply 2.5 hours (usage) by the price of gas for you, which will be measured either in therms (of which you would be using 4per hour) or by cubic foot of gas (which would be 400 cubic feet per hour). This will give you an approximation of you cost. Natural Gas vs Propane doesn't offer a performance difference, just a cost and availability difference. Hope that helps!

A Jandy 3hp relay (part# R0658100) typically retails for 85.25 if you have a 2speed (not variable or single) pump, you will need a 2sp Relay (part# 6796) retails for 55.96 Any pool retailer in your area should have access to them. They are very common. If you are replacing the 3hp relay, you can even use a pentair one (part# 520106). The 2speed relays are unique to the control systems though.

How cold is it where you live? You might have freeze protection enabled on your controller, which means the system will run your pump in order to stop the pipes from freezing.

Pool Clown is correct, it is best to deal with Hayward directly. Like he said, they should have a local dealership that is "endorsed" by Hayward. I would assume there shoudn't be any problems since you bought it from a reputable online retailer like Amazon.

Basically Zero. The motor never contacts water (at least it shouldn't be, because if it is then we may have found your problem: see bleow) so there is no reaction happening that is being caused by changes in temperature. Based on what you describe, my guess is that you may have a clogged impeller (since you said pine needles were slipping past the basket, and they are notrious for clogging impellers). You may want to start by checking there. The noise you are hearing could also by the motor bearings starting to wear down, as they make a distrintive grindy noise. This can be caused by water leaking past the pump seal and getting into the motor itself. You would probably see a small puddle of water under the pump or signs of calcification if that were occuring (although, since the pump is so new it may be difficult to spot). If the impeller is clogged then you are not moving as much water as you should be. I would check the pump pot during operation. One sign of a clogged impeller is usually cavitation (the pot will not fill all the way to the lid with water). Also check for puddles of water, or water traveling down the motor shaft behind the seal plate. With the pump off (at the break, saftey first), you can remove the lid and basket and feel the impeller for clogs. Try checking out those basic things, first.

All the new Hayward H-Series heaters come stock with Cupro-nickel exchangers, so there shouldn't be a problem there. As for pH automation, I've never been sold on the technology. I think it's come a long way, but I don't think it's quite ready for prime time. The pentair system is decent, but it has it's problems. I would point out that the issue I had seen most frequently with pH automation is over dosing. Pools that had the systems would typically ride very low on pH because the alkalinity of the pool was constantly low which meant the pH would plummit when the slightest bit of acid was added by the system. If you were hoping to automate as a solution to corrosion, my advice would be to look elsewhere.

It's a 3hp? That is a very large pump for a residential pool, especially one that already has a pump dedicated to water features and a booster pump powered sweep. Does he have 2nd story solar panels or a long run of pipe between the equipment and pool? What size is the plumbing on the pool? It may be wise to down size his pump, if he is receptive to that. That pump is a beast and no doubt guzzling power. It also has the potential to cavitate by attempting to pull more water than the flow rate of his piping will allow, which could lead to issues with the motor down the road or even be the catalyst for the issues you are currently dealing with. If 3hp is the proper size for his installation then you shouldn't have a problem, but I would very much doubt that to be the case since it's unlikely that he has larger than 2" piping which has a recommended flow rate of around 90gpm. A 3hp Whisperflo pump puts out 150gpm if the system has a Total Dynamic Head of 50 - 60 ft (which would be a lot of head. The flow rate of the pump will only increase with a lower TDH, thus compounding his flow rate issue). I will venture a guess that his pump is (potentially) very over sized. Just some food for thought. Has he had a lot of issues with his pumps in the past? Is this the original pump for his system? Has he had to replace it previously or recently at all? When the pump is running, does it cavitate at all (the pot only partially fills with water)?

Also, saying that your chemistry is "perfect" doesn't mean anything. You should definately post a full set of water test results so we can get an idae of just how your water "looks." What is actually "perfect" and what the pool store claims as "perfect" are very different things. If you have stuff coming back into your pool it sounds like a broken lateral or a bad spider gasket... You said the filter internals had no signs of damage? The "fingers" at the base of the filter weren't cracked? That would make me think you have issues with your vavle.

That's a very stupid argument from him, considering "white" is one of the colors on the intellibrite 5g color light, so you can change the colors to compliment at your leisure. Sounds more to me like he forgot you wanted to have color lights installed and is trying to down sell you to the standard light. It's likely that he installed the wrong ones without realizing it and is trying to avoid the additional labor of reinstalling the proper lights (not to mention that the ones he has already installed have had their cord cut and are potentially not usable on other jobs he may have). If you wanted to pay more for color, then that's your choice, not his. It's your check book. Speaking of payments, I would also make sure he is only billing you for white LEDs. Check your contract and make sure he doesn't try to stick you with a colored light price point for white LEDs. If your contract calls for color lights, then you should definately force the issue, or make sure you are properly reimbursed if you decide to stick with the plain white LEDs.

Is the main pump a variable speed pump? Does it have a panel on the motor with 4 speed settings? Does it also have a digital display? If it is a variable speed without the display (4 speed buttons and a start/stop), then try turning the pump on manually when the panel is in service mode by using the controller attached to the motor. Selecting a speed and pressing "start" should fire it up. If this works, then there is a good chance you have an issue with your programing. If it has a digital display on it (newer model of variable speed pump) then the display on the motor should tell you to control it from the easytouch panel (indicating that they are communicating). If it does tell you to consult the panel, try manually turning it on as listed above. If you can still manually engage the pump, then (once again) you may have a programming issue. If the display does not tell you to consult the easytouch, there is a communication issue between the pump and controller (which means something is goofy in the wiring, probably a bad relay). The booster pump won't work without the main circ pump running. A common issue with the easytouch is that people often create additional "schedules" within the system. In the settings for your pump schedules, it is very easy to make this mistake by scrolling up through your schedules. Just pressing the up button on the panel will make a brand new schedule, and more often than not, paralyze your equipment. I have seen homeowners with 9 duplicate schedules. Very common. Without the panel in front of me or a manual I can't really be more specific on troublshooting the programming. If I have time today I will see if I can dig the info up.

Could be the shaft seal too, depending on where the water is coming out. Basically you are going to have to take the wet end apart and check everything. You should find out exactly what components were replaced on the pump 8 monthes ago if you had a technician do the work for you. Typically you should have had the seal plate oring replaced (as Pool Clown mentioned) as well as a new shaft seal installed whenever the motor is replaced.

My course covered the difference, and I believe the updated handbook also goes into a bit of detail on the different finishes and their specific chemical needs. I admit it is covered briefly, as the focus of the course is to train commercial technicians and the majority of that field will be plaster.