Equipment Recommendations?

[lrcharest]

Hello! I'm researching equipment for my new yet-to-be-built inground gunite pool. It's going to be 550 sf, 18x34 free form, slope 3.6-6 ft, 22K gallons.

I've heard Pentair had the most reliable products, so thought I should go with a 1.5 HP pump, a DE 60 filter, a 400,000btu heater, and a 3900 Polaris Sport, with pump for a cleaner.

One builder said I would be wasting electricity because my equipment was too big for the pool, but the size was about what 4 other builders said would be good, only one sold Hayward products, the other Jandy, the other Pentair. Does one brand have better reliability than the other? This builder also suggested I use the Polaris 380 because black rollers on white plaster wouldn't be good. and I didn't need a pump with the Polaris, either.

Any recommendations out there?

[ps558]

Hello! I'm researching equipment for my new yet-to-be-built inground gunite pool. It's going to be 550 sf, 18x34 free form, slope 3.6-6 ft, 22K gallons.

I've heard Pentair had the most reliable products, so thought I should go with a 1.5 HP pump, a DE 60 filter, a 400,000btu heater, and a 3900 Polaris Sport, with pump for a cleaner.

One builder said I would be wasting electricity because my equipment was too big for the pool, but the size was about what 4 other builders said would be good, only one sold Hayward products, the other Jandy, the other Pentair. Does one brand have better reliability than the other? This builder also suggested I use the Polaris 380 because black rollers on white plaster wouldn't be good. and I didn't need a pump with the Polaris, either.

Any recommendations out there?

I personally pick Hayward products over all of them, but they the ones you have listed are all good. A 1.5 hp is the biggest I would go unless you have some water features.

The polaris 3900 is new and designed to work with any pool surface, plus it built in head float and chain drive, should require less repairs and you need a pump with a 3900 or a 380. The 360 does not need a pump, but does not work as good.

..

[pooltech9]

Hayward all the way. Scrap the polaris and get a robotic Tiger Shark by Hayward. It only draws 1 amp of electricity. If you want to save 75 % of you cost of running your pump get a 2 speed.

[kaseykent]

I don't think you will see any benefit going with a 1.5 HP pump, the horsepower is second to how many gallons-per-minute the pump moves. I would also recommend doing a two-speed pump and running it on low speed, except when you are vacuuming or using a water feature. a 3/4HP 2-Speed WhisperFlo would work awesome for your size of pool. You would be very happy with it. Pentair's equipment is awesome and we see very little warranty work on them. I would also recommend doing the Prowler 720 over the Polaris Sport for the same reasons. Our customers have loved the Prowler 720s, we sell them all day long and feel extremely confident in their performance and longevity.

[Pool-newb]

I have a 1.5 hp dual speed pump and I love it. It is "way too big" for my small pool but the savings are tremendous. When I add chemicals or need a fast turnover I can put it on high speed and will get things done quickly. For standard long term filtering I use the slow speed which as mentioned above is about 75% cheaper - not to mention quieter - to run.

I went with Hayward not because I'm so convinced of their quality but mostly because they are the biggest which means lots of experience, lots of posts from users and lots of places to find cheap product.

[Pool-newb]

Oops, also regarding the heater - if you are installing an SWG (very common now) make sure you get one that is specifically recommended for salt water. Warranty lengths have decreased recently and they have new metals - like cupro - that should abate this but make sure whoever sells and installs heater is aware that you want one that won't rust out and dump metals in your water while doing so.