remodeling soon, and have equipment questions...

[monrocm]

I'm new here, so please bear with me... I did several searches, but didn't find the answers I was looking for, and what little I did find, seemed dated info.

I'm remodeling my pool, and to save money for things I cannot do, I'm doing some of the work myself.

Here is what I have:
20x40 oval w/ 9' deep end, and attached 4 person spa
Hayward: Northstar pump, DE filter, gas heater
Polaris: Eos Command Center & valve actuators, spa side remote, wireless remote, and (uninstalled) C2100 ORP
Automatic cleaner was Kreepy Krawley w/ dedicated plumbing, but he is broken and needs to be replaced.

Neighbor's oak tree dumps bushels of leaves and small twigs in my pool each month (I offered to pay for the removal, and installation of a diffrent tree in another location, but he isn't willing)

Question 1: What would be the best cleaner for my situation? Currently plumbed for suction, but could be replumbed for pressure w/ booster pump. Large leaf load.

Question 2: Should I get a robotic cleaner (and keep the suction option for manual vacuum), and if so, does it have to be removed every day (I'm not in town every day due to brief travel, might be gone 3 days in a row).

Question 3: I've always wanted to add a salt clorinator, and planned to get the Polaris Auto Clear Plus (to match control equipment), but it seems to have been discontinued, but still available. Should I stick to the Polaris brand to match control equipment, or go with Hayward to match the cleaning equipment, or some other brand?

Question 4: Would a non-Polaris salt generator work with my Eos Command Center & ORP?

I think that is about it for now. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Watermom]

Anybody have any advice for this poster? By the way, monrocm, welcome to the forum!

[mas985]

I'll give it a shot.

#1 If a lot of leaves make it to the bottom of the pool, then a pressure side cleaner would be a better choice but you are currently not set up for one so it would probably be too expensive to change. A suction will work ok on leaves if they are small and if you have a leaf trap in line with the cleaner. I get quite a bit of leaves during leaf fall but the trap helps quite a bit. The cleaner only gets clogged once in a while.

#2 Some robotics are very good at cleaning. However, many require you to not only take them out when finished but also put them in and start them manually. Personally, I like to leave my suction cleaner in all the time except when swimming.

#3 No reason to stick with the same manufacture of a SWG. I would go by price and features. I have a Goldline unit and have been pretty happy with it for 5+ years.

#4 Most SWGs are pretty independent of the controller and have there own flow switches that shut off the unit when the pump shuts off. However, you should be able to wire the SWG such that it will shut off with the pump as well.