Gonna buy a pool!

[Mikabl]

Hey all,

my first post!

Well, after long discussions with my wife we have decided to buy a pool. So, we searched for the last 2 weeks and are pretty sure we are getting a Wilbar Quest 27' round 54" tall pool. the "package" includes a Hayward 150 Swimpro element cartridge filter, Hayward 2.0 2hp matrix 2 speed pump, and a Nature 2 vision pro vessel. Plus all the other stuff, hoses, clamps, auto vacuum cleaner, etc...

Anything look out of whack or missing? I've read some poor comments on the Nature 2 mineral system. True? And oh, well, about a gazillion other questions! lol

anyway thanks for any advice! post more later!

Mike

[Mikabl]

now I'm Looking at the electrical requirements. I wired my basement when we finished it, so I'm fairly confident I can wire the 20a gfci circuit. I have questions though,

How long is the cord on the pump motor?

When installing the pool, do most people put the filter/pump on the far side (away from house) or closer? I'm thinking about noise.

Does the pool have to be grounded as well?

How do i get out of trial user mode on the forum?


Mike

[Mikabl]

ok, I answered some of my own questions but opened more. I guess the pump cord is 3' long. And the pool needs to be bonded.

From what I've read, I need to bury a #8 bare copper wire 18" outside and 6" down around the pool and connect it to 4 equidistant steel uprights, the water, motor and any other conductive parts within 5' of the pool. Question is the pool has steel walls, but resin top, and bottom rail. the uprights are steel. Will I need to connect *all* of the uprights because they aren't otherwise connected electrically? Or do the steel walls make the connection? I'm thinking the paint and other coatings on the wall break the connection.

[kelemvor]

Do yourself a favor and skip the nature2. It adds metals (copper) to your pool which is weak at killing algae, doesn't kill bacteria at all. Also, it's really good at turning hair green. If you want some kind of automation to make care easier then a SWCG is a good choice if it doesn't void the warranty on your pool.

Also, 2hp sounds like it might be big time overkill for that size pool. I would go with a smaller pump and bigger filter.

As for the electrical question. Anything metal in or around your pool needs to be "bonded" which basically means connected together via a big copper wire. Don't skip this, it could be the difference between life and death literally. Then that line will probably get grounded. I'm sure the pool will come with instructions to this effect if you're doing everything yourself.

[aylad]

Welcome to the forum!

Kelemvor is right on the money about the nature2 and pump....but I don't know anything about the electrical side of the question, so I'll leave that to those who do.

Regarding the trial portion of the forum, Ben (aka Pooldoc, the site's owner) will complete your registration soon, and then you'll have access to the remainder of the forum. In the meantime, though, you can log out and use the google search feature in my sig to search through the rest of the forum and archives for other information.

[PoolDoc]

upgraded membership; added Pool Chart data . . . I assume this represents what you are planning to buy? If so, you do NOT want a 2HP pump for a 15K gallon pool.

[Mikabl]

Hey! yea, the pools salesman tried to get me the 2hp, I at first talked him into a 2 speed 2HP unit. After reading around here I'm gonna go with the hayward matrix 1hp 2 speed. I'm thinking run it on low 24/7 and high for cleaning and pool parties. Good idea? Anyway Putting the money out this Saturday, delivered next saturday, and install the day after labor day. (we hope) Kinda sad the season is about over! but we'll get a good early start next season.


Mike

[PoolDoc]

I'm gonna go with the hayward matrix 1hp 2 speed. I'm thinking run it on low 24/7 and high for cleaning and pool parties. Good idea?

Yes!

If you have the money, getting the plastic solar panels may extend the season for you -- there's often more sun in the fall, then the spring.

DO get the K2006 kit, and some dichlor for start up!

Ben

===================

+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

HTH 6-Way Test Kit @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) @ Amazon

+ If you need stabilizer, and have access to a Sams Club, buy their 24 pack of 1# bags of dichlor shock. Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer, per 10K gallons of water. Otherwise, order dichlor from Amazon:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

We do NOT recommend buying dichlor locally, otherwise, at least until you are an EXPERT reader of chemical labels. The chlorinating pool chemicals sold at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most other local stores are diluted blends, sometimes with copper and other products with bad side-effects.

[Mikabl]

OK,

Pool got delivered today! but rain delays mean it'll be Monday for the excavation, and next Saturday for the install. I wired up my 20a circuit myself and hope to swim in the freezing cold water at least once! lol. One think I don't like about the pool "kit" they gave me was the Vision Pro above ground vessel. They said I would be able to throw 3" tabs in the chlorine side and not use the mineral cartridge in the other if I didn't want to. BUT.... you need to buy the Vision chlorine cartridge. I was hoping not to have the floating holder, but I'm not gonna buy the over priced vision chlorine cartridge.

So what would be an adequate heater size? 150K BTU? I did order the K2006 kit from the forum links, and will be getting the chemicals sometime during the week. I was hoping to close the pool in late October, good for northern Illinois?

Do you think I'd have any problems If I bury the pool about a foot deep on the lowest point? looking at 20"ish on the high side. yea I understand about the warranty.


Mike

Ps. How do i update my pool chart data? I did purchase what's in there now

[PoolDoc]

+ Burying is not something I can recommend, or offer any advice about.

+ The smallest available heater should be enough to *extend* the season, and warm the pool on otherwise cool days. It's not enough to *heat* the pool, but you probably don't want to heat it anyhow. Most gas pool heaters get used long enough to get 1 or 2 gas bills . . . and then they get permanently abandoned!

+ If your pool data has changed since 8/18, just complete the pool chart form again, but note that this is an update in the notes section.