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jjsaustin

Need advice on new pool, Blue Square, Haywood, UV, Zodiac...

jjsaustin
9 years ago

Hi,

We built our first pool was ~9 yrs ago and we used Pentair equipment, Caretaker infloor cleaning system, with SWG and a sand filter. We had no problems with it and this forum was a big help! We are building a new pool and talking to various pool builders.

One of the pool builders we are considering spec'd the pool with:
Haywood 2.7hp EcoStar Variable speed pump and a 2hp pump for the infloor cleaner. How does Haywood compare to the Pentair Intelliflo pumps from a reliability standpoint?

Blue Square infloor cleaning system which (according to their website) is suppose to be better than Paramount and Caretaker. I find very little info and real life experiences on the web... Anybody heard of them or have any experience?

UV light with Zodiac Nature II mineral cartridge. It seems like salt now has a bad rep for eating stone coping etc... Maybe people did not keep the chemistry balanced. We did not have any real issues and liked the fact it was low maintenance. We just added a gallon of acid every week and it was fine. I have done some reading on the UV systems and they only treat the water that passes thru. I'm not sure given the hot Texas heat and pool temperatures that reach into the 90+, how well this would work and if there is constant fiddling with chlorine pucks to keep the chlorine levels correct, etc....

The other spec's are pretty standard with a mini pebble finish, 2.5" suction lines. We will have a salted concrete deck with a Stone Leuder coping.

Since I am not familiar with some of the equipment I am looking for peoples opinion.

Thanks for any feedback!!


Comments (3)

  • golfgeek
    9 years ago

    Why are you using two pumps for the system? VSP are ideal to operate floor systems because they can be adjusted.
    Blue Square is a new manufacturer (2010). No way to evaluate track record or product. Looks like they might be producing a knock off product.
    I like Pentair products in general over Hayward. You might look at A&A for a good floor cleaning system. Both are pretty innovative with their products and have proven track records over a substantial period of time.
    I started installing Variable Speed Pumps when they first came out. I have also installed a lot of in-floor cleaning systems. VSP have been standard on floor systems for almost 10 years.

  • jjsaustin
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for your feedback.

    Regarding the 2 pumps, I asked the same question as my previous system only had one pump and based on the Jandy valve the water would either come out of the returns or the infloor system.

    The answer I got from several PBs was that a separate pump is what the Infloor cleaning mfgs recommend. This way the pressure for the infloor does not go thru the filter and the pressure does not change depending on how clogged the filter is. This seems brain dead to me that I would have to run 2 pumps to use the infloor system. I can probably have them only use 1 pump like my old system, but they tend not to like being told how to install the systems different from the manufacturer directions.

    I spoke with Blue square company and the system consists of 3 parts:

    1. The rotary heads - basically the same design as all the rest
    2. The manifold - This does not have any electronics but only has a simple gear drive system to switch zones. So this is a plus to me as electronics tend to fail and really are not serviceable.
    3. The drain - it is a different design which can swallow bigger debris (ie. leaves) and only 1 is needed for anti-entrapment vs the conventional design where 2 are required. It is an interesting design and a small plus.
      From their perspective they are innovating, you can argue how much a plus it is.

    Any more feedback?
    ]

  • golfgeek
    9 years ago

    Use a single VSP with a std. pressure cleaner.