Monday, July 31, 2017

Top Five Suction Side Pool Cleaners of 2017 - Podcast

Suction Side Pool Cleaners are a good choice if you are in the market for an automatic cleaner. They run off of your existing pool pump and will generally help keep your pool very clean week to week. The price point of suction side cleaners is lower than that of a Pressure or Robotic Cleaner making them an ideal choice for the budget minded pool owner.



In this Podcast I briefly explain how a Suction Side Cleaner works and I give you the rundown on the top 6 cleaners I recommend for your pool. You can also find my list of the Top Suction Side cleaners here on my website:

https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/top-suction-cleaners-of-2016

I've used or tested almost every suction side cleaner on the market, including some from foreign markets like Australia and South Africa. So I will say be default I have become an expert in which ones work good and which ones don't. There are a great many to chose from actually, including a lot of $100 generic cleaners. These under $100 cleaners are what we call throw away cleaners. When they break you simply toss them out verses buying new parts, which actually they don't sell the parts anyway.

So there are two basic types of suction cleaners. The geared cleaners and the bouncing type cleaners. I personally prefer the geared type cleaners and have many of those on my pool route. The gear type have a programmed turn cycle that will usually stop one side of the cleaner and allow it to pivot and turn out of corners and step areas. These geared cleaners rarely get stuck in an area in a pool. That is why I prefer them over the bouncing type.

Geared cleaners:
Hayward Pool Cleaner
Hayward AquaNaut
Hayward Phoenix
Hayward Navigator/ Pool Vac
Pentair Rebel
Pentair Warror
Zodiac MX-8
Zodiac MX-6
Pentair Dorado
Pentair Great White
Pentar Sand Shark

The bouncing type cleaners where the first on the market and work really well. Basically they have a diaphragm or hammer in the throat that as water is sucked in the cleaner begins to move. The design gives these cleaners a bouncing motion, which also helps knock surface debris down to the pool floor. But the drawback of these cleaners as they can get stuck in the step areas and in a hard angled corner. The cleaning pattern is also very random but in most cases they do clean most of the pool if it is run long enough.

Boiuncing Cleaners:
Pentair Kreepy Krauly
Pentaitr Kruiser
Zodiac G3
Zodiac Wahoo
Zodiac Ranger

One thing to note, if you have an above ground or in ground vinyl pool or fiberglass pool I would recommend a bouncing type cleaner over the geared type cleaner. The gear type cleaners do poorly in these surface types and may not climb out of the deep end, nor climb the walls. For plaster and PebbleTec pools I recommend the geared type cleaner. And for a tile pool the bouncing type are also far better.

Podcast of this video: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/542982-episode-4-suction-side-pool-cleaners-my-top-5-cleaners 

You can also Subscribe to my Podcast at Buzzsprout thru iTunes:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/110832

And you can listen and download it from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192

And thanks to Steve Giles for the great new Podcast Theme song! You can find Steve here on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/mrgeerocks

Recommended Playlists:
Best Suction Side Cleaners: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsvsTjbpoT-fCVagRSPIUHXA-qiQAuSFQ

Automatic Pool Cleaners:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7E44FEAE1310746D

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Saturday, July 29, 2017

All About Salt Water Pools & Salt Water Generators Podcast

In this Podcast I go over everything about Salt Water pools and Salt Water Generators. I cover the different manufacturers, the pros of a salt water pool and the cons. I also talk about some myths and truths about salt water pools.




I am pretty honest in this Podcast and relate the only true benefit of a salt water system, the fact that it adds chlorine to the pool without you having to do anything. This means no more trips to the pool store for shock or liquid chlorine. It is a great time saver for sure. But for me that is the one and only benefit.

And you can listen and download it from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192

You really don't save any money when you convert to a salt pool. In fact it cost a lot more than using Chlorine or Bleach in your pool. Factor in the cost of the unit plus install, say $1,000 and then a new salt cell every 3-5 years at $500 and the salt to start $150 and your looking at over $1,600 for the first 5 years. So you would have to spend over $320 a year on chlorine to match that number. Typically you are not spending over $100 a season for your chlorine.

With that said, a salt water system is a preference. And if you can absorb the cost of the system and don't mind the extra overall cost of a salt pool, then it is the way to go. If you want to save money on the initial system check out the Pure Line system at INYOPools: http://www.inyopools.com/ProductListing/crystal-pure-salt-system.aspx? - it is priced around $500 for the complete system!

I also cover the different salt systems in the podcast for you. There are many manufacturers out there and don't be afraid to go with a smaller "generic" company as those systems are actually very reliable and good.

So listen to the Podcast and decide for yourself, to go with salt or to not go with salt.

Also support my sponsor by visiting their website and thanking them for their support. This podcast is a free resources thanks to those who sponsor the program. You can visit Riptide Pool Vacuum Systems here:

https://www.riptidevac.com/


This is a weekly podcast called the “Pool Guy Podcast Show” which will cover everything pool related in a 20-25 minute podcast. I will be uploading at least one new podcast per week so please Subscribe to my Podcast to receive future episodes.

You can find the Podcast here:
https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/podcast-the-pool-guy-show

You can also Subscribe to my Podcast at Buzzsprout thru iTunes:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/110832

And thanks to Steve Giles for the great new Podcast Theme song! You can find Steve here on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/mrgeerocks

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Thursday, July 27, 2017

PORTAVAC Portable Filtration System - Set Up and Use Video

The PORTAVAC by Advantage Manufacturing is a self contained portable filtration system that can be used for a great many swimming pool applications. In this video I will show you how to set it up and use it to manually vacuum out a pool. It is a great time saver and will allow you to vacuum pools that are not even running.



The best way to describe it to you is that the PORTAVAC is like having your pool equipment on a a dolly that you can move around. This means that you do not need to rely on the pool equipment at your house, resort or on your pool route. Simply connect your manual vacuum hose and vacuum out a pool directly from the PORTAVAC.



Save $100 on the PORTAVAC & $50 on the
Mini Vac II with discount code: "YouTube Portable"


To learn more about the PORTAVAC and to see a detailed description of the system see this video:

PORTAVAC: Portable Filtration System by Advantage Manufacturing - Overview: https://youtu.be/uhGYALoLdWs

Here are some specs on the PORTAVAC directly from the manufacturer:

1.5 HP self priming pump with over sized trap
150 Sq. Ft. cartridge filter
35' of 12 gauge insulated cord
Heavy duty tubed tires
Rugged 0.090 wall steel
Powder coated finish
On/Off switch with GFI

The PORTAVAC uses a 150 sq ft cartridge filter so it traps dirt and debris down to about 10 or 15 microns. This means that the PORTAVAC will pick up very fine dust, sand and algae dust where the other types of vacuums fail at this. You would use your standard pool vacuum head and a 1.5” pool hose attached to the PORTAVAC to pick up the dirt and debris. Figure that your standard cartridge filter is 320 sq ft to 450 sq ft and you only clean those every 4-6 months and you get the idea of how much dirt a 150 sq ft filter can hold. I would doubt if it didn't last you the complete day or days of vacuuming.

There are a great many uses for the PORTAVAC and you can use it to vacuum out pools with poor running equipment, vacuum your Commercial accounts, pool start ups, green pool clean ups, pool opening, pools that get a lot of dirt from the winds, as temporary equipment, as a way to save your clients pool filtration system and much more.

I have been using the PORTAVAC to vacuum out the pools on my route and it is working perfectly. The cart has special go-cart wheels on it so you can easily pull it with one hand. It is so well balanced that even pulling it up a grass hill with one hand there is no fear of it tipping to one side. I wrap my pool hose around the PORTAVAC and carry my pole and vacuum head in my other hand.

I have several pools on my route that get a lot of dirt and dust in the pool each week. To save on the pool filter the PORTAVAC comes in very handy. I also have several pools with very poor suction which makes vacuuming them out a real challenge when using the pool equipment. The PORTAVAC makes my life simple and easy. The fact that it attaches to a hitch on the back of my truck for easy transport makes this a must have vacuum system for your pool route.

If you are a homeowner and have a pool that gets a lot of dirt and sand each week, you may want to consider investing in one of these. They make models that are less expensive that don't need to be transported on a service truck. The same goes for Hotel and Resorts that get a lot of use or are constantly dirty. This is a great way to save time and also save on the wear and tear of your pool's filtration system. To learn more about the other portable vacuum models available click on the link below.


To learn more or to order yours today: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/portavac-advantage-manufacturing

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Friday, July 21, 2017

PORTAVAC: Portable Filtration System by Advantage Manufacturing - Overview

The PORTAVAC by Advantage Manufacturing is a self contained portable filtration system that can be used for a great many swimming pool applications. The best way to describe it to you is that the PORTAVAC is like having your pool equipment on a a dolly that you can move around.



Here are some specs on the PORTAVAC directly from the manufacturer:

1.5 HP self priming pump with oversized trap
150 Sq. Ft. cartridge filter
35' of 12 gauge insulated cord
Heavy duty tubed tires
Rugged 0.090 wall steel
Powder coated finish
On/Off switch with GFI

I will touch on these features some more later in this article. I wanted to highlight some uses for the PORTAVAC. First, let me make a distinction from the closest portable Vacuum type when compared to the PORTAVAC. This is not at all like the Hammer-Head, Riptide Vac, or Power Vac. Those types of portable vacuums use a fine filter bag on top to trap debris and work off of a Deep Cycle Marine Battery attached to the cart. The limitation of these types of vacuums is that they only trap dirt and debris down to about 60 microns, with the finest bag attached.

Save $100 on the PORTAVAC & $50 on the
Mini Vac II with discount code: "YouTube Portable"

The PORTAVAC uses a 150 sq ft cartridge filter, so it traps dirt and debris down to about 10 or 15 microns. This means that the PORTAVAC will pick up very fine dust, sand and algae dust where the other types of vacuums fail at this. You would use your standard pool vacuum head and a 1.5” pool hose attached to the PORTAVAC to pick up the dirt and debris. It is just like manually vacuuming from your pools existing filtration system.

There are a great many uses for the PORTAVAC and you can use it to vacuum out pools with poor running equipment, vacuum your Commercial accounts, pool start ups, green pool clean ups, pool openings, pools that get a lot of dirt from the winds, as temporary equipment, as a way to save your clients pool filtration system and much more.

The PORTAVAC is powered by a 1.5 HP standard pool pump. The motor is made by Advantage Manufacturing and it uses a Waterway wet end for the pump. The pump has a special propitiatory impeller that spins slightly slower but it still can pull 100 gallons of water per minute. The special impeller will allow the motor to give off slightly less amps – 15 amps or 1800 Watts  vs the standard 18 amps from a 1.5 HP motor. This is to ensure that the GFI or circuit breaker of the house does not trip due to high wattage being used on one socket.

Also included on the cord is a Leviton Portable GFI which will allow you to plug the PORTAVAC into a non-GIF outlet. If you plug it into a GFI outlet the Portable GFI will trip first, allowing you to simply reset the power from the Leviton Portable GFI instead of the socket or breaker.  This is a nice feature and the Leviton Portable GFI is also rain proof.

The On/Off switch comes in a waterproof alloy case so you can safely leave the PORTAVAC on your truck and even use it in rainy weather. The cord  is 35 ft long and there is a nice built in cord  loop  for easy storage. If needed you can add an outdoor heavy duty extension cord, but I have found the 35 ft to be an excellent cord length.

The Cartridge filter is a very large, coming in at 150 sq ft. Plenty of filtration for a day of vacuuming up pools. Figure that your standard cartridge filter is 320 sq ft to 450 sq ft and you only clean those every 4-6 months and you get the idea of how much dirt a 150 sq ft filter can hold.

The cart itself is made and assembled in Orange County Ca. And is welded together by an experienced welder who has over 20 years experience in making the PORTAVAC carts. It is a powder coated frame and comes equipped with rugged wheels to easily get it over steps and curbs. It is actually very well balanced and easy to pull back to the poolside.

You can purchase a hitch and transport the PORTAVAC on the back of your truck like I do in the video. The hitch can be purchased from Advantage Manufacturing or if you have an existing service cart, that hitch should work also (I have a T.Dula hitch on my truck and it fits on there nicely). If you don't need to transport the PORTAVAC but will park it at your resort, hotel or at home, you may want to look at their other portable filtration systems. To learn more visit my website page on Advantage Manufacturing:

https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/portavac-advantage-manufacturing



eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

MGcool Explorer-Pro 4K Action Camera,170°Wide Angle "SHARKEYE" Lens Waterproof Sports Camera - $50!

This is the MGcool Explorer-Pro 4K Action Camera,170°Wide Angle "SHARKEYE" Lens Waterproof Sports Cameras16MP Ultra HD Underwater Action Camera  with SONY Sensor. This is my first experience with a 4K camera and I must say the video quality is stunning.


The MGcool camera sells for around $50 and for that price you get a lot. The video quality is surprisingly crisp and the special “Sharkeye” lens does keep the corners in the video more square as compared to other 170 degree lens cameras I have used. Speaking of the 170 degree lens, it does take some getting used to. It gives you a very wide angle shot, but you need to shoot some footage at a different tilt or angle to avoid the rounding effect.

The camera also allows you to shoot in various modes:
4K/30FPS, 2.7K/30FPS, 1080P/60FPS, 1080P/30FPS and 720P/120FPS Video Resolution. 16MP Image Resolution. I especially like the 720P 120 frames per second slow motion mode. It is pretty cool to play with and the 120 FPS gives the slow motion action a real life feel to it. It really is a mode that provides a lot of fun shots. The 16 MP camera takes really sharp images and the colors comes out realistic and sharp. But if your purchasing this camera for the 4K mode, it really shines at full resolution.

The detail that the 4K video displays is stunning. You can truly see the difference between a 4K video and a 1080p video. The 4K video is much crisper and full of detail vs the 1080p video. But the 4K video does require a 4K monitor to play them on so that is something to note.

The camera comes with a few accessories like a bike mount and two mounts for helmets and what not. It also comes with a belt clip and holder but really not a lot of different mounts. Two batteries are also included with the kit, but no carrying case. It comes shipped in the waterproof case which is very easy to open and works very well.

I actually have five cameras with WIFI ability, which means thru your WIFI you can remotely transfer the photos. But believe it or not I have never used any of them to transfer photos in WIFI mode. I just like removing the card and loading it into my computer. But it is a nice included feature with this camera if you ever want to use it to transfer the photos via WIFI.

Speaking on the memory card, the camera takes a Micro SD card, u to 64 GB and you must use a class 10 card. The 4K video will chew up a lot of space on the card so be aware of that. And as I found out, unless you have a very powerful computer, editing and even playing 4K videos can be challenging. On my 4K Mac I was having trouble playing the 4K video footage and that computer is pretty new and powerful. Editing the 4K footage took forever and  my software could not split the different resolutions for the final save. So the video came out as HD but not true 4K. I need more powerful editing software also if I continue to shoot in 4K.

The battery life was surprisingly good. I filmed for over 30 minutes on one battery and there was still life left on it. Technically it is a 1050 mAh which is a decent size battery for this type of camera. The camera port is a little challenging for my adult size fingers, but my 9 year old son can pop the small panel off in a second. And he is a huge fan of these little action cameras, as you can see from the video.

But you can still see the stunning videos that this little camera can take. For the investment this is a great buy. It comes with a 1 year warranty and seems to be a very durable little camera. To order the MGcool  camera you can use this link:
https://www.amazon.com/MGcool-Explorer-Pro-Waterproof-Cameras16MP-Accessories/dp/B071YVF9NK/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=swimmingpooll-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=44cfd30f047fa09ff0635e5e83ee40dc&creativeASIN=B071YVF9NK

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/

eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook

Thursday, July 13, 2017

The Pool Guy Show Podcast: Weekly Podcast all About Swimming Pool Care

I started a weekly podcast called the “Pool Guy Podcast Show” which will cover everything pool related in a 20-25 minute podcast. I will be uploading at least one new podcast per week so please Subscribe to my Podcast to receive future episodes.

You can find the Podcast here:

You can also Subscribe to my Podcast at Buzzsprout:

And you can listen and download it from iTunes:





On this weekly Podcast I will go over basic pool care, product reviews and I will be answering questions submitted by you. If you have a question or topic you would like me to discuss on a future Podcast feel free to email me at: swimmingpoollearning@gmail.com

I will also be conducting interviews with those in the industry and many of my guest will be talking in depth about their pool products and services. This will give you, the listener, a chance to hear first hand about their products and services in depth and in greater detail than a video can provide. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast feel free to contact me.

I think this Podcast will benefit many listeners who need more in depth pool information that a video or a forum cannot provide. The Podcast will also allow for manufacturers and service providers to get the word out on their products and services.

In my first Episode I talk a little about me and my background so here is a little bit about me and what I do:

I am a Pool Service Professional with over 30,000 hours of practical experience. I currently maintain a pool route with about 100 accounts. I have extensive experience in water chemistry, automatic cleaners, pool filtration, pool equipment and automated systems.

I work in Southern California and have been in the pool industry since 1988 with a brief hiatus in the late 1990's to buy and sell Real Estate. Me and my wife have been following the Dave Ramsey plan for several years and we have paid off all of our debt plus three houses in Southern California -WE ARE DEBT FREE!

I am the creator of the #1 Swimming Pool Channel on YouTube which attracts viewers from within the industry and your typical homeowner who manages their own pool. My YouTube Channel Started in 2012 has over 39,000 subscribers and over 22 Million video views.

So Subscribe to my Podcast and learn more about everything swimming pool related!