Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

The Jandy 2.0 HP Variable Speed Pump (VS pump) has a built in Auxiliary Relay which can be used to control a secondary device as long as it does not exceed 11 Amps. This is ideal for a Salt Water System or Booster Pump and this is a great way to control another piece of equipment through the VS pump. The Jandy VS pumps not connected to an automated system requires a separate controller and I prefer the Jandy iQPUMP01 interface over the older JEP-R controller. How the AUX Relay works is that you would wire the device power source according to the manual as a shared power source. A licensed electrician or licensed pool service technician should do this for you. Once the device is connected to the AUX Relay on the pump you can control that device by simply setting a higher RPM that will activate the AUX Relay. Any RPM above 1725 RPM will give power to the AUX Relay and activate the secondary device (Salt System or Booster Pump). So if you set your VS pump to run at 1400 R

Pleatco is the leading manufacturer of replacement filter cartridge media and it is the brand of the cartridges that I use on all of the pools on my pool route. I have used and tested every brand over the years and the Pleatco Advanced brand is the best. In this Podcast I interview Rich Medina who is the VP of Engineering and Research at Pleatco and Abhi Pillai who is the Director of Research and Development. They go over in detail why Pleatco Advanced is the premiere replacement filter cartridge media. Listen to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/644171-episode-32-pleatco-filter-cartridges-interview-with-abhi-pillai-rich-medina-pleatco-engineers Podcast Website: https://www.thepoolguypodcastshow.com/ Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192 Subscribe on Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Imhdwnal25iyl4c2yfceih2ni4y The first thing we cover is when you n

Several years ago when Variable Speed Pumps first appeared on the market – if I remember correctly I ran into my first one in 2007, I thought they were really ineffective in keeping the pool clean and a standard pump was superior. I will admit that I was wrong in my original judgment and my opinion has shifted 180 degrees. Far enough that two years ago I installed one at my own pool. Bottom line, Variable Speed pumps will save you a ton of money, last longer and run quieter then any standard speed pump. I am going to focus here on the money savings that a Variable Speed Pump (VS) can help you with and you will be amazed I think of the amount of money you can save each year on your pool care budget. The pool pump can be the highest energy hog in your house, passing your Air Conditioner and Refrigerator just by the shear amount of hours it runs each day. If you have a 1 ½ or 2 HP pump installed and you run it 8 hours per day, not to get into complicated conversions of kWh (K

AquaSuite is a powerful Pool Route Management Software that tracks, manages and invoices your customers and service accounts. This is an affordable solution that will speed up your business accounting and allow you to earn more by preventing loss due to missed billing of parts and services. The time savings and more effective billing will more than pay for the monthly subscription. AquaSuite starts at as little as $20 per month depending on your route size. It makes invoicing as simple as one press of the button and easily syncs with Quickbooks and Freshbooks. Here are some other great features of the software: Track Service Stops: Ditch the route book and gain quick, complete access to all your service stops while being able to easily notify your customers of when you service their pool via email. Automatically Bill Your Customers: Using data already collected in the field, invoice all your customers with the click of a button. Know when you get paid, and who

One thing that often happens over time is that your Polaris or Pentair Pressure Cleaner will no longer connect to the wall fitting. What happens is that the tabs in the threaded part of the connector break off so the only solution is to remove the 1 1/2” threaded wall fitting. But more times then I can remember the threaded fitting is calcified into the pool wall and it becomes impossible to thread it out without breaking it. Here is a very easy solution and one that I have used successfully on many occasions. The Polaris cleaner is connected to the pool return line with a 91009001 UWF Connector Assembly Wall Fitting 9-100-9001 and the Pentair Legend uses the Pentair LXW22 White Complete Wall Fitting. This part is usually very long lasting, but it is the tabs on the threaded fitting that fail over time. So how do you get it out if you try to turn it and it doesn't budge? You can try a specially designed tool by Polaris, but this tool requires the two small tabs to

I have been using the SkimDoctor on my Pool Route for over 3 years now. Last year they updated the SkimDoctor and relaunched it under the name of the SkimDoctor 2.0. In a nutshell what this product does is increase the surface skimming velocity by channeling the water into the skimmer. You can also listen to the Podcast interview that I did with Ron Smith the inventor of the SkimDoctor 2.0 as he goes into great detail about the product and it's features. Listen to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/631215-episode-30-the-skimdoctor-2-0-interview-with-the-inventor-ron-smith Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192 Subscribe on Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Imhdwnal25iyl4c2yfceih2ni4y Podcast Website: https://www.thepoolguypodcastshow.com/ Some of the features of the SkimDoctor 2.0 is the ability to unscrew the top to empty out the debris. This mak

In this series of videos I go over replacing parts in your Zodiac MX6 if it is not moving in the pool or not turning. The thing I really like about the MX6 vs the MX8 is how easy it is to work on. Not that the MX8 is difficult, but there are less parts in the MX6 and it just is compact and easier to work on. You will also be able to isolate the problem easier on the M6 and get it up and running like new again in a matter of minutes. One of the drawbacks of the MX6 is all of the moving parts wear out over time. Fortunately the parts are inexpensive and easy to install. I would say after 1 ½ to 2 years you will need to start to replace some parts, and this depends on the pool run time also. But figure at the 2 year mark replacing all of these parts featured in this video series would be a good idea. This first video covers what to do if the MX6 stops going thru it's turn cycle. Very common in the MX8 but less common in the MX6 since there is only one Directional Dev

This is the Lamotte WaterLink Spin Touch Mobile which can do 10 test factors in 60 seconds. It is a truly awesome water tester in every way. In this Podcast I talk to Rich DeMoss of LaMotte Company and we go into detail on the features and use of the Spin Touch. Listen to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/626261-episode-29-all-about-the-lamotte-mobile-waterlink-spin-touch-interview-with-rich-demoss Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192 Subscribe on Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Imhdwnal25iyl4c2yfceih2ni4y Podcast Website: https://www.thepoolguypodcastshow.com/ The SKU for the Mobile unit is: Lamotte #3581 MOBILE WaterLink SPIN TOUCH Lab and the price has remained unchanged from 2017. The Spin Touch test kit great for so many applications. If you service Commercial Accounts this is a great way to keep your logs for the Health Department an