Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

 So when do you replace just the motor or replace the pump and motor? Usually, the pump is still good and changing the motor is all you will need to do to get things up and running. But it kind of got complicated with the new Department of Energy (DOE) regulations banning the sale of certain HP pool pumps. And your customer may in fact be ready for a VS pump upgrade so what was once a black and white decision is a little more grey.  If you have a single speed 1.5 hp or 2 hp motor that needs to be replaced, chances are that the replacement motor can no longer be sold to you. The best option would be to replace the motor with a Century V-Green stands alone VS motor or Nidec Neptune VS Motor. They are compatible with most pumps and come with a round or square flange. It is the most affordable option and if the existing pump is less than 5 years old I would suggest going that route. But if you need to replace the entire pump, here are some brands to look at.  Chapter Marks 00...

Pressure side cleaners can be a great choice for some regions of the country. If your area gets lots of leaf debris in the pools this is a great option. Some builders by default will install Pressure side cleaners in all of their new builds, which is a good thing. Note that most pressure side cleaners will need a dedicated  ¾ hp booster pump and a dedicated return line and timer to operate. Some of the great selling points for a pressure side cleaner are that it will pick up large leaf debris in a pool and leave it spotless each week. Since you run it only for 2 hours a day it should last a decade or longer – so a great investment for the price-conscious consumer. They are also very easy to remove from the pool with the quick disconnect for those times you have a pool party. There are some “Return Side Cleaners” out there that do not require a separate booster pump like the Polaris 360 and these work off of your existing return line. The return side cleaners work off of one of your...

 I sat down with Scott Webb who is the editor of Aqua Magazine for the last 20 plus years and we talked about the 2021 pool season, a year in review so to speak. Of course, there are new things that Aqua is doing to enter 2022 sprinting including their updated website and their own trade show launching in October 2022 - https://www.aquamag.live/ . We talk about these two things to start the show and then we jump into the high inflation facing the industry as well as the equipment shortage and the state of the industry.  Aqua is working on a revamped website and a pool show which is two new things on their plate for 2022. It is always good to see someone as big as Aqua evolving and staying up with the times. The pool show is probably the bigger of the two ventures as they have been out of the trade show business for about a decade now.  One very big thing that we addressed in our discussion is the runaway inflation in this industry, particularly in 2021. I don’t think we h...

Tired of removing your industry chemical bottles and sprayer whenever you need to transport your Riptide between stops. Or do you have to shuffle the bottles around to get your other large chemicals to fit? The Riptide Bottle Caddy solves this issue for you. Safely store and transport your bottles with this unique and specially designed caddy! These are handmade in Mexico and are crafted with chemical-resistant fabric that will stand the test of time. Each one is designed to match your particular vacuum system with a distinct color scheme. The riptide bottle caddy is orange and blue, the Hammer-Head is blue and white and the Power Vac is grey and white.  You can order your caddy here: https://clearpoolproducts.com/product/clear-pool-bottle-caddy?v=f24485ae434a When I say industry-standard bottles it will hold a YellowTrine bottle, No Mor Problem type bottle, Bio-Dex bottles, and a regular size spray bottle. I have tested it with over 15 lbs. of bottles in it and there was no proble...

NPP is an interesting concept and something never tried before in the pool service industry. In a nutshell, they are purchasing large pool service routes in the Sun Belt and essentially running them from behind the scenes. Here is more about them from their site. “National Pool Partners (NPP) is the nation’s largest multi-regional pool service company, operating as a family of brands across the Sun Belt. We partner with local businesses to provide the scale and resources of a national enterprise to better serve our customers, teammates, and partners. National Scale. Local Brands. National Pool Partners (NPP) is the nation’s largest multi-regional pool service company, operating as a family of regional brands across the Sun Belt. We partner with local businesses to provide the scale and resources of a national enterprise to better serve our customers, teammates, and partners.” For example, they purchased Patriot Pool & Spa in Austin from Hal Denbar who I interviewed for this p...

  There are several benefits of having an automatic cleaner in your service account. The first is that it will save you a lot of time out there on your route. Look at it like having your manual vacuum going in the pol for 8 hours a day. This essentially allows you to just spot vacuum each of your service stops.   It also will leave your clients pool swim-ready each week which is great if you find them using the pool throughout the season. Again, get the image of you vacuuming their pool all day and you can see why the pool will be good to go at any given time. No more manually vacuum each pool every week on your route. This will allow you to focus on more important things like the pool chemistry.   Having a cleaner running can also prevent staining on the pool surface. Sometimes dirt will have metal ions in it and leaves will certainly stain the pool bottom if left there for a long period of time. A staple or other small metal piece can also fall into the pool and I...

 I go over a series of questions here with chemistry expert Bob Lowry in this series of “What Would Bob Do?” Imagine Bob Lowry Riding along with you in your pool service truck. That would be pretty cool. Since he probably can’t do this at this stage of his career the next best thing is to ask him what he would do in certain situations. Chapter Marks in above video: 00:00 What to Expect in This Episode 02:06 Bob Lowry Health Update 03:50 High pH every Week 13:21 No Chlorine Available 16:03 Odd Test Kit Readings 20:08 There is 4” of Rain is Predicted 29:36 Airbnb Bid Constant High pH: This is an issue that we have talked about in the past. There are a few reasons the pH in a pool is constantly rising. The alkalinity may be too high. There may be water features causing aeration. You may have a chlorine generator also known as a salt system. Just by its very nature, the saltwater system creates aeration in the cell. The plaster may be new and the curing process causes a higher acid dem...