Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

Picking the best of anything is wide open for debate and picking just one pool filter as the best for every pool is nearly impossible. Since filters vary by region the choice of the best pool filter will also be very regional. For example, I love the Pentair Quad D.E. filter but if you are in an area where very large amounts of dirt in the pool are common you will not think the Pentair Quad D.E. filter is the best. If you have a 12,000-gallon pool the new AquaStar Pipeline filter may be the best filter for you, but if you have a 35,000-gallon pool maybe not.  Each of the three filter types is vastly different in how they work but they all essentially do the same job. D.E. is always going to give you the best filtration with cartridge a close 2nd and sand a distant 3rd. But a sand filter makes up for that is how easy it is to maintain and operate whereas a D.E. filter can be a real pain.  D.E. Filters Best filtration down to 3-5 microns Uses Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) or Perlite...

Picking the best salt system is very tricky. I like a lot of them from the Jandy TruClear to the Circupool RJ Series. THE CMP (owned by Jandy now) is great! The Ichlor is not bad either and Pentair seems to have fixed all of the initial issues.  I default to what is best for your pool rather than push a brand. If you have a pool of 30,000-40,000 gallons the Circupool RJ Series or the CMP and even the IntelChlor IC60 would be good choices. But if you have a pool of 20,000 gallons or less the Jandy TruClear would be a great fit.  Of course, I am all for making things easy so if you have a Pentair Intelichlor cell and want to upgrade, the iChlor would be easy and fit in the same spot without any replumbing needed. You can even use the same power unit or if it is attached to automation you can just purchase the cell only (with the special retrofit union). If you have a Jandy Aqaupure cell you can purchase the TruClear with the unions and it will fit right in the same area that you...

 I have been using the Mako Vacuum System Bags for a few years now and these are very good quality aftermarket vacuum systems bags at affordable pricing. The owner Reggie is always making changes to improve his product and I must say the new 2023 version is the best yet. Some new features are updated material, a thicker rub area (the color portion of the bag), and a much more robust cord lock. The cord lock is now designed to lock in the rope in two locations and to lock it in extremely tight. If the previous version allowed for a bag to sometimes come loose and be blown off (so frustrating) this new design will not have that issue.  So you will sacrifice some fine dust cleanup when you use these bags but overall you will gain a longer-lasting bag. If you are currently using a 100-micron bag you will not notice much difference going to the 120-micron bag (MX-120). If you are using a 200-micron bag, I would suggest trying the MX-140 which is 140 microns and will give you the sa...

I was around when the 1st generation of robotic pool cleaners hit the market. They were dumb, hard to clean, and unreliable at best. And very expensive. But a lot has changed in 15 years and today’s robotic pool cleaners are smart. Easy to clean, very reliable, and affordable.  Let’s touch on the first big change, robotic pool cleaners used to just go back and forth in a mindless pattern. A lot like the Kreepy Krauly bouncing type suction side cleaners. If the pool got cleaned you were lucky that day. Today robotic cleaners have mapping technology and gyroscopes so they can clean a pool very efficiently by scanning and mapping the pool. With the gyroscope, the cleaner always knows where it is in the pool, whether it be the deep end, the step area, or the waterline.  The older robots were hard to clean out because they had a cloth debris bag on the bottom which was awkward to clean and very time-consuming. I call them “robot diapers” and if you have ever cleaned one you will se...

 Cleaning a salt cell is part of regular maintenance for a Saltwater pool. As the cell plate gets calcium build-up on it the salt production will drop and sometimes stop completely. I have cleaned just about every salt system out there and the CircuPool is an easy one to clean if you use its cell stand. CircuPool Cell Cleaning Stand: https://www.circupool.com/CircuPool%C2%AE-Cleaning-Stand-for-CircuPool-RJ-Plus-Universal-and-Si-Systems_p_94.html Expected Maintenance After the system has run for a time, your cell will eventually need to be cleaned due to natural mineral scaling. The system will notify you of this by turning on the “Cell Maint.” light. When illuminated, follow the cleaning instructions below under "Cleaning the Electrolytic Cell".The frequency of cleaning depends on your water chemistry and the Saturation Index of the water. For most people, cleaning is only necessary a handful of times per season. The more rapid mineral build-up is a sure sign of a chronically...

Which is the best Variable Speed (VS) swimming pool pump? I do have my preferences for sure but nailing down the best VS pool pump and saying there is a legitimate winner is like trying to pick the best SUV or best full-size truck. Each has its pros and cons and I think the best way to pick the best VS pump is to think of it as, “the best VS pump for your situation.”  If your pool equipment pad runs off of 115V (120V) then the best VS pump for you will be one that matches your old 1 hp pump. Let me unpack this for you a bit more. VS pumps feature Dual Voltage which means that the pump will automatically recognize if your equipment is running off of 115V or 230V and modulate the voltage. If you install say a 2.7 THP Hayward TriStar VS pump on a 115V equipment pad, it will modulate the voltage to 115V but it will also downgrade the total horsepower to around 1.85 THP. So why pay extra for a 2.7 or 3 THP VS pump when a 1.5 or 1.65 THP pump will suffice? To make things even more compli...

Advantage Manufacturing is the leading manufacturer of swimming pool service carts and portable filtration carts. From time to time they make some pretty cool custom carts like this one for the Bottom Feeder Vacuum. Why would you need a cart for the Bottom Feeder as it weighs about 12 lbs in total? To carry everything back to the stop with you as well as the Bottom Feeder.  This was their first generation cart and you can special order the cart with the tray to hold the Bottom Feeder higher up. That way you can also put an empty HASA case in the bottom to carry back your chemicals. This one has the vacuum hose handle on it so I just simply put the Bottom Feeder on it when I want to take other chemicals back to the pool. But you can special order the bottom Feeder Cart to fit your needs.  You can reach Advantage Manufacturing at 800-636-8866 and if you talk to Eben he will set you up with the Bottom Feeder cart usually in less than 48 hours. Here is a look at their standard ser...

 These prediction episodes are for sure hit and miss as it is hard to account for future events that are of course unpredictable. So here is a shot at predicting the 2023 swimming pool season at the end of 2022. Will chemical costs come down? There are more factors driving costs up than just supply and demand. It would be great if that was the only factor and all it would take in 2023 but there are labor costs, inflation, and possible strikes to consider. We have to factor in labor and fuel costs which generally go up each year and not down. Inflation in the industry has been a big issue and I think we will see a leveling off in 2023. It can’t go much higher right? But higher fuel and labor costs will probably keep prices up. Will there be a slight pullback? Maybe in some areas like the 3” trichlor tablets. With leftover supplies from 2022 and the BioLab factory back online, I would assume trichlor prices would see a decline. Maybe not back to pre-2020 levels but off the highs of 2...