For a DIY CMU block pool. Would you suggest roll on Sidercrete?

Florida Pool Service Contractor here. Shock also means something is introducing the electricity to the pool. Bonding is almost completely hidden when pool is complete and pool builders fudge this from inspectors all the time. Worked with a builder who told me to tie bonding wire to pipes underground so inspector would think it was complete. Inspectors don't want to dig.

When in the filter mode, my pressure depletes about 5 to 6 psi over an hour and then it starts to leak out the backwash port driving me nuts and I don’t know what it is

why do you need CPVC when the plumbing is water cooled?

I'm 3 years in ln building a DIY concrete pool myself. Im one course away from doing the surface coating. Still reviewing options. The torch on fiberglass sounds interesting.

Above ground pools? Yes. No problem. In-ground: Pressure lines, no problem. In-ground SUCTION lines? I’m going to guess priming 2” or larger might start to become a problem unless you oversize your pump at which point you start losing efficiency. Where’s the suction line balance? AND enlarging and reducing can create more effective length than just using the same size pipe. Might have to bust out my chemical engineering (aka plumbing) book on transport phenomena. 😊

Not all street elbows are a sharp 90. In fact, the long sweep 90 you show here is also actually a street 90. Street just means one end is the same outside diameter as pipe.

Hi Steve my pump is flashing a time plus am how do u get it to pm

I have new pump (a month old) works well at first but now makes a squealing noise, pump is full of water, but barely moves water… sometimes trips the breaker.

The color scheme for my test strip is light orange to dark orange. It turns green… there’s not instruction on that kind of read 😂 what does that mean?

First tip is dont install garbage equipment. This guy is asking for lawsuits.

Wanted to say I've been watching your channel for 2 years and you do such a good job explaining everything in great detail. Keep up the great job!!

Nice video - wish I had the flow meter setup he has. He left out an important calculation though - or more correctly he glossed over it. The $4200 you “save” on a VS pump is very close to the amount you will pay to buy it and have it installed. In other words, over the service life of the pump you will have saved exactly $0.00. He did mention the cost comparison to install a variable speed vs a fixed speed, but this calculation is essentially meaningless, partly because no one installs fixed-speed pumps any more, but mostly because unless you are building a house or a pool from scratch, you ALREADY HAVE the single speed pump. It came with the house! What this comes down to is very simple: When your old single speed pump finally fails, it is DEFINITELY worth the extra cost to replace it with a variable speed. Prior to that time, there is simply no meaningful economic argument to justify replacing it with a variable speed. Now there could be other factors that make it worthwhile to you. The quietness of the VS pump at lower speeds is a real quality of life factor, and you can program it so that its “quiet time” corresponds to the time you are sitting out and enjoying the pool. Another factor is the ability to tie it into your home automation system to control and monitor it from anywhere. But the white-board financial calculation does not work unless you are building from new, or it’s already time to replace your old end-of-life system.

Hey Steve, thx for the video. I’m thinking most pool equipment is made for up to 2” pipes. Wouldn’t all the 2.5” pipe benefits be eliminated with the need to use reduction fittings?

Had a swimming pool care service since 2021 that up and quit on me because I didn’t open the pool when they wanted. The next two were lazy and didn’t care about doing a good job. Do I keep searching and hope to find a good service or do it myself? Decided to do it myself and let’s see how it goes.

Thank you! Single older woman mid-50's Whacked the motor a few times and saved me a bunch of money. You're doing God's work lol.

Salt is the only way to go. Not even an argument about it

I have a 3 way Jandy diverter valve (for the spa/pool), to a coupler (4 inches total), to a 3 way space saver Jandy valve (skimmer/main drain). Where the coupler joins the space saver Jandy valve, there is a dripping leak. I checked and replaced the orings from the Jandy space saver valve so I know it’s not that and actually the PVC glue joint on the coupler. How do I fix this?!? I don’t really have room to be cutting pipes since it’s low to the ground and there’s little room with the plumbing setup. Can I just add more primer/pvc cement to where it’s leaking? Thanks Steve!! :)

Thanks a lot Steve. Your advices were used today as installed yet another pump for my in-gound pool. Things I improved over the last setup: - Better teflon tape technique - 12" inch long lead on the 2" PVC intake pipe with cpvc. - 3 port diverter valve with unions praher :-) It was almost cheaper than 2 union ball valves and I saved a T . - skimmer and drain are 1.5" in the diverter and output of diverter is 2" - clear pvc/cpvc glue and I used primer before. This time I took my time cleaned all the parts (removed prices stickers located on strategic place) Dry fitted all and arrange pipes and fittings to hide markings. Result, No a single leak. And that 2HP thing moves water like hell. Many thx and keep posting those videos.

Thank you Steve

You have me dizzy with all the Camara movements!!! Why do a video ???? Answer that one you forgot to throw the Camara behind your back and between the legs !!! Jesus !!!!

Thanks

Thank for a great video have learn so much from it. The way the plumbing and the pump has been installed 20 years ago not very good flow like you have shown how it should be done. And as electrical is not right at all. So i will have a qualified Electrician to thoroughly check it. Many thanks, Robert.

My pool pump died today and doing my research I landed here... My electric bill is $850-$900 on average every month. Hoping moving to one of these pumps can help lower that!

I have a space saver Jandy 3 port valve that is leaking where a coupler attaches to it. I already tried to replace the o-rings inside the Jandy diverter valve. Maybe the pvc cement didn’t hold up since it’s a 14 yr old pool. How do I fix this leak from the CPVC coupler/Jandy valve?!? Thanks!!!

I insisted on only sweeps for turns and went with 2"pipe. I also oversized my salt cell and filter. Have a Hayward VSP and my pool runs like a dream. Only thing I'd change is going with more smaller lights than one big light. Appreciate all your knowledge.

I'm thinking your excellent material on using VSP at low revs 24x7 often defeats the case for 2.5" plumbing on residential pools. With 2" plumbing, my schedule is 1100 rpm, moving 38 gpm at 100 watts. SWG is very happy with this. Can't hear the pump at more than 6' distance. With a couple of hours daily at 2200 rpm to skim and clean this is filtering 60+ kgal, over 3x the pool volume. It doesn't seem 2.5" plumbing would have been worth the extra cost. The bottleneck on my pad is definitely the heater. Adding a bypass has been super helpful for efficiency.

with all the gear being 1.5 or 2 inch does it really help, not even mentionning the piping underground

How do you install the ball valve? Instructions?

oh man I knew it was gonna be a 2" upgrade!

A few years back, I had some major work done and I mentioned your name to the young fellas on the job. They went on about how great your content is and how much they have to fight the old timers about switching to modern solutions rather than sticking with whatever they learned 20 years ago. You seem to have far reaching influence on the industry. Thank you for the effort.

I watched all those videos about street elbows and efficiency loss. I'm in the process now of building a pool with 3" lines. Thanks for the good content.

A main advantage of the VSP that I don't think was directly stated (it was in a reply to a comment below) is the reduced electricity ($$ cost) with lower speeds. For example, on my system with a Pentair VSP pump and controller, at 3000rpm it reports using 1527W. But at 2000, it's only 468W, and 1000, it's only 136W. Clearly not linear. I don't have the full numbers, but I think if Watts per GPM was determined, the most efficient speed would be a lower RPM. So as a comment below stated, run the pool for a little while at higher speeds for devices that require it (ie., cleaners, heaters), but then at lower speeds the rest of the day, when general circulation is all that's needed.

Hey steve, let me ask a question. Current setup has a FS pump and I'm going to be changing that out for a VS pump for the power savings. In some of your previous videos, you gave samples of schedules on running a VS pump. My question is, why not run the pump at a slow setting 24/7 once you determine the rpm needed to cycle the pool capacity 3x daily? I don't understand the purpose of running it at fast speed for a few hours and then reducing it down to slow speed

Yeah… cartridge filters have a low maintenance cycle or upkeep or Maint. Required… unless ur the poor sap that has to clean them off after reclaiming the water from the previous year or all the plaster that got stuck into it after an acid wash of a plaster pool with such a filter…. I vote glass media filled sand filters all day… commercial pools have a single sand filter & a single multiport & run at 90+GPM in Schedule 40 pipe all the time… granted they r commercial pools with 2” pipe going into & out of the multiports instead of 1&1/2” like some residential pools… but still… loss in max flow rate seems negligible next to the ease of maintenance that comes with operating a sand filter, especially one with a superior media like glass & therefore having to backwash far less than with sand

Also, any advise as to what to do with a single skimmer at mid-pool & two return jets on either side of the skimmer… but unfortunately on the same wall/side that the skimmer is on. My pops has an old in-ground pool that was designed like that… I currently advise that the jets face downward & outward so that the middle vortex where the two circles of flow bouncing off the wall would both meet at mid pool, ricochet off the wall and head towards the skimmer, that again is in the middle of two return jets on the same side of the pool.

What I was told & what my bosses teach is that the correct position for return jets is actually down… ANY agitation of the surface level water does NOT help, but instead I leads the ability of your skimmers to remove debris floating on top of your water. It should be down & all clockwise or all counter clockwise assuming it’s a standard 20X40. Also, some Dept. Of Health’s will actually issue a violation for commercial pools who’s returns are angled upward or create any surface disturbance whatsoever. I’m From NY with 8 years commercial pool management experience. Open to hearing opposing points of view tho. Always trying to get better at this & many people say many a different thing about this topic.

Steve, what about peristaltic feeder pumps for liquid chlorine especially reliable & easy to maintain brand such as RolaChem? Any opinion on those? Also, any opinion on Hayward CAT Controllers vs. Pool Link Classic & new 501 model Controllers?

If somebody can't afford a new $118 salt gen(above ground) every 2 to 5 years they shouldn't have pool.

Saltwater is so so so so so much better and easier

Salt is the ONLY way to go. Ph is much easier to deal with than all the issues with a non salt water pool

Yet you failed to say what you do recommend but it doesn’t matter since JB Marine Weld is acid and chemical resistant. It seems you haven’t even tried it and I now have no confidence on any advice in any of your videos.

We pop up pool owners have to do it differently.

VORTEX seems to be the key word here.

HELP! I just got my inground pool re-plastered. But the good "vortex" (circular) water motion I had previously for many years is gone. The return jets just point straight out now, like you see in spas. No more "vortex" water motion. Is this OK?

So just don’t get a pool

People do it all the time....

Love the sound and look for my waterfalls off the spa overfill.

Wet Institute, Marlow.

What pool would you recommend in North Carolina. I’m trying to decide between fiberglass and vinyl. What are your thoughts ?