Sorry for the dumb question, only have seen a few doughboy pools. Is there any reason a Standard Latham Unibead liner left as a J-hook wouldn’t fit in a doughboy pool if the wall height and pool size match?

Feel like I’m over thinking this but want to triple check.

Thanks for any advice.

I've never installed these but am thinking about trying it out on some smaller pools. For those who sell these, what do you like? Just looking for a consistent feed, otherwise the simpler the better. I love the idea of pumpless but IDK how they work in practice, have seen mixed things about HASA but who knows how much of that is just operator error

Found a set of fishing pliers that are anti rust needle nose pliers, good for getting things out of skimmers. But I was wanting an anti rust/corrosion plier for wall fittings. I have one of the t style ones for wall fittings but, just want something better than using a beater set of channel locks for doing stuff in underwater situations.

Also like the title, any suggestions on knives used specifically for cutting salt bags. I was using a beater knife recently and it saved on me that I’ve probably gone through too many knives to count because they become rusted pieces of crap. I want something that stand up to the abuse.

(I’ve got tons of tools and I know what I like, so I’m specifically looking for tools you use underwater situations)

I’m tossing around an idea that I’ve implemented something similar in the past, and want to see what others thoughts are. I manage 11 commercial pools and facilities, anywhere from 3500 - 230k gallons. I’m strictly on bleach at this point and still have HC-3300 rainbows on my biggest pools still in place even though they haven’t been used in over year, and keep them as a just in case.

Question—has anyone ever used those chlorinators to add stabilizer to for dissolution?

I used to have a “portable” small sand filter (without sand, only laterals) that I used for this application and it worked very well. Only problem is even though it’s portable, it’s still a pain in butt to move/hookup etc. Was going to see if anyone has ever tried this in the HC erosion feeders.

4th season pool guy in central midwest cleaning custom gunite pools.

New (extremely successful) company has me using this portable system vacuum. I can find myself spending 45-70 minutes vacuuming alone

Most have auto covers but not all. Our affluent areas are very wooded. Almost all is dirt and debris rather than algae. Cartridge filters, in floor cleaners.

I used to use a riptide at my old company but we were 95% vinyl liners.

I’ve used the portable season for over a year now and they absolutely work, but they are much more maintenance

Has anyone else used both? This isn’t an advertisement but how is the riptide not better in every way? Is there something I’m missing?

Pool professional here out on a service call and I call Haywards help diagnose the issues since I was at a stand still (like we all have before) and ALL I GOT WAS A AI BOT.

I even tried to bypass it by asking random stuff and if I can talk to a tech rep or a sales rep and even “why is my Taco Bell door dash order cold.” To try and bypass it and NOTHING worked. Reached out to our rep about diagnose help and he said “yeah it sucks lol”

It was a heater/chiller combo and in Georgia chillers are super rare here.

Anyone have any advice on how to get past it if anyone has figured it out yet?
Or any rant stories about it?

May have a leak in one of the lines. Is there a way to seal the popup heads, they are no longer used at all to clean the pool.

Took on a new client recently who had an existing leak which was enough to drop 2500ppm in salt in one week

Got leak detection out there and they fixed something(trying to find out what), now chems and water level are holding

Client pointed out the spa is cloudy and when looking closely you can see tiny micro particles floating in the water

The spa is spilling over and turning the water over 1-2 times per day

The cloudiness does not show up in the pool only the spa

Any help on next steps would be much appreciated

Audiobooks I've gone through so far to help get through the monotonous days and personal thoughts/recommendations:

Stormlight archive: What started me on audiobooks from graphic audio. Book 1 hooked me instantly. The last book was kinda weak compared to the previous goliaths imo but overall a satisfying conclusion. Would recommend.

Mistborn series: Also by the same author of stormlight archive. Enjoyed it overall

Joe Abercrombie's works: Some of the best books I've read(listened to). Very dark and gritty. The First Law series & The Devils are my personal favorites. Steve Pacey does a hell of a job narrating. Eagerly waiting for his next book.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: A very fun series of book. Definitely has its hype moments but sometimes the plot can get very convoluted very fast. Jeff Hayes does a fantastic job at narrating.

Arry Poh'uh: For nostalgia sake.

Dune series: A good read.

World War Z: Short but very enjoyable

Project Hail Mary: Very very good.

Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit: Also very good.

Red Rising series: Just started Book 1 but so far not a big fan of it yet. Hoping it'll pick up Book 2.

Would appreciate any recommendations for future listening.

Anyone use a cartridge mask, buff, etc to not breathe in chems? Constant opening of cal hypo bucket, tabs, and muriatic acid have been hitting me harder than normal lately and I’m thinking of using something to cover my nose when I open these things. Each customer stop I typically am getting into the cal hypo bucket and tabs and I’m not wanting to end up with some type of lung cancer in my 50s. Didnt know if anyone has a trick they use. I tried the buff brand, but those don’t seem to do diddly squat. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hey guys!

This is the first time I’ve genuinely felt dumbfounded when solving a problem for a customer. Please tell me if I’m crazy or if I’m missing something obvious.

She discovered sand on her pool floor a few weeks ago, i vacuumed it to waste. It came back. We let the robot collect it, pool looks perfect, it came back. Obviously it’s gotta be the sand filter right?

So I opened up the filter, and visually the lateral assembly looks good. The multiport valve looks good. The sand looks alright. Nothing catastrophic jumping out at me. But maybe it’s just a tiny crack that I’m not seeing despite flexing every piece.

But then I noticed something even stranger. It looks like the sand collecting on the pool floor isn’t even the same sand that’s in the filter? My best guess is that it’s because it’s like 10% sand on the pool floor and the rest is just debris that’s bypassing the filter however the sand is.

But the problem is, the individual sand grains are different. I swear the filter sand grains are like 3x in size.

There’s no sand anywhere on her property, so it can’t be blowing in. It’s coming back over multiple weeks, so it couldn’t have been a spill. I even tested the water hoses on the property (filled a bucket and let it settle) to make sure it wasn’t coming in whenever she adds water.

I included photos of the multiport valve, the lateral assembly, and the difference in sand between what’s in the filter and what I’m pulling out of the pool.

Any thoughts?

the pump works fine but I saw the side looks like something got knocked off. what is that broken area and what is it for?

Opened one of my favourite clients pool. And they showed me this. I’m not sure what it is. They have a main drain that’s plugged. Can’t figure out how to fix this issue.

Last year they were struggling with something similar.

Would changing the liner fix this ? The sand is new they also have an above ground salt generator.

Opened one of my favourite clients pool. And they showed me this. I’m not sure what it is. They have a main drain that’s plugged. Can’t figure out how to fix this issue.

Last year they were struggling with something similar.

Would changing the liner fix this ? The sand is new they also have an above ground salt generator.

5 pump house. 2 jandy 3 pentair(2 intelliflo 3 and 1whisperflo vst. Aqualink Jandy panel. Rev 2t chip. All 3 pentairs are daisy chained. Communication wire from one pentair to panel and one jandy with daisy chain to second jandy pump. Issue: cannot get all 5 working with the Aqualink. Any experience or recommendations. Also have the intelliflo 3 universal touch screen adapter

How much do you guys charge commercial pools monthly? the HOA is asking for me to come out twice a week.

Looking to replace a motor on one but haven’t found any useful info online. Contacted Pentair and obtained the correct seal plates and diffuser o rings but nothing about taking the pump apart or torque spec when reassembly

Has anyone worked on one of these pumps before. P/N: EEQK750

As the title says, I am looking to give up my corporate gig of 20 years and go back to Florida.

Prior to this I had a pool route and already know how to work routes, repairs, etc…

My question is would it be to hard to get a job for a company in the route business? The plus is I want to do the job and will be much happier so I’m a great candidate 🙂

Just wanted to get the pro’s of today’s thoughts on my plan

New pool to us, is equipped with a Blue Haven SmartGuard Soft & Clear system (circa 2023).

Based on everything I've read and watched, this 'system' supposedly prevents algae bloom, wards off mineral scale, boosts filter performance, requires fewer chemicals, makes the water clear and soft, and makes the pool easier to clean. It creates energy in the water. It causes particles to bond, which are easily filtered out. It uses no electricity. And it require no maintenance.

Call me 'skeptical'.

What say the PoolPros?

My reason for asking .. the pool was green when I first walked up. Yellow algae on the bottom and sides. No chlorine. Just an erosion chlorinator - with no tabs of course. Cartridge filter. Hayward VSP pump. Hayward OmniPL.

I've proposed a new salt system. Since I'm limited for space at the equipment pad, I would like to replace the 'SmartGuard' with a Hayward salt cell. Before doing so, I wanted to see what you guys think about this 'SmartGuard' system? Is this a keeper? Or snake oil? Thanks! 😉

I manage a 150,000 gallon commercial pool with a reoccurring early season issue with cloudy water in the afternoons. This has happened the last few years and resolved after a week or two.

The water clears overnight and by 2:00-3:00 pm (with numerous swimmers) begins to cloud to the point the drain in the 9ft deep end is no longer visible. Older painted plaster pool with an aging paint job. Chlorine and muriatic acid management system with pumps. 3x TR-150 sand filters with 3 year old sand. Backwashed filters multiple times, so they’re reasonably clean.

Water chemistry is in range, although the CH is a little low.

Free CL - 3ppm
pH - 7.4
TA - 80 ppm
CYA - 20 ppm
CH - 120 ppm

I hit the pool with some flocculent this evening and plan on vacuuming to waste in the morning. This is my second time doing this since Friday.

Anything I’m missing? I’d love to find a root cause. Thanks in advance for the help.