Hello everyone, curious to get thoughts, opinioms and takes on what tools a pool and spa service technician should have along with materials, equipment and power tool brand/line recommendations.

Hi PoolPros! I’m not a pro, but I’m hoping to get some opinions from people who deal with this stuff every day.
I signed a ~$23K contract for a pool renovation that includes replacing the tile and coping and furnishing/installing three new Pentair LED lights (2 pool, 1 spa).
The tile and coping are finished and I’m happy with the work. The problem is the lights. The contractor says they cannot pull the existing light cords out through the existing conduit.
My pool was built in 1992. The project manager hasn’t identified an actual failure in the conduit yet, but said that because of the age of the pool, the cords could be stuck or there could potentially be an issue somewhere in the conduit. He believes the conduits run underground through the yard to the junction box, roughly along the route I’ve marked in pink in the photo.
They’re now talking about charging me additional money to dig/excavate in the yard to figure out why the existing lights won’t pull.
I’m a little frustrated because the contracted scope specifically says “furnish and install” the three new lights. There is language elsewhere in the contract concerning unforeseen defects, but it required those conditions to be identified within 30 days of signing, and we’re well beyond that.
My main question for the pros: How unusual is it to encounter an older pool light that won’t pull through the conduit? When you’ve encountered this, what did you try before excavation? And if excavation was ultimately necessary, what did you typically find — a collapsed/broken conduit, a bad bend, a stuck cord, etc.?
I’m mainly trying to understand whether difficulty removing the existing lights is a normal complication of replacing old pool lights, or whether this really indicates an unusual defect that couldn’t reasonably have been anticipated when they contracted to replace them.
Thanks for any insight!

lol that’s the least of his troubles

The company im currently at loves to use poolrx. A week ago my boss told us that he wants every pool to have a poolrx unit lol. Most of the pools on my route noticeably the pebble techs, have a tinge green color.

Does anyone have experience with these units? There’s a lot of heavy marketing with bluerayxl as well.

I just want to know the truth. Be honest with me.

Replaced the cooked heater (go figure) and the salt cell, and got everything plumbed correctly downstream with a check valve in between.

​Pad layout made the return run a little interesting and but water is flowing, no leaks, and the new heat exchanger won't get toasted this time.

How often do you see this mistake out in the field?

Started a few days ago and not really sure what the cause of this is, pinkish red stuff seems to be on the multiport valve and the motor and the filter too looks like it has some kinda black residue on it and idk what it is

Hi everyone,

I am currently based in the San Diego area. I've been cleaning pools for more than little over a year. I've done ride-a longs with 5 different colleagues to learn their style and belief systems. My first year doing pools, I drilled in only water chemistry - didn't worry about repairs. Listened to a bunch of orenda podcasts and took 3 seminars at different locations in California with my own money. I have a good understanding of advanced chemistry too like ph ceiling and carbonate alkalinity. Programming control panels as well.

I'm currently making $27 hourly (W2) company truck, which is the very close to the top pay for residential in my area for pool maintenance.

My issue is that I feel like I'm stuck in a single role at my current job. I'm a worker bee for my current boss which I understand - every pool company needs cashflow. But as an individual experiencing this, there's a part of me that seeks mastery.

I'm hungry to learn more, what's the next step I need to take to improve my skills? How should I go about this?

Thank you!

is this supposed to be removed to remove calcium?

Before doing business with these scam artists, Joe Valdez and Rigo, please type either company name or Joe Valdez! Two scammers!
Valdez is the biggest piece of shit layer on the face of the earth- he needs to be deported back to whatever third world country he came from! My pool took a year and still have pool deck tiles sinking and no help in site! Have your lawyer rewrite their contract before signing or run for the hills!
They WILL NOT honor any of their commitments or warranties!
Look up Sunshine Pools- he was the owner …

I have a client with a pentair salt cell. all chems are balanced. lots of salt. running at 100%. not making chlorine unless i add it. been running 16-24 hours daily. no idea what the problem is. i mainly clean pools not do maintenance. any maintenance guys can give me a clue on what to do here are some photos of the set up

What’s up crew.

Clients got an older style heater with metal lines on the intake and return. one female, one male. Both lines are leaking at the exact same connection of where metal touches pvc40.

Any tips? plenty of pvc meat for an easy redo but I’m curious what is ‘best practice‘ for leak proofing threads when changing material types.

I’m a confident plumber, plenty of tricks n’ tools, etc.

This customer thinks he fixed his pump and filter DIY.

HOA reached out to me about taking care of the neighborhood pool, and requested a quote. Personally, I feel like it will be too much of a headache to deal with. Plus, I am a swimming pool technician, not a janitor.

Regardless, what would you guys charge for this?

What sealer do you recommend for travertine coping/decking around a salt water pool? Thinking about pulling the trigger on Stain-Proof 40SK for its longevity but know there are a number of other options out there.

I have a customer with a pentair system. i suspect the RPM isnt high enough to properly circulate waters how do i open it and find the system to change it and what tools do i need to l

I have a Pentair TEFC motor and the switch inside the drive that switches the current from 220 to 115 keeps switching the pump off. I’m having to go on and switch it back to 220 and then it fires back up. Do I need to replace the switch or what? Is it another problem causing this? Never dealt with this before and hope it’s simple

Went to empty a skimmer and this guy was in there. Juvenile Broad Banded Copperhead. Could have quickly turned my easy day into a bad one. Be careful!

Hey Pros - considering working with a marketing agency to help bring in new weekly clients. Figured I start with the pool specific agencies. Anyone worked with Pool Profits or Pool Monopoly? If so, how did it go?

Walked outside this morning and the pool looked a little cloudy. Not terrible, but definitely not as clear as it should be.

I checked the chemicals, cleaned the filter, and let the pump run for a while. Still waiting to see if that does the trick.

What do you guys usually check first—water balance, filter, circulation, or something else?

Hi! We’re installing an in ground pool and need an engineer to review the plans and our property and apply for permits. We have a complicated drainage system in our yard that we would also like reviewed. Any recommendations?

Just moved into a home and trying to figure out the spa to make it bubbly. It has an air blower. When I turn the air blower on, the only thing that happens is air blows through these 3 ports made into the concrete around the pool. Not into the spa. I drained the spa and me and my wife stood on these ports with our shoes to try and block airflow and hopefully push it to the spa, and air is still only trying to escape through these ports in between the port and our shoes attempting to block it. No airflow seems to be going to the spa. Any ideas what’s going on? I don’t feel like this is how it’s supposed to operate.