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The Pool Pump - Lessons Learned
Well, things didn't go a smoothly as I hoped. They didn't go as badly as I feared, either. First lesson learned - don't try to move a sand filter when it is full of sand. I did this and the first two or three inches went very well, then it slipped off the slab and I broke the plastic base that supports the filter. So, I ran off to Big Orange and got a wet-dry vac to suck the sand out. Then I noticed I put major crack in the plastic base supp
ort. That doesn't look good. Once again, I'm in the car visiting pool supply places - long story short; this little plastic base is a $110 special order item. Ha! No thanks. A couple of hose clamps fitted together will do a fine job fixing my error. After that, it was a matter of blasting the earth with a pressure washer, sucking up the water with the new wet vac (much easier than a coffee can) and blasting a little more with the pressure washer. Now, some people might think a shovel is a good way of digging a hole. In some cases, shovels do work fine. But digging in the Arizona ground is very similar to digging solid rock. The soil here is a heavy clay. A friend had told me that saturating the ground with water helps ease the task, I just took his suggestion a little further. What a fantastic approach. Putting the pine cone attachment on the pressure washer allows me to quickly and easily cut the earth with great precision. A great way to do it (and cheaper than renting a jack hammer.) Another issue with doing work like this in Arizona is the heat. It's hard to stay interested in a project like this, so Sunday afternoon I decided I would take a rest and resume the project the next weekend. Hopefully, after a week of sitting fallow, the pool would not be too green. Friday afternoon, I resumed my job, glued all the PVC into place, refilled the filter (with the old sand) and fired it up. Backwash works well. Turn off the pump. Switch off the backwash. Turn on the pump. Pressure builds. Then a quiet little woosh and there is sand everywhere. Hmmm. Seems there is a bit of a problem. 
Next morning, Saturday, I empty out the filter turn it over and it seems I have discovered part two of why sand filters shouldn't be moved full. Yep, I've cracked the darn thing. I wait until the stores open and once again, I'm in the car off to buy a new one. A Triton II TR60 costs about $600. However, Checker Pool & Pump Supply on Indian Bend is having a sale. It's going to run me $427. Ok, fine. I don't have much of a choice. I buy a new filter and six bags of new sand. The mini cooper handles 300lbs of sand pretty well. I install the filter, and fire it up. This time it's working well. Sunday morning now. The new config has been running 20 hours and all is well. And I'm very happy this phase of the project is complete. The results are quite nice.
ort. That doesn't look good. Once again, I'm in the car visiting pool supply places - long story short; this little plastic base is a $110 special order item. Ha! No thanks. A couple of hose clamps fitted together will do a fine job fixing my error. After that, it was a matter of blasting the earth with a pressure washer, sucking up the water with the new wet vac (much easier than a coffee can) and blasting a little more with the pressure washer. Now, some people might think a shovel is a good way of digging a hole. In some cases, shovels do work fine. But digging in the Arizona ground is very similar to digging solid rock. The soil here is a heavy clay. A friend had told me that saturating the ground with water helps ease the task, I just took his suggestion a little further. What a fantastic approach. Putting the pine cone attachment on the pressure washer allows me to quickly and easily cut the earth with great precision. A great way to do it (and cheaper than renting a jack hammer.) Another issue with doing work like this in Arizona is the heat. It's hard to stay interested in a project like this, so Sunday afternoon I decided I would take a rest and resume the project the next weekend. Hopefully, after a week of sitting fallow, the pool would not be too green. Friday afternoon, I resumed my job, glued all the PVC into place, refilled the filter (with the old sand) and fired it up. Backwash works well. Turn off the pump. Switch off the backwash. Turn on the pump. Pressure builds. Then a quiet little woosh and there is sand everywhere. Hmmm. Seems there is a bit of a problem. 
Next morning, Saturday, I empty out the filter turn it over and it seems I have discovered part two of why sand filters shouldn't be moved full. Yep, I've cracked the darn thing. I wait until the stores open and once again, I'm in the car off to buy a new one. A Triton II TR60 costs about $600. However, Checker Pool & Pump Supply on Indian Bend is having a sale. It's going to run me $427. Ok, fine. I don't have much of a choice. I buy a new filter and six bags of new sand. The mini cooper handles 300lbs of sand pretty well. I install the filter, and fire it up. This time it's working well. Sunday morning now. The new config has been running 20 hours and all is well. And I'm very happy this phase of the project is complete. The results are quite nice.
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