I do not have experience with Pool Quest or PurYear. My experience with Pulliam of Katy is awful...unless of course you want a pool and deck that cracks, and a builder that does not care about it after the checks are signed.

Oil fired heaters in the US don't exist anymore. You decision to move away from that fuel is a very good one I suspect. One concern on that front is are you in northern Virginia or Nova Scocia as your references seem a bit non descriptive. I don't know what is in Canada as an available fuel. Generally speaking, oil is replaced with propane. This is usually just as much a budget issue as oil since the two are tied in both manufacturing and pricing. You mentioned tanks, burying, etc..., Here in NJ, I am not allowed to deal with these tanks. I used to get to pass this section on to a buddy of mine I grew up with (which means he's a mensch too!) to pull the tank and oil because subterranean tanks are no longer allowed here. The propane dealer deals with any needed propane storage issue. My dealer (I have propane for my pool) provided a pair of 125 gallon tanks for my 300K heater which gives me about a 30 to 45 day supply after I heat up the pool. They are above ground and withing 120' of the location they need from the truck to refill. As long as the stickers IDing them stays visible, I can paint them or have things growing like ivy if I like. Different areas may have different rules. Asking is the best way I know to finding out those rules. My wife and I don't find they stick out like sore thumbs in my yard but some people may for theirs. As for your situation, a heat pump has limits. If those limits are outside your needs, its use is not really for you. You have read enough and so I don't need to reiterate the a HP may be nice for you for the pool but the spa use will be a different situation. A gas fired heater has so many advantages there. As for which brand, my area has a number of brands available. The ones I like best happen to be Pentair. What is best in your area may be similar or it may rely on what you can get serviced easily and that may be a different brand. I don't recommend a heater be purchased off the net but rather be sized properly and equipped as needed on site and professionally. Unless you are planning to do the install and have the experience needed, you won't save a buck. Scott

oops, first I feel I must apologize to msm859 following my rant about "90-counters". I meant no disrespect to your advice. To be honest, I only very briefly skimmed through your post and didn't even catch the part where you mentioned 90s, so I wasn't trying to be rude on that point. You recommended going with larger pipe anyways and my personal gripe is with those who still use 2" pipe and then boast about avoiding 90s. Respek! Note to others: Somebody could just as easily be thinking I'm a hack for using big pipe and not worrying about 90s. We all draw the line somewhere. Jennifer: The 1.5" returns are typically branched off a 2" main return line. They go to 1.5" where they penetrate through the wall because the eyeballs (trim pieces) are that size. I'm guessing that is what your builder is intending, but I could be wrong. In a perfect world, or if you were a Kennedy or DuPont, then that main return line would be the same size as the suction, so 3" is my armchair recommendation. If it was built with 3" suction and 2.5" return, I would not really frown on that either, but I wouldn't do it myself. Well actually, that's not true because I am doing exactly that on a current project, but that's because of some other fuzzy logic and it's not that my return is downsized, but rather my suction is upsized. If your pool was built with 2.5" suction and 2.5 or 2" return, then that would probably be better than average, but you'd be amazed at how much more you'll love your pool with bigger pipes. I mentioned to somebody here before that one of the first pools I built on my own, I used a 1/2 HP filter pump on 2" pipes and I was a little disappointed that the pump did not seem to be any quieter than any of the hundreds of 3/4 HP pumps I've seen in service. So last year, I did a project of several small fountains like you might see at a ritzy shopping center (these things are more painful than any pool I've ever built), each on its own filtration system. I used 2.5" suctions and returns, reducing down as appropriate for the returns and fountain nozzles. The pipe runs were all well over 100' in each direction, two of them approaching 160', and those pumps were so quiet I was stunned and amazed. If you do go with the Intelliflo, then the Intellitouch will certainly be a nice complement to that, but you might also consider the EasyTouch. In a nutshell, the EasyTouch is a value-engineered, toned-down version of the Intellitouch. I'm not familiar enough with it to know for sure that it controls the Intelliflo in the same manner, but it's definitely worth looking into. If your builder doesn't know either, he can contact his local Pentair rep. who will be happy to lend a hand. Something else I just noticed is that they've spec'd a 1 or 2 HP Whisperflo for the two laminar jets. This equation is way out of balance because those laminars only need 10 gpm each. Even with a 1/2 HP Whisperflow, you will wind up sending the majority of its output through the bypass line, directly back into the pool. The 1/2 HP will give you 2 or 3 times the flow you need for the laminars. Laminars are delicate and fussy, it's imperative not to give them too much flow or they can be damaged. At the least, they won't work correctly with too much flow, so there is zero advantage to oversizing the pump which runs them. Additionally, they should receive filtered water, so I would put a small cartridge filter on that pump (Clean & Clear 100 or 150 is fine for the task and not much $$). You also want to have the flow to each laminar adjustable with gate valves or globe valves because they are much more suited to very fine adjustment. Most builders would use a 3-way valve or two ball valves, which can be difficult to adjust in the fine increments needed for laminars. The laminars are proposed to be lit, but I do not see a fiberoptic illuminator listed in the specs. They are available with or without color, so you'll want to be sure and clarify that with your builder. hmmmm...a couple other things off the top of my head; you might consider going with two pool lights, along the long wall on the house side so they aren't shining into the house. This is a basic thing that many others here can vouch for. Regarding the auto-fill, I may be splitting hairs at this point but I don't really like the Pentair/Letro autofill. They have a tendency to cause hammer knocking in your house plumbing because of the way they're designed. I much prefer the new autofill from Pour-A-Lid or my former favorite, MP Industries' Auto-Lev. The prices are roughly the same and these two are much easier to install, service, and live with than the Pentair/Letro version. Well this was fun. If I can help you spend any more of your hard-earned money, don't hesitate to ask. hahaha

Our practice in the last 20+ years is to make sure the pipe sizing is correct based on the application. We customarily use either 3" or 2.5" on all suction/inlet lines such as surface skimmers, floor drains or strip drains. The idea is keep the water velocity at a lower rate to allow for better supply to pumps when operating. Smaller piping results in high water velocity and increased suction. This is not necessarily good as there is a danger of too much suction and it also causes the pump to cavitate - starve for water supply. The illustration I give my clients is, it's like sucking water through a cocktail straw. The supply is needed to perform properly. I don't have eyes on you set up, but a typical residential pool as yours is described, we will use 2.5" on the surface skimmers and 3" on strip drains. Some builders use floor drains. Sometimes we use 3" on all inlet lines. It depends on the distance from the pool to the equipment set and the volume of the pool which determines the proper turnover rate. We use a separate pump for the jet circulation. Piping for this is always 3" minimum on both the suction and the return. A looped manifold is created to provide even water distribution at each jet. It is not advisable to use the filtration pump as the source for the jets. A pool/spa combo shares the filter pump and has a separate pump for jets-only. You have the option to add an air blower or use ambient air to create bubbles. Using the largest filter is the best idea. The VS pump is fine. Just be sure the flow rate is set properly to fire the heater when calling for heat. Too much water flow will eventually damage the heater and conversely to little can cause damage as well. The spa may heat in 15-20 minutes based on a 20-25 temp swing. Starting temps and ambient temps impact heating time. Site conditions such as wind make a difference. Consider an automatic pool cover. It is an additional cost but it helps maintain temps, saves on chems and creates a safer environment at your pool side. At 125' of poly gas pipe, which includes all fittings (elbows/90's, etc...) you will get a delivery of 410, 000 BTU's. To me, that;s too close for the heater you plan to use. Your best bet is to install a 2" line which can deliver 780,000 BTU's at 125'. All the fittings and pipe reductions at the meter and the heater have an an impact on fuel delivery. I also recommend a total gas load calculation is performed to see what presently your house requires, and then factor the pool heater. The gas company can do this calculation and recommend the proper gas meter if needed. We run 2" gas pipe for all residential jobs. Some special cases we have run 3" if sharing a common line with say a giant house generator. Not a fan of any suction side pool cleaners. We prefer pressure side cleaners that utilize a separate booster pump. Hope this information helps you.