Can anyone advise me on my problem? I have Jandy filter, 2 Jandy pool lights and 1 Jandy spa light. After only 1.5 years both pool lights in the pool went out within days of each other. My pool guy is impossible to reach and difficult to deal with, but he finally said he’d replace them if we buy new ones. So we paid him for 2 new lights (Pentair Intellibright) for $1,700. I asked him why he didn’t get us the Jandy like we already had (that changes to 17 or so colors) and he said it doesn’t matter and there are better. Well..... long story short — his guys were here and cannot pull the wires out to install the new light. I don’t know why and neither to they. So they cut the light out with about 3” of wire and the other end is just a dangling wire in the pool. He says he’s done and they cannot Pull it — it’s stuck. We are trying to get someone else but don’t know if we should get the Jandy lights instead. It will be impossible getting our money back for these lights We use aqua link app to work pool lights, filter etc. are these Intellibright compatible with our app system and Jandy spa light. I am so disgusted and maddened bec we spent a fortune on our pool, patio etc. and we are stuck. P.S. another company first came when we saw the lights didn’t work and they also could not pull the wire through. The piping is underneath our new stone patio. And advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Chulaman- Good questions and you are obviously doing your homework here. I think your choice on spa pump and controls is a good one. 4 different jet settings should accommodate most everyones expectations and comfort levels. Regarding the pool circulation and cleaning. I would offer a few other options to consider if interested. By the way, I did similar research when I was building our pool and surprisingly our pools are about the same: volume is 35K gallons, with Paramount PV-3 infloor cleaning system and chlorine generator. Ultimately, I decided to go with a 2.5HP 2 speed pump to do the task of circulation, filtering and cleaning. With this setup, I run the PV3 at 1.5 hours a day at high speed and the rest of the filter/circulation cycle is done with low speed. During the winter, low speed is only ran for about 4 hours/day and during the summer, low speed is ran for about 8 hours/day. This has provided enough chlorination and filtration as my pool is always crystal clear and chlorine levels have been in check. This winter, I had the chlorine generator down to 10% and last summer I had it up to 40% and it provided adequate chlorine, even in 35K gallons. My pool though is somewhat shaded, so this will probably make a difference on chlorine needs and your pool may be need more chlorine. HereÂs some options I considered: Two uneven single speed pumps in parallel. With this setup a 1HP pump was in parallel with a 2HP pump and this gave 3 different flow rates possible: 1HP, 2HP and 3HP depending on need. Two uneven 2 speed pumps in parallel. With this setup a 1.5HP 2 speed was in parallel with a 2.0HP 2 speed and this gave a possibility of 8 different flow rates with all the combinations of high and low speed between the 2 pumps. Ultimately, I decided to keep the system simple with a single 2 speed pump used in conjunction with large plumbing and minimum 90Âs, tees, crosses, etc. Variable speed pumps did not make much sense in my application. I did a lot of homework here also on true efficiency benefits of variable speed vs 2 speed and there is not much difference between these two technologies with the filter cycles that I described above. The plumbing design is much more important than the pump technology if you really want to save energy month after month. Once I really started to bone up on plumbing and its effect on system efficiency, I realized that the addition of a tee and checkvalves in the plumbing system added additional backflow on pumps, so the parallel pump ideas hit the trash can. If you want to really learn more about plumbing design, I can provide a few published documents that have wonderful information on plumbing design and things to consider when designing the plumbing. If your pool was much bigger, say 70K gallons or more, I would say parallel pumps would make a lot of sense for filtering and cleaning. But, for 35K gallons, parallel pumps is overkill. Especially two variable speed pumps in parallel, unless cost is of no concern and you just want to tinker with different configurations and technologies. Hope this helps.

I appreciate you guys trying to help me figure out the leak issue. It's certainly driving us crazy. Our equipment is located above pool level next to the house. It's strange that it will hold water fine all summer but after being winterized (plugs put in returns, etc) and turning cold is when it leaks. The conduit in the niche sounds like a real possibility. We've decided to replace the colorlogics with the same thing. When they do that on Friday, what should they be doing to fix the leak? Is there a type of caulk or sealant that doesn't shrink in the cold? Or will that matter? We're getting so tired of the same on-going problems with this pool. Every spring when we open it and heat it up, the heater igniter (Jandy Lite2, service error message F4) stops working. Any ideas how to prevent this from happening? The repair guy thinks it gets too much condensation from the warm water running through and shorts out.

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