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It’s That Time Again

Every ten years something needs to be replaced on a swimming pool pad, and it can be costly. But how can you keep that cost as low as possible, for as long as possible ? My vote is a Sand Filter. But instead of spending time trying to show you my bias let me show you your options and let the decision be only yours.

Intial Cost

The initial cost is supposed to represent the cost of the unit plus a standard installation fee. I will outline three evenly matched filters to show the benefit of each as well as the costs. Note these are all manufactured by Pentair. And in my opinion this is the only manufacture I would install, as they have the lowest cost replacement parts as well as the longest warranty; 3 years. Also note we will cover the cost of ownership over time later, but for now; start-up cost.

  • Sand Filter: SD-80 $775
  • Cartridge Filter: System 3 400SQFT $1275
  • Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) System 3 S8D110 $1175

Grandpa And A New Hire

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Grandpa’s New Hire

by Nick Chaffee

If you are reading this, then it probably means you have read a few other blogs like this one. So I will go ahead and assume you know my Grandfather then. This story is about him.
P.S. – The best part about my Grandfather is he tells you stories all the time, but he will add in random details he left out the time before, just to make sure you are listening. And he knows if you are listening!

The time is: Dynamic Services V1.0, established in the mid fifties.
For a long period of time my Grandfather performed service on all of the swimming pools himself. However, for a brief period of time my grandfather became ill with kidney stones. Therefore, he had to be hospitalized. Before his stay began, he decided to find a helper to help alleviate the down time…. and so the story begins:

A Good Service Technician is Hard to Find…

Grandpa: A while ago, when I had to go to the hospital, I had to find a guy to help me with my route while I was in there.

Me: Oh, when you got sick with the stones?

Grandpa: Yeah I was eating out all the time and the stress got to me…..So I needed to go in. So I asked around for a good guy to help me.

Grandpa: Yes, so he was a nice guy (i know it’s a mid subject change), he came highly recommended from a friend. However, he had a hard time keeping track of time, he would be out until sundown. I kept telling him that it shouldn’t take any longer than 30 minutes to vacuum, scrub the tile, even clean out all the equipment. Regardless, he still always had trouble. So one day I got a call from a client, she asked me if I had heard from the guy. I said “Well, not today”.

Me: Oh no!

Grandpa: Well it gets better, don’t worry. So she asks me if I had “…seen him” because all that she had found from him was “…his clock”. “A clock?” I asked. And she said “Yes.”, she said she “…Came out to find only an alarm clock, and his pole and vacuum still in the pool”.

Me: And? What happened to him?

Grandpa: I don’t know, that was the last I ever heard from him. I guess he just realized there wasn’t enough time in the day for him. Let that be a lesson to you, sometimes people have what it takes and others don’t.

Grandpa:“You cant always pull water from a well.”

A real story from my Grandpa – 4/25/2010 – Dinner with him and the family.