Archive for the ‘Bright New Ideas’ Category

The pros and cons of salt water chlorination for swimming pools

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

In Australia and South Africa nearly all the domestic swimming pools are sanitised using salt water chlorinators. In the UK very few swimming pools use salt water chlorinators. The Aussies think we are crazy not for using salt water chlorination, so what are the pros and the cons?

At PoolStore we have recently become converts to the idea of salt water chlorination. This is mainly down to the introduction of a new product that means you can retro fit a salt water chlorinator to your pool wheras before the units were installed when the pool was first built or had to be installed by a pool professional.

The biggest and most obvious advantage of salt water chlorination is that you never have to add any chemicals to your pool ever again. Cleaning chemicals that is – chlorine, algicides, clarifiers will be a thing of the past. All you will need is pH balance chemicals now and then. No more pulling back the cover and finding the water has gone green since you last looked at it. Provided you don’t switch it off your salt water chlorinator will keep your water pristine clean all season.

The water will “feel” much nicer. This is a difficult concept to explain but the water will feel softer and more inviting. Because the salt content is much closer to that of your eye water, red eyes and eye irritation will be greatly reduced. Your fingers will not go as “wrinkly” due to the salt content and you will not come out of the pool smelling of chlorine.

So with pristine clean water for ever and no chemicals what could possibly be the downside to salt water chlorination? Well not much really. Despite what the manufacturers might claim, the water does taste salty. Not very salty,  at 10 times less salt than the sea it is not unpleasant, and after a few weeks regular users will get used to the taste and barely notice it at all.

The installation process involves putting a lot of salt in your pool. Eight 25kg bags for a 50m3 (11,000 gallon) pool. But at least you only have to do it once. You will need to keep a few bags of salt on hand because as you top up after backwashing or evaporation you will need more salt sooner or later.

The biggest disadvatage is the cost. For a 12 x 24 pool a salt water chlorinator will cost about £850.00 and the salt will cost about £100.00.  That is about 10 years worth of chemicals but factor in never having to go out there and dose your pool, except for the pH now and then, and the pay back may well seem to come a lot quicker.

We like the Zodiac EI salt chlorinator because it can be retro fitted to just about any pool.

The Zodiac EI salt water chlorinator is our favourite

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Maytronics introduce a new range of automatic pool cleaners

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Maytronics, the manufacturer of the Dolphin range of automatic pool cleaners have introduced two new cleaners for 2011 to replace the Dolphin Magic and the Dolphin Dynamic Plus. The new pool cleaners are called the M4 and the M5. Externally they look exactly the same but internally there are some significant differences.

First we’ll look at how the M4, full name the Dolphin Supreme M4, has improved upon the Dolphin Magic and then we’ll look at how the M5 differs from the M4.

The Dolphin Supreme M4 and M5 look alike but differ internally


The most obvious change is in the colour from the orange case of the Dolphin Magic to a more understated blue for the M4 but the Dolphin Dynamic Plus was blue before so now it is not so easy to tell them apart.

Maytronics have introduced a third roller brush to the new models. This is to give extra scrubbing power to get algea of the floor of the pool and also means that the problem that some cleaners have of getting stuck on a raised main drain is eliminated.

The Dolphin Magic had a bag to collect the debris in and so could not pick up the fine dust in the way that the Tiger Shark can. That has changed with the M4 because it now has paper filters like the Tiger Shark in two versions, fine and ultrafine but it can also have a filter bag if you prefer. Bags are easier to clean but paper filter can collect finer dirt.

When you want to take the bag or filter out to clean it on all other automatic swimming pool cleaners you have turn them on their side because the filters come out from underneath the machine. On the M4 the filters come out from the top, quite a handy little improvement.

Like all top end automatic swimming pool cleaners the Dolphin Supreme M4 will climb the walls and clean the scumline by default.


The Dolphin Supreme M5 differs from the M4 mainly because it has a wireless remote control. If the cleaner has missed a bit you can send it in to the area and make it clean up. In rectangular pools this is rarely necessary but is a very useful feature if you have free-form or kidney shaped swimming pool. As well as this the M5 tells you when the filter needs cleaning by means of a light on the transformer and the wall climbing mode can be switched off if required.

In the league table of automatic swimming pool cleaners the Dolphin Supreme M4 and M5 are clearly on top. There is no better pool cleaner but they are not cheap. At £1,420.00 and £1,995.00 they are the most expensive pool cleaners but they are definitely the best.

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MultiCylone Plus blows a wind of change through pool filtration

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Every year, every manufacturer claims to have produced a revolutionary new product that will change the way we look after our pools and on closer scrutiny they are just a reworking of an old product but the Multicyclone Plus is a genuine new product and we are very impressed by it.

New products that are a big improvement on what was there before are quite rare in the pool industry. The only two of note in the past few years were Sea Klear clarifier and the Nirvana Heat Pump. Now we can add the MutliCylone Plus to that very short list.

The MutliCylone Plus was developed from the MutliCylone which is a device that is placed in the pipework before a sand filter. It uses centrifugal force to pre-filter out about 80% of the dirt and so gives the sand filter much less work to do. The MutliCylone Plus takes the idea to the next logical level. If 80% of the dirt is gone then a paper filter can handle the remaining 20% quite easily. So a paper filter was placed on top of the MutliCylone and the MutliCylone Plus was born.

The technology inside the MutliCylone Plus is the same as is inside the Dyson carpet cleaner. Dyson have the patent for this technology for use in air, Waterco the manufacturer of the MutliCylone Plus have the patent for its use in water.

The MutliCylone Plus - a revolution in pool filtration



The pool water enters at the bottom and then goes through a bank of cyclones causing a vortex from which the dirt is spun out and gathers in the sediment bowl. From there the water goes through the paper filter which catches all the fine dirt that was not spun out. When the sediment bowl needs emptying just open the purge valve and only 15 litres of water is required to wash it out. The manufacturers claim that paper filter cartridge needs cleaning every 6 months but we recommend cleaning it every month or so with instant filter cleaner.

The advatages of the Multicyclone Plus include

  • It is much cheaper than a sand filter
  • It takes up much less space in your pool room than a sand filter
  • It is easier to maintain than a sand filter
  • No backwashing means a saving of thousands of litres of water
  • No backwashing means not having to heat up fresh water used to replace the backwash water
  • It is easy to install
  • No costly and time consuming sand changes.



So there must be some disadvatages to the MutliCylone Plus? Well, one big disadvatage is for the pool trade is that no filter sand changes are required so many will be reluctant to push it because it does them out of a lucrative source of work in the winter. The largest version of the MutliCylone Plus is big enough for a 75m3 pool. That is not particularly big, about a 10m x 5m or 16ft x 32ft pool. So owners of larger pools will not be able to use one on its own. Waterco do plan to develop the technology for bigger pools including comercial pools also though.

All in all we think this is a very good new product and are happy to promote it.

Installation is relatively simple. Typically you would install it directly above the outlet of your circulation pump. In the picture below a Salt Chlorinator is attached above it but in a normal installation a couple of 90 degree bends would take the pipe vertically downwards and back to the swimming pool return line. It is not very heavy and the pipes will support its weight. Alternatively there is a stand for it to sit on the ground.

The Multicyclone plus is typically installed directly above the pump outlet


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The new Nitro Robotic Swimming Pool Cleaner

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010


We are pleased to be able to add to our repertiore of automatic swimming pool cleaners the new Nitro Robotic Pool Cleaner from SmartPool.

We particularly like the way the designers have gone back to the drawing board with this cleaner and re-thought the whole design. Many automatic swimming pool cleaners are just copies of the same design but the Nitro has some unique and innovative features.

The first thing you notice is how light it is. Weighing in at just 3.6kg empty is is much easier to carry around than other cleaners. If you have ever had to lift an electric pool cleaner out of a swimming pool you will know that when they are full of water they are very heavy, about 20 to 25kg.  You have to wait for the water to drain out before you can lift them on to the pool side and that can take a while. Smartpool have thought of this and made the nitro with a big drainage port so the water pours out very quickly meaning you can remove it from the pool very quickly and easily.

Anyone who has ever had a fault with an electric pool cleaner will probably have had to send it back to the manufacturer to be repaired because they are so complex that the owner could not service it. Not so with the Nitro, it has been specifically designed to make it easy to do DIY servicing. It’s modular design means that if anything ever did go wrong the owner can easily take off any part and replace it with just a screwdriver.

In common with all electric pool cleaners it has the advantage that there is no assembly, no pipework, no fiddling around to get the vacuum working. You just take it out of the box, plug it in to the transformer and put it in your pool. It really is as easy as that. It wanders randomly around the pool and after two hours switches itself off. Two hours is usually plenty of time to have covered all of your pool but if not just switch it on again for another spell. Again, as with all electric pool cleaners, it is totally independent of your pool filtration system and the dirt is gathered not in your filter but in its bag.

Side View Easy to drain Wide Brushes Big Debris Bag

The bag on the Nitro is the biggest of any cleaner on the market and you can put it in your washing machine to clean it if you want to. Usually a wash down with a garden hose is all you need.

With all these wonderful new design features are there any drawbacks to this pool cleaner? Well there is one. It does not clean the walls. It only cleans the floor of the pool whereas many other cleaners will climb the walls and also clean the scumline. How important is cleaning the walls? Well arguably not important at all. How much debris is there on your walls? All the stuff that needs sucking up is laying on the floor of the pool.

Probably the best thing of all about the Nitro pool cleaner is the price. At £875.00 it is over £300.00 cheaper than its nearest rival.

There are more features to this cleaner not mentioned here but the promo video below will show you it working and outline all the features. It is a bit loud and flashy at the start but about 9 seconds in it calms down!

To purchase this cleaner click through to the product page on the main website
Take a look at Smartpool’s promo video above. It’s a bit loud and flashy at the start but it gets better!

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New! Spray-On Paper Filter Cleaner

Thursday, April 1st, 2010


Lo-Chlor have introduced a new, much quicker and easier, way of cleaning the paper filters found in Spas, Hot Tubs and small above ground pools.

The usual way to clean a paper filter is to take it out of the spa or pool and leave it to soak, typically overnight in a solution of filter cartridge cleaner and then wash it off.


With Lo-Chlor Instant Filter Cleaner you just wash off the filter cartridge with a hose then spray  on the filter cleaner. Leave it for 15 minutes and wash off again with a hose.


It removes debris, oils, body fats and dirt leaving your paper filter cartridges as good as new.

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The New Intex Sand Filter

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Intex above ground swimming pools are synonymous with high quality and inovation and 2010 sees the introduction of a product that has been long awaited by many owners of Intex pools – a sand filter.

 

 

Up to now all Intex pools came with a combined pump and paper cartridge filter. The pumps are very good and whilst the paper filters pick out the dirt and debris in the water they need cleaning often and should be replaced from time to time.

 

In ground pools and the bigger above ground pools have sand filters. Sand filtration is the best and easiest way to filter swimming pool water. The water is pumped in at the top of the filter chamber and pressure from the pump forces the water down through a bed of sand. As the water passes through the sand bed the dirt and debris is left behind in the sand and clean water emerges via lateral pipes with fine slots in at the base of the filter. When the filter needs cleaning the water is pumped the oposite way, the sand “fluidises”, the dirt is lifted out and the dirty water is sent to waste. This is called backwashing. Sand filters can hold much more dirt than paper filters and don’t need washing as frequently.

 

Whilst there are many pump and filter combinations on the market they are all geared to inground pools with standard 1.5 inch solid pipe fittings. The difficulty always was adapting the fittings on them to work with the Intex pipework. The new Intex sand filter solves these problems because it is made to fit directly on to the non standard pipe fittings that are found on Intex pools. It also comes with adaptors to make it fit all other makes of above ground pool.

 

The filter is easy to assemble and requires just one 25kg bag of  “16-30″ grade filter sand.

 

If you are looking to replace your paper filter with a sand filter then the Intex sand filter is the obvious choice.

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At last! A light you can use in an above ground pool

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Up to now putting a light in an above ground pool has been just about impossible. Unlike an inground pool you cannot build one in to the wall. Unlike a wooden above ground pool you cannot drill a hole in the wood to hold the light. There are some lights that you can dangle over the side but they are not very attractive.

 

Now Intex have come up with a light that can use on a soft-sided pool. You can use it on any of the Intex above ground pool range or any other pool by other manufacturers.

 

The light gets around the problem of cutting holes in the side by being held in place by a magnets either side of the vinyl wall. Not only does the magnet hold it in place but it also induces an electrical current on the inner part to power the LED light. LED lights do not need much power and the 3 watts generated is plenty for the light and makes the light perfectly safe.

 

The outer part of the light is plugged in to mains electricity, there is a very generous amount of chord. A transformer reduces the current to 12 volts on the outer part so, again, electrical safety is not a problem.

 

 

The LED light is suprisingly bright. One light is easily enough to light up an 18ft diameter intex ultra frame pool

 

If the light ever gets knocked and disconnected from the magnets it will just float to the surface and you can re-connect it.

 

Inground pool lights are fixed in position but this light can be positioned anywhere you like in your pool.

 

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Got Algae? Now you can starve it to death!

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Algae is the perennial problem for swimming pool owners.  For years we have struggled to rid it from our swimming pools but it keeps coming back. PoolStore have found a new way to keep it away for good.

 

If your pool is green then it is a little too late for this treatment, you probably need the treatment described here

 

Algae is a living organism whose spores blow in the wind and once in your pool they can multiply very quickly. There have always been two ways to keep algae from forming in your pool.  One is to keep the chlorine level above about 3ppm and the other is to use a traditional algicide. The chlorine will kill the algae on contact but you have to keep a high level ALL the time. Let it drop for a day or two and you could find you have a growth in your pool. Long Life Algicides are a better method than Chlorine because they stay in the water for up to 3 months at a time and kill aglae as it enters the water but if you get a lot of spores blow in it can be overwhelmed.

 

We said earlier that algae is a living organism. Living things need food to eat. Algae eats phosphate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The more phosphate in water the more algae will love it in there and grow and grow. Phosphate gets in your pool from your tap water.  Some areas have very high phosphate in their water supply. So, if we could remove the phosphate from the water the algae will have no food and therefore die. That is exactly what Starver does.

 

Starver contains a chemical that combines with phosphates and forms a suspension in the water. Filtration and clarifiers will pick this suspension out of the water leaving it phosphate free. No phosphate = No algae.

 

Theoretically one treatment should last forever but unfortunately phosphate finds a way of getting back in your water either from topping from the tap or from rain run off . So you do need to test your water regularly to check your levels and add a bit more starver if necessary. A test kit for phospate levels is included with every bottle of Starver.

 

If you have very high phosphate levels then use Bulk Starver first. This brings the high levels down to more managable levels and then regular Starver can take over.

 

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New Stain Removal System for Swimming Pools

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

 

PoolStore is pleased to introduce a new system for the removal of stains from the walls and floors of swimming pools.

 

Stains in swimming pools are almost always caused by metals in the source water. The metals come out of solution in one or more place on the shell of the pool and can seem to be impossible to remove by conventional cleaning. The stains are usually brown in colour but can be yellowy or black.  Fibreglass pools seem to be more prone to staining than any other type of pool.

 

The removal of stains is a 2 step process.  First you have to get the stain off the wall by getting the metals out of there and in to the water. Then you have to get the metals out of the water.

 

Start by adding  Multi Stain Remover to the water. This is quite a strong acid and will take the metals out of the walls and in to the water.

 

The second stage is to remove the metals from the water using No More Metal. The metals are held in suspension so they can be filtered out. No More Metal should be added on a regular basis thereafter to keep the level of metals down in the pool water and so prevent the stains from re-forming.

 

Stain removal is not a simple process so read the instructions carefully.  One thing to note is that the first product is very acidic and will alter the pH balance of the pool. When re-balancing the water you must do it gradually over a few days or you will un-do the work that the stain remover did and the stains will re-form.

 

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New Solar Heated Outdoor Shower

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

 

PoolStore is pleased to introduce to the UK market the first ever solar heated outdoor shower.

 

No electricity,  no tools required to assemble it. Just connect your garden hose and let the base fill with water. After as little as two hours the sun warms the water in the base. Turn the tap on and rotate the mixer on the shower and cold water mixes with hot water from the base and you can have a nice warm shower.

 

We were impressed by how easy it was to assemble. It is very adjustable and the head goes high enough for a 6ft 4in person to get under. The spray from the head is very full and even.

 

Some outdoor showers are over £1,000.00 this one is just £125.00 incl VAT and delivery. Click here to purchase

 

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