Replacing a dead pump, adding a heater, or rebuilding the whole pad? Damon’s Pool Care sizes, installs and starts up pool equipment across Charlotte, Matthews, Waxhaw and Fort Mill. Written quote first, no surprise invoice.
Most of the equipment we replace in Charlotte did not wear out. It was the wrong size for the pool to begin with. A pump too big for the plumbing, a heater too small for a 25,000-gallon pool, a cartridge filter that needs cleaning every three weeks. Before we quote a pool equipment installation, we measure the pool, check the plumbing size and look at how the pad is wired. Then we size the new equipment to the pool, not to what came off the truck.
We install Hayward, Pentair, Jandy and Zodiac equipment on Charlotte pads, and we service what we install. If a new unit acts up inside its warranty, you call us, not a manufacturer hotline. We also give you a straight answer when a repair is the cheaper move: that lives on our pool repairs page.
Variable-speed pumps are the one upgrade almost every Charlotte pool should make. Run at low speed for most of the day instead of roaring for eight hours, they use a fraction of the power and stay near silent. They also give the filter a slower, better pass at spring pollen. We install and program Pentair IntelliFlo, Hayward TriStar VS and Jandy FloPro VS pumps, set the schedules and show you the controls before we leave. Single-speed replacements too, where the pool and budget call for it.
More on pool pump installation · Pump still fixable? Pool Pump Repair
A heater turns a Charlotte swim season from May to September into April to October. We install natural gas and propane heaters and electric heat pumps, sized to the pool’s gallons and the temperature you actually want, not a catalog default. Gas units need a gas line that can feed them; heat pumps need their own breaker. Both go into the quote up front so there is no surprise on install day.
More on pool heater installation · Old heater worth saving? Pool Heater Repair
Cartridge, sand or DE: the right filter depends on how much debris your yard throws at the pool and how much maintenance you want to do. Charlotte pools under oaks and pines usually do best with an oversized cartridge filter, which goes far longer between cleanings. We install the filter and replumb the pad if the old one had a different footprint. We also note your clean starting pressure, so you know when it needs attention.
More on pool filter installation · Keeping the filter you have? Pool Filter Cleaning
Most pool light calls are a dead incandescent or halogen that costs real money to run. We replace them with LED pool lights in the existing niche where possible, including color-changing units that tie into your automation. Nicheless and fiber-optic systems are quoted after a look. If the light keeps tripping the GFCI, that is a repair, and the same crew handles it.
More on pool light installation · Want it on your phone? Pool Automation
Salt chlorine generators and automation panels are installs too. They live on our Salt Systems and Pool Automation pages.
Three steps, with the model numbers on paper before anything is ordered.
We visit, measure the pool and plumbing, check the pad and give you a written quote with the exact models and labor on it.
Next comes the install: we set the equipment, replumb what needs replumbing and make the electrical or gas connections the unit needs.
Start-up is last: we prime, pressure-test, program the schedules and show you the controls, then leave the manuals and our number.
Pool equipment installers in Charlotte range from big-box subcontractors to builders who only fit what they sell. Damon has serviced Charlotte pools for over ten years, which means he installs the equipment he knows he will be maintaining next season. His Google reviews keep saying the same thing: fair on price, honest about what you need, and still around when something needs adjusting. Call (980) 998-3777 to talk through an upgrade, or request a free quote online.
Straight answers to what Charlotte homeowners ask us before replacing pool equipment. Still stuck? Call and tell us what is on the pad now.
It depends on the unit and the pad. A like-for-like pump swap on existing plumbing is the smallest job; a gas heater that needs a new gas line, or a full pad rebuild, is the biggest. Damon's Pool Care measures first and quotes with model numbers and labor on paper before anything is ordered, so the number you approve is the number on the invoice.
For almost every Charlotte pool, yes. Run at low speed for most of the day, it uses a fraction of the electricity of a single-speed pump and runs near silent. It also filters better, because water moves through the filter slowly. Most owners see the difference on the first full power bill, and ENERGY STAR certifies the models that save the most. Federal efficiency rules also mean most replacement pumps above roughly one horsepower now ship as variable-speed anyway, so the choice is mostly about which one.
In Charlotte conditions, a pump body lasts 10 to 15 years with a motor or seal change along the way. Gas heaters go 10 to 15 years, less if hard fill water scales the exchanger. Heat pumps last 10 to 20. Filter tanks last 15 or more, with cartridges replaced every 3 to 5 years and DE grids about as often. Equipment on a pad with no shade and no surge protection sits at the short end of those ranges.
Gas heats fast and works on a 45-degree morning, so it suits a spa or a pool you heat for the weekend. A heat pump heats slowly but costs far less to run, and it works well in Charlotte from April through October when the air is above 50 degrees. If you want the pool warm all season on a budget, heat pump. If you want the spa hot in 30 minutes in February, gas. Some Charlotte homes run both.
A pump swap on the existing circuit is usually straightforward. A new circuit, a heat pump or a gas line involves licensed electrical or gas work and, in Mecklenburg and Union counties, often a permit. We tell you what your job needs in the quote and line it up, so you are not chasing trades yourself.
One piece at a time if the rest is under ten years old and working. All at once if the pump, filter and heater are all original on a pool built in the 2000s. Otherwise you pay for three service calls and three sets of plumbing changes instead of one. We lay out both prices when it is close.
Ideally, yes. A Pentair pump talks to a Pentair panel, a Hayward pump to a Hayward panel, and mixing brands usually means relays and workarounds instead of full control. If you are planning automation later, tell us when the pump is replaced and we will pick one the panel can drive.
A handy owner can swap a pump like-for-like on the same plumbing and circuit. Heaters, heat pumps, new circuits and gas lines are a different matter, and most manufacturers want a professional installation invoice to honor the warranty. The usual DIY failures we get called to are a pump that will not prime because of a union leak. The other is a heater that trips because the breaker is undersized.
A bigger filter, yes: more surface area means longer between cleanings and clearer water. A bigger pump, no. Oversized pumps are one of the most common mistakes we see on Charlotte pads. They push water through the filter too fast, strain the plumbing and cost more to run. Pumps are sized to the plumbing and the pool's turnover, not to horsepower bragging rights.
It comes down to the pool's gallons, the surface area losing heat, how warm you want it and how fast. A typical Charlotte backyard pool of 15,000 to 25,000 gallons usually lands on a 250,000 to 400,000 BTU gas heater or a heat pump in the 110,000 to 140,000 BTU range. A cover does as much as the heater. We size it on site rather than guessing from a chart.
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