Well your not going to get a lot of Hayward love around here.
That doesnt mean that their equipment is total crap either.
Most of us just prefer the other two.
Check out that warranty closely, to see what you are getting and who it giving it to you. Is it just parts for 5 years, or parts and labor, or some prorate thing. They love the prorate things.
If it is a good warranty for 5 years then no worries.

parts and labor. no pro-rate. it is actually a really good deal so I jumped on it without really comparing other things. I hope Hayward links to the iphone too someday!

Some of the things I don't like about brand H from my perspective as a service professional:

TriStar pump motors get loud, especially in higher head applications. The lids can be attached backwards, causing one to smack their fingers on the pump exhaust plumbing.

The multi-speed motor is not sealed like the Pentair or Jandy. Time will tell if this impacts reliability but I strongly suspect it will.

The old H series heater is a bit of a PITA to work on. Especially those with pilot lights instead of electronic ignition.

The Universal seems somewhat better there. It is lower to the ground so salt cells shouldn't be vertically mounted to save space.

Salt cell controller boards in stand alone units have a solder joint that lets go after about 3 years. I am not sure if this happens in the Pro Logic controller too. There is a web site a homeowner put up that is dedicated to this with the unofficial and unsupported "How To Fix". The official fix is replace the board ($$$).

Their LED lights don't spread the light as evenly as Pentair. There was a thread some time ago where this was demonstrated in a pool with pics and it was quite evident.

I am not a big fan of cartridge filters except in certain applications.

Their sand filters, with top mounted multi-port valves, can crush the center pipe, letting sand get in the pool.

BH can get and sells other brands of equipment. See their website. They just prefer to team with Hayward, just as some use Jandy and others use Pentair. There are frequently behind the scenes reasons.

In order for Builder A to differentiate themselves from Builder B, there needs to be something that is different.

I'm not saying that the other brands of equipment are God's gift. They have their issues too. It's just that many of us have had issues with Hayward that we would prefer not to perpetuate or risk finding new issues.

Scott

If you can truely get parts and labor for 5 years thats a great deal. I have never heard of such a thing and I am a Hayward service center. Be sure that is in writing from BH and Hayward. This is not a reflection of the quality of their products but the desperation to make a sale during this economy. Blue Haven isnt selling pools right now and Hayward isnt selling equipment.

Scott, thanks for a very detail and excellent response as usual. I am definately having him change out the LED light. We are actually going to simulate that same test in my pool and he will switch over to pentair lights if it makes an obvious difference in my pool.

Mike, I did get everything in writing. He is doing this with all his sales now as an extra perk. I figured 5yrs parts and labor with no pro-rate is no brainer as long as he stays in business (he is a solid builder in this are with a good reputation). He says he gets hayward equipment for an additional discount through Blue Haven and using that cost to offset his costs to fix or replace beyond year three. Hayward only offers 3 years but my PB will cover year 4-5.

Is your builder BH or is your builder just getting his gear from BH?

Scott

he is Blue haven.

I too am a Hayward service center, as well as the other guys, and I like Hayward. You will get a different opinion from everybody.

I believe the newest Hayward LED light is great. I am not sure if you will lose some possible functions with the Pentair or Jandy lights if you have the Hayward controls.

I think the Hayward Tristar is a great pump, the problem I see is they move more water and they are oversized for the system, a big problem in my area. I frequently downsize pumps 1/2 hp to 1 hp from the original. I move as much water and cut the electric bill. Hayward tried using a different motor manufacturer for a while and it was a problem, mostly capacitors. They have switched back to the good old reliable, same maker as the others, unless they have changed recently.

I also like the Hayward Universal heater. The Pentair heater is good too, I don't like the Jandy Heater.

All 3 majors have good controls. Each may have an advantage over the other in different ways. I think the salt system for Hayward/Goldline is superior to the others. Hayward controls can be upgraded pretty easily.

All makers have their issues, every once in a while they have a run of bad circuit boards or other parts. Hayward is very good about taking care of issues and so is Pentair. Jandy, I'm not sure.

Cartridge filters are fine as long as they are sized right. The bigger the better.

Good luck

Thanks Alphaman, I will definitely ask about the pump size. I will let you know the results of the lights in my pool. We are going to try both lights and shoot the pictures to post. The previous test done on this site had an old plaster finish. I will be doing this on a dark pebble finish so we will see how it looks. our cartridge is the biggest one available. I am hoping Hayward does iphone controls like pentar.....has anyone heard anything?

I have had Hayward equipment (pumps, heater, filter, Aqualogic) going on 5 years now without a single problem. That includes an Aqualogic PS8 without a solder problem.:-) From what I have read, it is mostly the PS4 which seems to have the problem with the solder joint. I too went with Hayward to get the warranty but I ended up not needing it. So far, I haven't regretted my decision.

Just thought you might want to hear from someone who actually owns a Hayward system.

quote" I have had Hayward equipment (pumps, heater, filter, Aqualogic) going on 5 years now without a single problem. "quote
and
quote" I too am a Hayward service center, as well as the other guys, and I like Hayward. "quote

mas985 and alphaman, thanks for your replies.

Although it's not my favorite manufacturer there's nothing at all wrong with Hayward.
I've posted this for years and will post it again.

Pool equipment from any of the Fab 4 (Pentair, Jandy,Starite,or Hayward) is good product.
They all offer well engineered and constructed pool products with a long term warranty period. (typically 3 years) with a full equipment set purchase. That is any 3 of the 4 following items (heater,filter,pump motor, controller).
How well their warranty representation in your neck of the woods is of the utmost importance.
I use my Mfg. because they usually run my call within 48 hours. My previous Mfg with whom I had a decade long run with just became lackadaisical about the promptness in which they ran my calls. I still loved their product but couldn't stomach the phone calls from my previous buyers as to how come this call hasn't been responded to in almost 2 weeks. They would run the "pool down" calls quickly and put the others on the back burner to be ran with a group of other non emergency calls as a group in a certain locale.
It became obvious to me that they had become to large and weren't willing to bring on new warranty stations or hire some in-house warranty personnel. This prompted my switching Mfg's back in 2000.

terryibra, trust me on this, your going to love your pool and your pool equipment too.
Some of us industry insiders just take our preferred Mfg's a little bit to seriously.
Although I don't think Hayward is as good as Pentair or Jandy it's simply because of ignorance on my part. I've never used their product but have heard the gripes. I've heard the same gripes against they levied against my Mfg's too, but never let it register in my mind.
It's a plain and simple prejudice from lack of hands on knowledge.

See ya,
Kelly

thanks for everyone's response. you all have been great through this pool building process with the excellent advise. I do feel that a lot of decisions I make during this process is splitting hairs. Like kelly stated earlier "Pool equipment from any of the Fab 4 (Pentair, Jandy,Starite,or Hayward) is good product". The warranty was the biggest factor in my decision making.