Commercial pool help

I was looking for some information about commercial pool systems. Our community pool is haveing problems keeping a prime. I think we have come to the conclusion that there is something in the 8 inch return line that may be prohibiting the proper flow. I was going to have one of my plumber out this week to run a camera down there to check things out, so I was just looking for information prior to that. The system has a "well" of to the side of the pool with a man hole cover over it were something could have easily been thrown down there.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with a system like this?

Hi, and welcome to the forum!!


There are very few of us with commercial pool experience, so Ben really needs to be the one to address your post. I understand he's largely unavailable today, but hopefully will be by soon to help you out.

Janet

It sounds like you may have an older pool with a surge tank.

I'm not sure what you mean by "return" -- typical pool vocabulary applies the word to pipes 'returning' to the pool, while normal plumbing vocabulary applies it to pipes 'returning' to the pump. If you mean the former, it's very unlikely that an obstruction in the pool return would cause a pump to lose prime. If you mean the latter, yes, an obstruction in the pump return could cause prime loss.

However, if you have a surge pit, the first place to look would be surge tank levels, and especially, balancing valve operation.

Regarding a 'guide to commercial pool piping', I've never seen any such thing. There is no 'standard' way to pipe large pools, so unless the code in Detroit has mandated specific methods, it's simply necessary to understand enough about hydraulics and pool operation to work out how the system on YOUR pool operates.