Question in regards to pool plumbing

[DennisP]

Ok, time for pics:

http://www.darklogic.net/backyard-20...808_194535.jpg
http://www.darklogic.net/backyard-20...808_194542.jpg
http://www.darklogic.net/backyard-20...808_194555.jpg
http://www.darklogic.net/backyard-20...808_194612.jpg
http://www.darklogic.net/backyard-20...808_194622.jpg

I could have had the heater a little closer to the wall of the garage, but I do like the way it all worked out... I could always move it back a little, but that would require a me to extend a couple of connections... ie, it isn't worth it right now... I may also put the heater outdoor vent on it I got (picked it up for a steal at $27) and with that I would rather have it a little away from the garage... That way the top of the heater wouldn't get hot like it does now...

[DennisP]

Forgot to mention, yeah there are unions at the top of the stand pipes and they are threaded into male PVC connections just below grade, so it is a simple matter of exposing the lower threaded connections, unscrewing the stand pipes and doing what I need to...

I plan on doing that at the pool as well...

[BigDave]

... that means I either have to modify the pad plumbing to account for the extra line for main drains, or put in a valve at the pool and switch there...

It's probably best to keep all the operations in the same place - if you can. It looks pretty tight on the pad. Nice work.

[DennisP]

Thanks, BigDave!

Yeah, even if I do the main drain integration out at the pool to begin with, I will by next season have it plumbed at the pad as well...

I forgot to mention that the area below the manifold by the heater is where the booster pump will sit if I go that route, and the area right between the heater and the existing pump in the back is perfect for a 15 gallon chlorine tank... I figure a Stenner 10GPD adjustable pump along with a 15 gallon 14" dia x 25" high round tank will pretty much take care of that pad for me...

If I go that route I will remove the water feed at the bottom of the main manifold, put a tee in with 2 90 degree elbows and then feed the chlorine in there as well as the water feed... My only concern is that the check valve could be sitting in a heavy chlorine concentrated solution, even though I checked with NPD and they stated that it would be fine in that application. Then again, it is only about $10 worth of valves/unions/fittings to replace that whole assembly, so it isn't a big deal...


Then again, for "no issues" I could always do a tapped fitting solvent-welded to the side of one of the tees or elbows and not have to worry about it... That is one of the major advantages of PVC, if you know what you are doing you can solvent-weld it pretty good without compromising the pipe...

[DennisP]

Well, just got done doing the accounting on the PVC pipe/fittings/spa flex hose/ball valves/etc...

Let's just say I got great pricing on most things locally (thank you Menards), including 50ft of 1.5" Spa Flex hose for $70 and my grand total without solvents/primers is right at $520. That is not including tax either. With the Jandy 3-way valve and CPVC and schedule 80 elbows, along with the large ball/check combo and the Jandy check valve, along with the gate valve/adapters/plumbing to hook up to the water spigot it is more like $675.

I already calculated out how much it is going to cost to add the 2-way diverter valve for the skimmer/main drain and it comes in at roughly $100 (includes a Jandy 2"/2.5" 3-way valve, 3 unions, 2 ball valves and some 90s and a male adapter). I should be able to get it to fit in the same space I have the first input at. I am also going to modify the existing input with a union on the riser so if I ever need to switch to a single input without the main drain I can easily. I know, busy work/expense, but I have saved my bacon in the past doing things just as "frivolous" and finding that it was ideal for something that came up, so for the extra 5 minutes of time and $9 for a union I figure it is worth it.

I must say I was a little surprised at how quickly most of it added up. Even though I have to admit the amount of time involved was massive compared to what I expected. I can see how this becomes an art form quickly for those that can think 3-dimensionally, and I can also see how in a lot of cases if the person doing the plumbing cant' think like that, it is a disaster.

What I still don't get is how expensive this stuff is when you have a pool installed. I mean the quotes I got when I called earlier this year were OUTRAGEOUS. Granted, I have $4500 worth of equipment and plumbing overall (on a new installations billing I am certain it would come out to at least that, if not more), but there is no way I could ever justify paying someone $10-14k for both the installation and equipment. Now I already had the electrical all installed and a simple rewire from 240v to 120v along with a breaker change to a GFCI was all that was needed, but still, it seems unreal for that kind of cost for what you end up with.

In the end I do believe the total cost of equipment and plumbing for the pad is right at $1900-2000 or so (I did get some killer deals, but there was a lot of work too), with all of it being either brand new, or slightly used good enough to consider as new. And I won't have to redo anything if I decide to go in-ground at some point. I can just tap into where the lines run in the yard and reuse everything I have.

[DennisP]

Everything is now complete at the equipment pad... I even installed the firemans switch relay, wired it to enable only via firemans switch and the pump on high. I also have the high/low speed relay installed as well (pump is always at low speed unless the timer commands the pump to run at high and I have a seperate timer for pump power altogether). I also have the ability to switch the pump to high from low and it will allow the heater to run regardless of the status of the firemans switch since it is on manual override.

Pics of the equipment pad:





And the plumbing waiting out by the pool location:


Now I just need some dry weather for about a week to get the limestone down and to start paving the patio... I don't think I am going to get to install the pool this year...

[CarlD]

Looks great.

But I won't be satisfied till you can monitor it and run it from your iPhone/Android from anywhere in the world!

JUST KIDDING!

[Watermom]

I can turn my pool pump on and off from my phone (or from my computer). Very convenient.

[CarlD]

Whoa! That is SERIOUSLY cool! I've seen plug-in wireless switches, but for a 220v line?

[DennisP]

Well, now that the pool is up, I figured I would follow-up with some pics of the plumbing out at the pool:




I can happily report that when I went to kick everything on once everything was done being plumbed (at 10pm no less!), everything runs exactly like I expected it to...

The System3 cartridge filter setup shows 10psi of pressure, there is no air in the system while running, switching between main drains and skimmer works great, the dual timer setup works awesome (one for main pump power on/off and the other for pump high/low coupled with a fireman's switch to make sure the heater shuts off 15-20 minutes before the pump kicks off high), the fireman's switch works great, the custom wiring to the pump to enable the fireman's switch when you manually kick it to high works perfect, and in general I am happy as can be that everything just flat out works as expected.

One item that concerns me is that I noticed that when the heater sits with water in it for a few days, when you flush water through it you get rusty water out of it. I know the heat exchanger has cast-iron manifolds, but is rust supposed to accumulate so quickly?

I mean should I expect to get rusty water out if I let the setup sit overnight with the pump off?

I figure I will probably want to run the pump on low for most of the day, say from 6am to 6pm, with a stint on high (to help clean things up and to add heat via the heater) from 6am to 8am and from 3pm to 5pm. I may also kick the pump on low from 11pm to 1am during the peak summertime to clean things up since I am certain I will be getting some night-time swimming in as well.