Quote Originally Posted by BigDave View Post
Why keep the ball valves?
The ball valves are there so that I can isolate the pad from the pool for maintenance and winterization. I also have redundant valves out at the pool for the same purpose/reason.

Basically for winterizing I should be able to drain teh water below the returns, shut off the pool plumbing at the pool, disconnect all the unions, blow out the lines, close the ball valves at the pool and the equipment pad, reconnect the unions at the pool, disconnect the equipment at the pad and remove the equipment for the winter. No water in the lines and them close off at both ends.

For service, depending on where it is, it is just a simple matter of isolating off everything else via the ball valves and being able to disconnect and remove what is needed.

Or, are you suggesting I don't even worry about a 3-way valve at the pump, simply plumb in the ball valves like I have, tee them together and just use the ball valves to control the flow?

I thought about that, but was thinking that 3-way valves die much more often than a Jandy Neverlube would and even in a "dead valve" situation with a ball valve I would have the Jandy as a "master control" valve that could block off both feeds with simple reclocking of the valve in the body. ie, if I had a ball valve fail I could still use the Jandy valve to block off both inlets.