Re: My feedback on main drains in an above ground pool...
Again, I fail to see any downside to a main drain... Clogs??? Really??? that does not make sense... I also fail to see why you would have any more leaks there than with any other fitting anywhere else...
It all comes down to installation, plain and simple. In my case the pool is sitting on almost 2ft deep worth of crushed limestone that extends 3 feet at least that over the edge of the pool in all directions. The main drain piping is buried in compacted crushed limestone along with the main drains themselves and the connecting tee section being buried in quick set concrete too. There is no way the main drains are moving, settling, changing, etc...
So, yeah, go ahead and bemoan the whole main drain issue all you guys like, but it is fact that cooler water gets pulled into the main drain thus causing quicker heating and overall better mixing within a shorter timeframe. To say otherwise is being obtuse. Sure you can argue that you can aim returns, use lower on-wall suction points, etc, etc... fact of the matter is water in on the sides aimed to swirl the pool and water going out the skimmer as well as the main drains will maximize the mixture way better than using a skimmer alone. To argue anything else is just being foolish and goes to show a bias against main drains for a whole host of reasons other than what I have stated.
Honestly, I am sure there are a bunch of people that have had loved ones hurt or killed by main drains, and I don't hold it against them one bit to try to get them removed from everyones pools because they truly don't want anyone else to go through the pain and heartache, and it is almost fanatically obvious that is the big slant against main drains in general. But, with dual drains, and keeping them cut in along with the skimmer, the possibility of entrapment is nil.
As I said before, from a pool professional standpoint they are a nightmare to install, to repair, to deal with. As a installer/maintainer I would much rather deal with stuff that is affixed to the sides of a pool, honestly ANY pool (be it above ground or in-ground) instead of having to deal with the floor and a main drain. But, personally, as the person that installed it, and the one that will maintain it, it just makes far more sense to have it in the bottom than to have other crap drilled into the walls. Heck, I am kinda sorry I put an extra return in. It works well, but looks just as you would expect, with it being an eyesore. I am probably going to try to cover it up at some point with a statue, or plants or something... And that return is a solid white 1.5" PVC pipe coming up from underground to the elbow and into the pool, so it isn't like it is ugly hoses or anything else that would detract, but it still looks unsightly.
27ft Round x 54in deep Morada 6 Above Ground Pool; Sta-Rite System 3 S7M120 cartridge filter; Pentair Dynamo 1.5HP 340206 2-speed pump; Laars Lite2 250k-BTU millivolt NG heater; Dual Hayward Main-Drains, Dual Returns; plumbed in-ground w/2" PVC pipe; pool fill bib and line; 1238 sq/ft paver patio
Bookmarks