Advice on Pipes

[Poconos]

When I replumbed my system I decided against unions because of their cost and I wanted something flexible to reduce stress on pipes and fittings and cut down on noise. Wound up with sections of straight auto radiator hose of the right size slipped over the PVC pipes and held with hose clamps. You can get 3 foot sections in almost any auto store. Go for the cheaper stuff, you don't need the super reinforced high cost hose. Should be about $20 per 3' section or thereabouts. Mine have been in place for probably 5-6 seasons now and show very little sign of deterioration.
Al

[roxy]

Hello all,
Although I haven't gotten my pool yet, I too would like to hard pipe everything. I also plan on adding a solar heater, so I was wondering if I need the $60.00 three way valve that is shown on most of the solar products web pages. I am sure that the built in bypass valve that some collectors have is good enough to eliminate the flow, but because the collector will be about 30 feet from the pool, should I install the three way valve to save my pump from laboring. Any pics of your pool's hard piping setups would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.