Over in this thread a discussion sprang up about PVC fountains and modifying returns and such. I'd asked for (and received!) some advice and information, and said I'd share the results in their own thread.
My intent was to add a cooling spray fountain to my return, but keep the functionality of the single return jet pointing to the side to maintain circulation in the pool.
Yesterday, then, I "prototyped" with some 3/4" PVC I had around, and tried a contraption that had the fountain off to one side and the jet the other. While this "worked", the long "spray bar" put unwanted twisting pressure on the main body of the unit, which resulted in various straps and braces being necessary. It proved the 'concept", but wasn't at all suited for longer term use.
Today, then, I went to Lowe's, and acquired the necessary stuff to make a more permanent solution from 1" PVC.
I removed the return eye and its ring, and then using a pair of needle-nose pliers to grip the slots inside of it, I removed the 1.5" adapter.
The adapter was replaced with a standard schedule 40 1.5" PVC Male Adapter, into which was inserted a 1.5" - 1" Bushing. Out of the bushing comes a Side-Outlet Elbow.
From the side exit is a 45* elbow, and a ball valve, functioning as the return jet for normal operation.
From the "up" exit is a ball valve, a T, and 2 1' long pieces of PVC, each drilled with 5/32" holes every 1/2", starting 1.5" from each end. The ends are capped with simple slide on caps.
We get a good 6-8' arc of spray about 10-12' out into the pool.
This unit proved to be much more stable and "accurate", with much less wobble, due to all the forces being located closer to the attachment point.
Temp at 1:00pm, when i started the unit up, was right at 90*.
I'll check every hour, with a final check this evening, to get an idea of how much and how quickly it cools things down.
My intent was to add a cooling spray fountain to my return, but keep the functionality of the single return jet pointing to the side to maintain circulation in the pool.
Yesterday, then, I "prototyped" with some 3/4" PVC I had around, and tried a contraption that had the fountain off to one side and the jet the other. While this "worked", the long "spray bar" put unwanted twisting pressure on the main body of the unit, which resulted in various straps and braces being necessary. It proved the 'concept", but wasn't at all suited for longer term use.
Today, then, I went to Lowe's, and acquired the necessary stuff to make a more permanent solution from 1" PVC.
I removed the return eye and its ring, and then using a pair of needle-nose pliers to grip the slots inside of it, I removed the 1.5" adapter.
The adapter was replaced with a standard schedule 40 1.5" PVC Male Adapter, into which was inserted a 1.5" - 1" Bushing. Out of the bushing comes a Side-Outlet Elbow.
From the side exit is a 45* elbow, and a ball valve, functioning as the return jet for normal operation.
From the "up" exit is a ball valve, a T, and 2 1' long pieces of PVC, each drilled with 5/32" holes every 1/2", starting 1.5" from each end. The ends are capped with simple slide on caps.
We get a good 6-8' arc of spray about 10-12' out into the pool.
This unit proved to be much more stable and "accurate", with much less wobble, due to all the forces being located closer to the attachment point.
Temp at 1:00pm, when i started the unit up, was right at 90*.
I'll check every hour, with a final check this evening, to get an idea of how much and how quickly it cools things down.
