Valve Replacement / Reorganization

[Box Jockey]

Howdy!

I have only had a pool for one season. Thanks to this place I managed the operation side of it just fine so thanks for that! However coming out of winter I need to take care of some problems. I need to replace all the ball valves on the suction side as they are so stiff the handles are breaking (see photo below). I also believe my main drain is clogged however as you can see, I have only identified what the cleaner and skimmers are connected to. For all I know any one of those could also have the main drain (both skimmers only have one open outlet at the bottom). Would it be possible to redo this with some Jandy valves, or just something that would have more accessibility? If that is a yes, would it be something a novice could pull off? I have replaced heads and repaired sections of my sprinkler system so I have a minuscule bit of experience with smaller PVC stuff. However I don't want to get my hopes up if this is out of my league.

The couplings to the pump need to be redone as well (one side is embarrassingly half a@*ed, I swear it wasn't me) so I guess that means there is opportunity to move it if need be. Anyways let me know what you guys think!

The fiasco:
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r520/BoxJock/PoolWtf.jpg


Other angles:
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r520/BoxJock/photo3.jpg
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r520/BoxJock/photo5.jpg

 

[Patrick_B]

Hey Jockey,

You can certainly do this with a little care and paying attention. If you've done PVC and are comfortable with that it shouldn't be hard at all. Jandy "Never Lube" are regarded as the best by many PB's. Yours is a perfect example of why those PVC valves should never be used in a permanent pool equipment application. One thing to check on is any valve/parts being made of ABS. If you confirm they are, just make sure you get primer that is compatible with ABS plastic.

I would suggest double checking the valving to make sure one of those isn't your main drain. If they aren't it might suggest that line was abandonded as there doesn't appear to be another one there.

 

[Box Jockey]

Thanks for the response Brushpup!

And thank you for the ABS reminder. That is something I would have definitely overlooked!!

Is it at all possible that the main drain could be tied into one of these other lines, or would it for sure have its own? I am just a little worried with the set up the way it is that there might be some unorthodox inner workings going on here.

In regards to the valves, are there any rules of thumb or guides for Jandy installations? It seems like I would have to get creative since there are 3 suction lines coming into the pump in a sort of odd configuration. I wasn't sure if Jandy valves had to be installed flat (handle on top) or any other quirks like that.

 

[jblizzle]

We have seen pools with the floor tired into the pipe coming from the skimmer with no way to adjust the flow ... but rare.

Ideally the common pipe uses the middle port on the 3 way valve, but it does not have to. There is no orientation restrictions.