1.5" plumbing for 2" heater

[benjydog]

Hello,

I was planning on going out to buy a new pump (hayward super pump vs sp2600vsp - 1.5") and a new filter (hayward s244tl - 1.5") but took a look at my heater (Jandy Lite2) and it uses 2" piping. If i understand everything, my curret setup is 2" from my pump to heater and heater to filter and 2" from filter to 1 of 3 pool lines (the other 2 are 1.5"). If i go with this new filter and pump, will it still work with my heater or do i need a 2" pump and filter?

 

[peterdaly]

Do you have any restrictions in your plumbing that forces all the water through a single 1.5" pipe "bottleneck" at any point? If not, I would stick with 2" plumbing and devices everywhere, else you would be reducing your maximum water flow rate and reducing your pump efficiency.

If your two 1.5" pipes T into or out of a 2", your flow is never restricted to a 1.5" bottleneck since your higher flow is shared by the two smaller pipes.

Personally, I would go with 2" devices either way.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, you can use 1.5" devices with 2" plumbing as long as there is just a little extra space for the pipe adapters. There is no specific limitations when mixing 1.5" and 2", you can switch sizes freely. However, devices with 2" connections are going to be just a little more energy efficient.

 

[jblizzle]

I just want to confirm ... you said the water flows from the pump to the heater and then the filter?
The heater should be after the filter.

I too would use 2" plumbing where you can and just use a reducer to 1.5" where required.

 

[benjydog]

Thanks all!

To confirm, i have 3 1.5" lines from the pool to the pump (they T into a 2"). these are: 2x1.5" from the skimmer, 1x1.5" from 2 floor drains....dont ask.

Yes, my plumbing goes from pump to heater to filter (again, i inherited this with the house). Between the pump, heater and filter it is all 2". After the filter, it is a 2" that Ts to 2x1.5" returns (1 is closed due to the water feature not being installed, the other is the returns on the stairs) and 1x2" return for the remaining jets.

 

[jblizzle]

To confirm, i have 3 1.5" lines from the pool to the pump (they T into a 2"). these are: 2x1.5" from the skimmer, 1x1.5" from 2 floor drains....dont ask.

That sounds like a normal setup. Assuming you mean 2 skimmers and not 2 pipes from 1 skimmer.

While you are working on the pad, I would suggest you re-order the layout to make it pump>filter>heater.

 

[benjydog]

Ok, I double checked. It is pump-filter-heater. (it's been a long day)

But it is 2 lines from 1 skimmer. The skimmer has a 1.5" and 2" hole at the bottom, one for the vac I guess but the 2" was reduced to 1.5" back to the pump.

Thanks for the information!

 

[jblizzle]

That is odd for the skimmer. Initially I was thinking that was clever so you could be running the vac on one and still have the skimmer working .... But, the hose would interfere with the skimmer door and more importantly, you would not be able to have the skimmer basket in place so would have to rely on the pump basket.

 

[benjydog]

You're exactly right. I usually just use the 2" hole if I'm using the robot vacuum, as the manual one goes over the basket to create it's seal. I don't know why they did it this way. It's 10 years old. The other oddity (to me) is the 2 floor drains are only a few feet apart but both are on the same 1.5" line. My neighbor's pool which was done at the same time by the same company has the same setup.

 

[JasonLion]

Dual drains need to share a single pipe for safety reasons (helps prevent people getting trapped by drain suction). Ideally it should have been a 2" pipe.

 

[benjydog]

Thanks JasonLion.

I agree, should have had 2" lines everywhere. If the opportunity comes to do that we will consider it.

Thanks for the help