Hi everyone,
Somehow I talked my DH into a midseason upgrade to an Ultra Frame from our blue blob. I have a plan for PVC plumbing IN REVERSE, and I'm not sure if I'm missing something.
Part of the reason I want a reverse layout is because we’re also planning our hardscaping now. I’m short and I need to be able to stand right at the pool wall all the way around for vacuuming. New England isn’t warm enough to guarantee I can get in the pool every week to clean – so a decent path around the perimeter is a must. I really dislike our current setup with the equipment 1’ away from the pool, so I’ve designed an equipment pad on the far side of the new walkway – about 3-4’ away from the pool wall. I want the SWG electronics to face the walkway, so I need to spin all the equipment around. Therefore, it also makes sense to reverse the plumbing lines.
The new pool is the new design with (2) itty bitty 1"? suctions and (1) 1.5" return. I have a Hayward through-the-wall skimmer on order, so if I pipe up as Intex intended, that would be THREE suctions and one return. Instead, I would flip that; I would cut in the skimmer on the left side of the pool and use the existing left side port as a 2nd suction. Then I would cap off one of the itty bitty ports, and cut the other itty bitty port to a standard 1.5" as my single return.
One problem is that the skimmer and suction will now both be high on the pool side. I saw where one person added an elbow and downpipe inside his pool to suck more water from the lower half. Is this a good plan?
Another problem is closing off one of the itty bitty ports. My blue blob came with nice large threaded nut designs for both ports, and the new pool has one of these nuts for the return. But the itty bitty connection is a joke - it's just a nipple (with no gasket) that apparently magically seats itself on the pool wall without leaking. Right. The nipple is supposed to mate to the cheesy Intex vacuum hose material with some equally cheesy clamps. So, assuming I'm throwing all of that away, how the heck should I seal that hole? One option is to cut it larger and install the "good" through-wall nut, then cap off on the outside. Another option is to patch it… seems like a really big hole for a patch. Any thoughts? Is there a better cap for this little hole? Finally, also consider that soon, we’ll want a heater for this pool. I COULD use this port and cut another for the heating system. We now have 3 Intex pumps, so I can run an isolated heating line (our main pump is the 2650 sand filter pump - the others are small cartridge filter pumps that came with both pools). Is there a better connection plan for this port with that information in mind?
Finally, a question on plumbing parts. We mapped out what we wanted/needed and spent an hour at HD yesterday fitting PVC to an Intex through-wall nut. I am VERY happy with our purchases. We picked up box adaptors, wide elbows, 3 valves, some spa hose to hang on the pool sides, and some hard PVC pipe to lay on the ground. What I'm NOT happy about are the 1.25" valves we bought... they didn't have any 1.5" and I let DH convince me the 1.25 would be fine. Should I return the 1.25” valves (and the reducers needed to mate them) and buy the 1.5” from Lowes (who DOES have them in stock)?
Thanks for getting through all this. Any thoughts/advice will be much appreciated!
Somehow I talked my DH into a midseason upgrade to an Ultra Frame from our blue blob. I have a plan for PVC plumbing IN REVERSE, and I'm not sure if I'm missing something.
Part of the reason I want a reverse layout is because we’re also planning our hardscaping now. I’m short and I need to be able to stand right at the pool wall all the way around for vacuuming. New England isn’t warm enough to guarantee I can get in the pool every week to clean – so a decent path around the perimeter is a must. I really dislike our current setup with the equipment 1’ away from the pool, so I’ve designed an equipment pad on the far side of the new walkway – about 3-4’ away from the pool wall. I want the SWG electronics to face the walkway, so I need to spin all the equipment around. Therefore, it also makes sense to reverse the plumbing lines.
The new pool is the new design with (2) itty bitty 1"? suctions and (1) 1.5" return. I have a Hayward through-the-wall skimmer on order, so if I pipe up as Intex intended, that would be THREE suctions and one return. Instead, I would flip that; I would cut in the skimmer on the left side of the pool and use the existing left side port as a 2nd suction. Then I would cap off one of the itty bitty ports, and cut the other itty bitty port to a standard 1.5" as my single return.
One problem is that the skimmer and suction will now both be high on the pool side. I saw where one person added an elbow and downpipe inside his pool to suck more water from the lower half. Is this a good plan?
Another problem is closing off one of the itty bitty ports. My blue blob came with nice large threaded nut designs for both ports, and the new pool has one of these nuts for the return. But the itty bitty connection is a joke - it's just a nipple (with no gasket) that apparently magically seats itself on the pool wall without leaking. Right. The nipple is supposed to mate to the cheesy Intex vacuum hose material with some equally cheesy clamps. So, assuming I'm throwing all of that away, how the heck should I seal that hole? One option is to cut it larger and install the "good" through-wall nut, then cap off on the outside. Another option is to patch it… seems like a really big hole for a patch. Any thoughts? Is there a better cap for this little hole? Finally, also consider that soon, we’ll want a heater for this pool. I COULD use this port and cut another for the heating system. We now have 3 Intex pumps, so I can run an isolated heating line (our main pump is the 2650 sand filter pump - the others are small cartridge filter pumps that came with both pools). Is there a better connection plan for this port with that information in mind?
Finally, a question on plumbing parts. We mapped out what we wanted/needed and spent an hour at HD yesterday fitting PVC to an Intex through-wall nut. I am VERY happy with our purchases. We picked up box adaptors, wide elbows, 3 valves, some spa hose to hang on the pool sides, and some hard PVC pipe to lay on the ground. What I'm NOT happy about are the 1.25" valves we bought... they didn't have any 1.5" and I let DH convince me the 1.25 would be fine. Should I return the 1.25” valves (and the reducers needed to mate them) and buy the 1.5” from Lowes (who DOES have them in stock)?
Thanks for getting through all this. Any thoughts/advice will be much appreciated!
