Yes really. We don't get many maybe 2 to 10 a year but they are usually unexpected and there have been several times I have been out for vacation or work and have had to call someone to come over to cover my hose bibs when I am gone. Now I just buy those styrofoam covers from Home Depot and keep them on all winter so I don't have to stress about it. If I had a pipe coming out of my hose bib I could no longer use those.
Can you hook up pool fill to irrigation line?
- Thread starter ummgood
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Yes really. We don't get many maybe 2 to 10 a year but they are usually unexpected and there have been several times I have been out for vacation or work and have had to call someone to come over to cover my hose bibs when I am gone. Now I just buy those styrofoam covers from Home Depot and keep them on all winter so I don't have to stress about it. If I had a pipe coming out of my hose bib I could no longer use those.
Good news from all these questions I am posting to the pool builder. Basically now that I have an air gap with the fill I can get a Jandy Electronic Autofill installed less than half the original $1800 they quoted for my autofill that was just the toilet bowl type. I am extremely pleased. I really wanted an auto fill but couldn't justify the $1800.
Corleone
0
What's the difference? Is the electronic one better than the mechanical? Which is normally more expensive?
I lucked out and picked up an auto fill from a guy on craigslist who had a bunch of surplus pool supplies he was selling from his palm tree nursery. Got him down to 20 bucks for it since I was buying a pump and some ball valves off him, but the lid was discolored so I bought a nice decorative metal one. My plumber was cool and didn't charge me any extra to plumb it and even included the brass backflow valve(but I also got him an extra job from a referral on this site, so he did me a solid on that). I didn't go through a pool builder I subbed it out myself which gave me a bit of leeway in adding some stuff after the fact. I wasn't even planning on doing an auto-fill until the opportunity arose, and I'm glad I did, it's really convenient now that I have it. I think you'll be very happy you have it!
Electronic is definitely more expensive except in my situation. I think they are typically used on more expensive pools. Mine will be a Jandy and it limits how much it fills in case there is a failure. It also has indicator lights to indicate when it has been shut off due to over filling etc. I think it is even possible to have it detect when the pool is way over filled and shut down in case the other sensor dies. My quote to install this is $825. I looked at the parts and they run anywhere from $350 to $500. So with the extra work I think it is almost fair (what is really fair from the pool builder anyway?). I think if I had a normal city the float version would be cheaper but since the float fills can have contaminated water go back into the city water supply there is a lot of extra hoops here to install one. You need an RPZ backflow installed by a separate master plumber. That backflow has to be inspected by a separate inspector and they need to inspect it every year after install so it is a huge PIA. In order to avoid the RPZ you need an air gap between the pool water level and the outlet of the auto fill. I don't think you can do this with the mechanical float type fills. In fact I have a friend who is head of construction for the largest privately owned home builder in the country and he says they fail their Austin home inspections all the time when there isn't a 1" air gap in a bath tub between the filler and the water level. So it is the same for pools. Because of all my questions and problems with the builder using my irrigation for my water source my sales guy ended up calling the city to find out the actual rules. When he did this simply moving the fill line into my raised bond beam solved the problem. After that was done it is possible to use the electronic fill to turn that fill line on without requiring the RPZ. This was validated through the permit department at the city. My original quote for the RPZ and manual auto-fill with all the extra hoops from the city was >1800. Which was hard to justify so I decided to forgo it since I have a fill line and I wouldn't have to hose it. I figured I would add some wireless thingamagig to it later if it was too cumbersome.
For differences the electronic has a sensor with two detectors that can detect when they are being bridged with water. This sensor on a new build is placed inside a skimmer. For retrofits from an existing float type auto fill they sometimes put the sensor in the existing cavity for the float. That sensor is then connected to a controller at the equipment pad via a low voltage wire. The controller determines when the sensor is not detecting water and turns on a automatic valve that opens a fill line that fills the pool.
The mechanical basically works like a toilet fill except with more flow. The problem with these like a normal toilet is when they fail they tend to not shut off eating lots of water. The electronic ones when failed I assume are shut off and won't open. (I am not sure of that). It will have indicators to let me know when it is failing at least so I can keep an eye on it.
I honestly have no idea what one is more reliable in the long term. I do know that for my situation the electronic one is way cheaper for my case and brings the auto-fill into a price point I am willing to pay so I am going for it. I wish I could get an auto-fill for $300-500 like in other parts of the country but that isn't how it is for me so I'll just eat it now and hopefully I'll think it is worth it later.
Um,
I'm just north of you in the Belton/Temple area and in the process of building a pool. My PB didn't kick back the idea of tying into my irrigation system, but when I started doing my own research I found some TCEQ regulations that prevented doing exactly that:
The air gap for your fill line only prevents chemicals in the pool from siphoning back into the system. Tying into the irrigation system can still potentially siphon lawn chemicals, pet waste, etc. from the rest of your irrigation system into your pool. Did you not have any issues outside of what you already mentioned getting the system installed and past inspections? Only way I see to do it by the regulations is to tap off the house main line and install an approved back flow (or possibly just have the inlet above the coping like you have) to fill your pool with potable water and not have a chance for cross-contamination between the pool, public water supply, or irrigation system.
I'm just north of you in the Belton/Temple area and in the process of building a pool. My PB didn't kick back the idea of tying into my irrigation system, but when I started doing my own research I found some TCEQ regulations that prevented doing exactly that:
- TCEQ’s Landscape Irrigation regulations prohibit a connection to be made to the irrigation system. This is stated in 30 TAC 344.62
Water contained within the piping of an irrigation system is deemed to be non-potable. No drinking or domestic water usage, such as, but not limited to, filling swimming pools or decorative fountains, shall be connected to an irrigation system. If a hose bib (an outdoor water faucet that has hose threads on the spout) is connected to an irrigation system for the purpose of providing supplemental water to an area, the hose bib must be installed using a quick coupler key on a quick coupler installed in a covered purple valve box and the hose bib and any hoses connected to the bib must be labeled "non-potable, not safe for drinking." An isolation valve must be installed upstream of a quick coupler connecting a hose bib to an irrigation system.
- Per the Swimming Pool Code (SPC) the swimming pool must be filled with potable water.
(https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/permitting/watersupply/groups/ccc/finalsummary20120904.pdf)
The air gap for your fill line only prevents chemicals in the pool from siphoning back into the system. Tying into the irrigation system can still potentially siphon lawn chemicals, pet waste, etc. from the rest of your irrigation system into your pool. Did you not have any issues outside of what you already mentioned getting the system installed and past inspections? Only way I see to do it by the regulations is to tap off the house main line and install an approved back flow (or possibly just have the inlet above the coping like you have) to fill your pool with potable water and not have a chance for cross-contamination between the pool, public water supply, or irrigation system.
The "purple valve box" leads me to believe that some areas of Texas are using "reclaimed" water for irrigation.Um,
I'm just north of you in the Belton/Temple area and in the process of building a pool. My PB didn't kick back the idea of tying into my irrigation system, but when I started doing my own research I found some TCEQ regulations that prevented doing exactly that:
- TCEQ’s Landscape Irrigation regulations prohibit a connection to be made to the irrigation system. This is stated in 30 TAC 344.62
- Per the Swimming Pool Code (SPC) the swimming pool must be filled with potable water.
(https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/permitting/watersupply/groups/ccc/finalsummary20120904.pdf)
The air gap for your fill line only prevents chemicals in the pool from siphoning back into the system. Tying into the irrigation system can still potentially siphon lawn chemicals, pet waste, etc. from the rest of your irrigation system into your pool. Did you not have any issues outside of what you already mentioned getting the system installed and past inspections? Only way I see to do it by the regulations is to tap off the house main line and install an approved back flow (or possibly just have the inlet above the coping like you have) to fill your pool with potable water and not have a chance for cross-contamination between the pool, public water supply, or irrigation system.
You would not want to use reclaimed water for a pool.
Good find, thanks for the update.
I assumed the purple was for non-potable because of the possibility of lawn chemicals getting back into any part of the system downstream of the backflow. I was actually unaware of reclaimed water. I’ve only seen the purple spray heads on aerobic septic systems, which I guess becomes grey-water after aerobic treatment. Not saying some of the places in Texas don’t use reclaimed I just haven’t seen it for myself.