Had a small leak in the solar thermal panels and the technician who came mentioned it is plumbed incorrectly--the solar return is not correct.. (pool is 20 years old and i am not the original owner). wanted to see this knowledgeable folks take on what is plumbed incorrectly and if corrective actions is needed. (he mentioned 2k+ to do it correctly)
Solar Heater - is it plumbed incorrectly?
- Thread starter spartan_n
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
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What did the tech say needed to be changed? What is incorrect and how would he change it?
Maybe @Dirk will understand your plumbing. The jumble of white pipes in your pics do not tell us which are the solar pipes nor show exactly where they are connected.
www.troublefreepool.com
Maybe @Dirk will understand your plumbing. The jumble of white pipes in your pics do not tell us which are the solar pipes nor show exactly where they are connected.
Solar Pool Heaters - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
- Nov 12, 2017
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- Pool Size
- 12300
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- Plaster
- Chlorine
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- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I don't know if you could take and post enough pictures for me to sort that out. Can you draw it out? Just a simple flow-chart type drawing, with lines connecting ovals, indicating what is what (valves, filter, heater, pumps, etc, and where each of the pipes exiting that jungle gym go, as much as you know. A schematic, in essence. Take a photo of that and post it. If you're interested in providing that, do so carefully, and double-check your work. Even one wrong pipe would make any advice I could offer incorrect.
What was he going to do for $2,000? Even if he replumbed everything, that's a crazy price. Would he need to dig up pipes?
What was he going to do for $2,000? Even if he replumbed everything, that's a crazy price. Would he need to dig up pipes?
Ahultin
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Making some assumptions, I think the tee and the jandy 3 way are reversed and solar return is missing a check valve.
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Ahultin
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Purple arrow points to 2" tee
Yellow arrow to solar bypass
Orange pool return
Blue cold too solar
Red hot from solar
green spa return
white solar shutoff
Yellow three way and purple tee would appear to be reversed
red return would then be be missing check valve
are the panels on the roof or ground mount? above the equipment or below?
Also, as plumbed, spa gets nothing from swg in spa mode
Yellow arrow to solar bypass
Orange pool return
Blue cold too solar
Red hot from solar
green spa return
white solar shutoff
Yellow three way and purple tee would appear to be reversed
red return would then be be missing check valve
are the panels on the roof or ground mount? above the equipment or below?
Also, as plumbed, spa gets nothing from swg in spa mode
thank you so much for taking the time. the panels are on the roof. so based on what i have provided, what needs to change? the three you pointed out?
"
Yellow three way and purple tee would appear to be reversed
red return would then be be missing check valve"
i can post more pictures or get my pool guy to school me but right now i don't understand the implication of the incorrecty/reversed valves ?
"
Yellow three way and purple tee would appear to be reversed
red return would then be be missing check valve"
i can post more pictures or get my pool guy to school me but right now i don't understand the implication of the incorrecty/reversed valves ?
Ahultin
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With roof mount panels they are supposed to drain down when the system is off, they use either a special solar three way or have a small hole drilled in the three way. As installed your panels would be under constant pressure, one consequence of which is the potential for leaks.
Snap a few more photos of the plumbing (get a good shot straight on of the area to under the salt cell), the plumbing up the roof, the solar and the pool.
With the tee and 3 way reversed and check valve added the system would drain down whenever off as it is supposed to (I presume you have a solar controller since there is a valve actuator on that line) the check valve would keep the water from going back up the outlet. This would also prevent the water from going stagnant from any prolonged off periods.
While I dont think it's a $2000 job (and if it is, maybe I need to change careers lol ) it would involve quite a bit of rework. There are several othe things that I'd correct at the same time - looks like the filter out line prevents use of the vsp pumps control panel - move the salt cell so it is before the three way (assuming automation that you can co troll pool/spa output)
What area of ca are you in? Do you get some nights at or below freezing (we are in north sd county and got more below freezing nights this year then we are used to) . Are you handy- it's just pvc work
And for pure morbid curiosity, how much did they charge for the leak repair?
Snap a few more photos of the plumbing (get a good shot straight on of the area to under the salt cell), the plumbing up the roof, the solar and the pool.
With the tee and 3 way reversed and check valve added the system would drain down whenever off as it is supposed to (I presume you have a solar controller since there is a valve actuator on that line) the check valve would keep the water from going back up the outlet. This would also prevent the water from going stagnant from any prolonged off periods.
While I dont think it's a $2000 job (and if it is, maybe I need to change careers lol ) it would involve quite a bit of rework. There are several othe things that I'd correct at the same time - looks like the filter out line prevents use of the vsp pumps control panel - move the salt cell so it is before the three way (assuming automation that you can co troll pool/spa output)
What area of ca are you in? Do you get some nights at or below freezing (we are in north sd county and got more below freezing nights this year then we are used to) . Are you handy- it's just pvc work
And for pure morbid curiosity, how much did they charge for the leak repair?
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thanks you!. Ok i should get it rectified. the leak was fixed $180. i am in north san diego --4S/ rancho bernardo area. 2K was just a rough estimate of what he thought it might take but needed to get his boss to provide the detailed estimate.
anyone has a recommendation for a pool companies i shoudl contact to get quotes from..
anyone has a recommendation for a pool companies i shoudl contact to get quotes from..
Ahultin
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Do you have a spillover spa?
Photo of pool
Photo of pool solar
Photo of pool electrical panel area
Photo of pool panel breakers
Photo of pool
Photo of pool solar
Photo of pool electrical panel area
Photo of pool panel breakers
Ahultin
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Lots going on there 
I'm guessing that your spa is a spillover but not in the traditional sense. Is there another mouth like this one
on the end of the pool closest to the spa?
Confirm Three pumps,
1. Circulation (far right)
2. Spa jets (middle)
3. Water features (far left)
The pumps must be all wired 110v based on the breakers. None are on gfci (probably be the first thing I would want to resolve). The rust coming from under the breakers would also cause some concern (part of why I would get some gfci breakers in there , if they would fit.)
Is there a spa mode or spillover mode in your schedule without a spillover i dont see how the spa gets more than just residual chlorination?
Back to the solar, I think my earlier assumptions are on the right track, @Dirk do the most recent photos help?
The solar revisions look relatively straight forward and don't look like a $2000 job BUT the pool guy may be looking at doing a bunch of other stuff at the same time assuming once they touch it they own it. (Wire cleanup/gfci/panel cleanup/ solar plumbing/return plumbing)
I'm guessing that your spa is a spillover but not in the traditional sense. Is there another mouth like this one
on the end of the pool closest to the spa?
Confirm Three pumps,
1. Circulation (far right)
2. Spa jets (middle)
3. Water features (far left)
The pumps must be all wired 110v based on the breakers. None are on gfci (probably be the first thing I would want to resolve). The rust coming from under the breakers would also cause some concern (part of why I would get some gfci breakers in there , if they would fit.)
Is there a spa mode or spillover mode in your schedule without a spillover i dont see how the spa gets more than just residual chlorination?
Back to the solar, I think my earlier assumptions are on the right track, @Dirk do the most recent photos help?
The solar revisions look relatively straight forward and don't look like a $2000 job BUT the pool guy may be looking at doing a bunch of other stuff at the same time assuming once they touch it they own it. (Wire cleanup/gfci/panel cleanup/ solar plumbing/return plumbing)
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,896
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Not really. I'm not sure how you got as far as you did, but hats off to you. I had asked the OP for a schematic sketch for a couple reasons. So that we could see the layout without making any assumptions about where each pipe is going. But more importantly for the OP's benefit. I think sketching it out would help the OP understand not only how the solar plumbing is doing what it's doing, but how all his plumbing works: what goes where, which valves do which, etc.
It may have been presumptuous on my part to assume the OP doesn't have a full understanding of his plumbing, but if he doesn't, then seeing the schematic might have been a good first step. Just the way I would do it for myself, not everyone see things, or needs to, in the same way as I would...
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thanks Ahultin and Dirk. you are right, I don't have a full understanding of the plumbing--any tips on how to create a schematic. should i switch On/OFF one valve and check what happens?
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,896
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
No need, we can probably help you with that just by see the drawing. Draw an oval for each valve. Draw rectangles for your pumps. I big circle for your filter and a big square for your heater. Then just connect each shape with lines, to represent the pipes going in and out of each of your components. Draw a horizontal line to represent the ground, and show pipes leading into the dirt as leading into that straight line. Add anything else you want to understand better. Label each component (pump 1, pump 2, valve, heater, etc). Easy. Just be careful you draw the lines correctly and not to leave any out, otherwise our advice will be wonky.
If you have to cross lines because of the way they'll intersect, that's fine. If two pipes join, like with a tee fitting, then draw a big, black dot to represent that.
Then later we'll help you fill in flow direction arrows. Once done, you'll transfer all your "chicken scratch" to the actual pipes: arrows indicating flow direction and words describing where each pipe goes, what each valve does, etc. It's everything the plumber or previous owner should have done. If you're like me, in a year when all this "learnin'" starts to get a little hazy, you'll appreciate your work, and all the labels you added to your plumbing.
And ideally you'll come away from all this with a better understanding of what all the valves do and how to adjust them. And, of course, what might be wrong with your solar plumbing. Usually we can do this from pics provided by the pool owner, but you've got such a jungle that a drawing will be safer.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,896
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Some of your valves, probably three of them, will have black devices bolted to them. Those are actuators that allow your automation controller to turn valves automatically for you. Be sure to indicated which valves have actuators (an obvious asterisk on the oval would do).
Also, describe as much as you know about your pool system. We know you have a pool and spa and solar heater. And a gas heater. Do you have any water features? Fountains or bubblers. What functions does your spa have, any sort of bubble-making (I think those are called blowers)?
Also, describe as much as you know about your pool system. We know you have a pool and spa and solar heater. And a gas heater. Do you have any water features? Fountains or bubblers. What functions does your spa have, any sort of bubble-making (I think those are called blowers)?