Renovating Pool Plumbing Design

dcl-inc

Member
Dec 9, 2021
5
Bloomington, California
Hello everyone. Been lurking for a little bit and taking in the knowledge from here and wanted to run my plumbing design by you. Renovating the entire backyard so I figured I'd update my 45 year old pool in the process. All piping is going to be new 2", 90 sweeps and 45's with the exception of the original main drain which has 1.5", but I will upsize to 2" wherever I can attach it to the existing 1.5" as long as the original piping can hold pressure. Otherwise I'll cap off the main drain line and go with the two skimmers and the vacuum line. Skimmer 1 is in its original location, but will be removing and replacing it and entombing a new one. Skimmer 2 will be a new install through the bond beam and entombed as well. Both are on the down wind side since I get a good amount of wind and debris. Contemplating whether I want to add equalizers on each skimmer or not. Vacuum line will be used for a Barracuda G3 most of the time. Returns will all have directional eyeballs and I am planning on a clockwise circulation. I will straighten out any runs during installation that I can. Isolation valves on each suction and return line. The pool is approximately 27,000 gallons and I plan on using a Hayward Tristar VS 1.85 and 325 cubic foot cartridge filter. Any concerns or observations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much in advance.

Pool Plumbing Design 1.jpegPool Plumbing Pipe Lengths.jpeg
 
Welcome to TFP.

I would not put Return 1 in between the skimmers. It will cause the skimmers to suck up a lot of flow from Return 1 and it will block most of the flow from the other end of the pool and cause that far side water to be stagnant.

I would put Return 1 on the right side of the pool between Return 2 and 3. Then you have a flow from the upper right to the skimmers on the lower left.

90s or sweeps or 45s hardly make a difference. Do whatever is easiest.
 
Welcome to TFP.

I would not put Return 1 in between the skimmers. It will cause the skimmers to suck up a lot of flow from Return 1 and it will block most of the flow from the other end of the pool and cause that far side water to be stagnant.

I would put Return 1 on the right side of the pool between Return 2 and 3. Then you have a flow from the upper right to the skimmers on the lower left.

90s or sweeps or 45s hardly make a difference. Do whatever is easiest.
Do directional eyeballs help in redirecting the flow away from the skimmers on return 1? I can see what you're saying and just curious. Also, would it be better to put return 2 closer to the love seat and then put number 1 between it and number 3? I could see how doing this would help with the flow in the upper left and possibly clean the step area better.
 
Do directional eyeballs help in redirecting the flow away from the skimmers on return 1?

I don’t think directional eyeballs effect the water beyond a few feet. Water circulation comes from the path from returns to skimmers. And from the surface winds.

I can see what you're saying and just curious. Also, would it be better to put return 2 closer to the love seat and then put number 1 between it and number 3? I could see how doing this would help with the flow in the upper left and possibly clean the step area better.

I think 2 and 3 are in good places and putting 1 at the end of the pool between them gives you good water flow and mixing from the return area through the center of the pool to the suction zone.
 
That design looks good to me.

I think Return 4 is optional and the pool will work just as well without it.
 
Quick update. I've attached pics of my prospective pump/filter design. It's going along the side of the house so it had to fit within a narrow footprint so I still have a path along it to the exterior bathroom door. The three front suction lines will all have 2 way diverters and the 3 way diverters will be split between the shorter and longer runs of the returns to help make balancing them easier. Quick question about eyeball fittings. Is it better to have the slip in bodies or the thread in ones? I'm wondering because if I use the thread in bodies, how far out do I stick the return line FIP couplings into the pool so they are flush after re-plastering? Again, any critiques are welcome. Thanks again.
 

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