Hi there,
Long time reader but first time poster. Sorry for the long preamble, question is at the end…
We just had our 20’ x 40’ in-ground vinyl liner pool refurbished by (what I thought was) one of the more reputable companies in our area (Ottawa Ontario Canada). New liner, new lines, new skimmer, new returns, pool lights added, new deck, the works.
Last year, before the refurbishment, I replaced an old single speed pump and sand filter with the 3H Pentair variable speed pump and the big (520) cartridge filter. We kept the older but still working well Pentair MasterTemp 250 heater. The system ran great. The skimmer collected lots of debris daily, the water was clear and no issues with pool chemistry, consistent and I think relatively low chlorine use (we use liquid chlorine), strong water pressure from the returns, no issues at all.
The liner was old and faded and the backyard was getting a landscaping makeover so refurbishing the pool was a no brainer.
Unfortunately the pool company did a terrible job with the entire project. The coping track isn’t flush with the top of the pool wall in several spots and some rocks under the liner, but more to the point for this thread is that during the re-plumbing they installed the check valve at the pool heater outlet backwards
ie after the heater the water had nowhere to go.
The setup is pretty straightforward - skimmer to pump with 2” flex hose, then 2” schedule 40 from the pump to filter inlet, 2” flex from filter outlet to heater inlet, check valve (installed backwards) at heater outlet, then 1-1/2” flex to T-fitting, then 1-1/2” flex to the two returns.
When the system was started the first time, the pump went through the priming phase at 3000 rpm, filled the filter (air pressure gauge was open), and held for a few seconds before the connection at the filter inlet blew apart.
On the second attempt the system went through the primming phase and filled the filter but started leaking badly at the same filter inlet. A few attempts at (over) tightening the joint at the filter inlet did not resolve the leak. At this point the pool ”pro“ started to blame the fitting before disassembling the joint only to discover that he had forgotten the o-ring. Once the o-ring was installed the system was again started and again the same joint at the filter inlet blew apart after a few seconds.
On the third attempt after gluing a new fitting the system was again started and this time held for a bit longer - long enough for me to check that no water was coming from one of the returns - before the pump was shut off. It was getting late in the evening and I then started to ask some basic troubleshooting questions before the pool guy realized that he had in-fact installed the check valve at the heater outlet backwards.
So my question is, how likely was any of the equipment damaged from being pressurized from this dead-head situation? Fortunately none of the buried pipes would have been affected, but I’m concerned about the filter, the heater, pump, the check-valve, and also the pump itself.
Thanks in advance,
Long time reader but first time poster. Sorry for the long preamble, question is at the end…
We just had our 20’ x 40’ in-ground vinyl liner pool refurbished by (what I thought was) one of the more reputable companies in our area (Ottawa Ontario Canada). New liner, new lines, new skimmer, new returns, pool lights added, new deck, the works.
Last year, before the refurbishment, I replaced an old single speed pump and sand filter with the 3H Pentair variable speed pump and the big (520) cartridge filter. We kept the older but still working well Pentair MasterTemp 250 heater. The system ran great. The skimmer collected lots of debris daily, the water was clear and no issues with pool chemistry, consistent and I think relatively low chlorine use (we use liquid chlorine), strong water pressure from the returns, no issues at all.
The liner was old and faded and the backyard was getting a landscaping makeover so refurbishing the pool was a no brainer.
Unfortunately the pool company did a terrible job with the entire project. The coping track isn’t flush with the top of the pool wall in several spots and some rocks under the liner, but more to the point for this thread is that during the re-plumbing they installed the check valve at the pool heater outlet backwards
ie after the heater the water had nowhere to go. The setup is pretty straightforward - skimmer to pump with 2” flex hose, then 2” schedule 40 from the pump to filter inlet, 2” flex from filter outlet to heater inlet, check valve (installed backwards) at heater outlet, then 1-1/2” flex to T-fitting, then 1-1/2” flex to the two returns.
When the system was started the first time, the pump went through the priming phase at 3000 rpm, filled the filter (air pressure gauge was open), and held for a few seconds before the connection at the filter inlet blew apart.
On the second attempt the system went through the primming phase and filled the filter but started leaking badly at the same filter inlet. A few attempts at (over) tightening the joint at the filter inlet did not resolve the leak. At this point the pool ”pro“ started to blame the fitting before disassembling the joint only to discover that he had forgotten the o-ring. Once the o-ring was installed the system was again started and again the same joint at the filter inlet blew apart after a few seconds.
On the third attempt after gluing a new fitting the system was again started and this time held for a bit longer - long enough for me to check that no water was coming from one of the returns - before the pump was shut off. It was getting late in the evening and I then started to ask some basic troubleshooting questions before the pool guy realized that he had in-fact installed the check valve at the heater outlet backwards.
So my question is, how likely was any of the equipment damaged from being pressurized from this dead-head situation? Fortunately none of the buried pipes would have been affected, but I’m concerned about the filter, the heater, pump, the check-valve, and also the pump itself.
Thanks in advance,
