We are in the final stages of our pool build and I’m trying to figure out the best way to plumb this in a way that provides good circulation, sanitation and heat AND doesn’t drain out when the pump is off.
For a quick backstory, we were originally told the side kiddie pool would be a spillover, but it didn’t arrive with the main pool because they had issues with the fiberglass mold. So I roughed in plumbing with just a return line to the kiddie pool as the seller suggested it would just have returns. Turns out, the seller told me wrong (I wasn’t a happy camper), and there are suctions and returns in the kiddie pool. I had to dig up several tons of gravel to run a new suction line to the kiddie pool. Anyway, I got it all tied into the plumbing, but I’m trying to figure out the best option to tie the plumbing together and operate efficiently.
I currently have it plumbed with a 3-way valve at the pump for suction and a 3-way valve for the returns to choose all main pool, all kiddie pool or a mix. It would take some playing with to adjust the valves so the kiddie pool doesn’t overflow or run dry. Also, if I leave the valves open when the pump is off, it gravity drains into the main pool. A backflow preventer on the return would stop it from draining from the kiddie pool return jets into the main pool, but would a backflow preventer on the suction line stop it from gravity flowing out of the kiddie pool suction into the main pool? i.e., would the pressure from the gravity flow be enough to allow water to still flow?
The best option would be to add a new pump, filter and SWCG, but that’s not in the budget.
What would be great is if there’s some type of actuator that could be controlled either by a timer or by wifi/app to switch the 3-ways valves to run the kiddie pool for a bit then switch to the main pool so that the kiddie pool can get filtered, chlorinated and heated without a separate system.
Attached is a picture of the current stage (don’t judge the looks as it’s still a work in progress and a stone surround will cover the kiddie pool).
Any advice is much appreciated!
For a quick backstory, we were originally told the side kiddie pool would be a spillover, but it didn’t arrive with the main pool because they had issues with the fiberglass mold. So I roughed in plumbing with just a return line to the kiddie pool as the seller suggested it would just have returns. Turns out, the seller told me wrong (I wasn’t a happy camper), and there are suctions and returns in the kiddie pool. I had to dig up several tons of gravel to run a new suction line to the kiddie pool. Anyway, I got it all tied into the plumbing, but I’m trying to figure out the best option to tie the plumbing together and operate efficiently.
I currently have it plumbed with a 3-way valve at the pump for suction and a 3-way valve for the returns to choose all main pool, all kiddie pool or a mix. It would take some playing with to adjust the valves so the kiddie pool doesn’t overflow or run dry. Also, if I leave the valves open when the pump is off, it gravity drains into the main pool. A backflow preventer on the return would stop it from draining from the kiddie pool return jets into the main pool, but would a backflow preventer on the suction line stop it from gravity flowing out of the kiddie pool suction into the main pool? i.e., would the pressure from the gravity flow be enough to allow water to still flow?
The best option would be to add a new pump, filter and SWCG, but that’s not in the budget.
What would be great is if there’s some type of actuator that could be controlled either by a timer or by wifi/app to switch the 3-ways valves to run the kiddie pool for a bit then switch to the main pool so that the kiddie pool can get filtered, chlorinated and heated without a separate system.
Attached is a picture of the current stage (don’t judge the looks as it’s still a work in progress and a stone surround will cover the kiddie pool).
Any advice is much appreciated!
