New pool install

[Lophat]

Hello Pool experts,

I am posting a schematic of the system I am hoping to put together in the next few weeks. I'd be most grateful if the plumbing expert's out there can scrutinize this setup and let me know if this will work or if there is a better way to do this.
I know there are concerns about using the return for draw downs but that is a chance I will take as I will likely MacGyver something to draw from well below the return inlet so it doesn't draw any air into the system. This would be mainly for the rains up here on the West coast and for winterizing. There are some features designed in such as the room for the Intellichem and solar panels which haven't been purchased yet but I like to future proof as much as I can.
I didn't list actuators but they will certainly be there. Somewhere in the future will be some LED lighting I'm sure. All of this will be controlled by an Easytouch 4 panel. I hope I don't need an 8!

Thanking you in advance!

Andy

 

[pooldv]

For your heater bypass there should be two 3way valves in place of the tees and get rid of the 2way. Plumbing should go from filter to solar to heater to SWG in a continuous flow. Not either solar or heater. If solar heat is available you want to be able to preheat it with solar and then heat it more with the heater. If solar heat is not available then bypass solar straight to the heater. You should probably get an IC40 instead. It will make more chlorine with less pump run time. And it will last a little longer, the cells are designed for 10,000 hours of run time and the IC40 will make more chlorine in the same 10k hours.

You only need one 3way solar valve for the solar bypass. Take a look at my solar plumbing in my build thread, link in sig. The left pipe goes up to solar and the right pipe returns from solar and foes to heater/SWG.

 

[Richard320]

It's an above ground pool -- you can easily siphon excess water out using the vacuum hose. Why do all that plumbing? And if siphoning isn't fast enough, a small submersible pump has got to be cheaper than those extra Pentair valves.

Postscript: you could also plumb a T with a valve between the return and the future site of the intellichem and let gravity drain your pool with just the twist of a valve.

 

[Lophat]

Thanks guys! That's great info and make a lot more sense the way you've laid it out. I sure am glad I joined this site!
If I were to add one or two deck jets, where would they be plumbed in? As part of the return circuit after the SWG? And is there any detrimental effect going from 2" to 1.5" in parts of this system?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks guys! That's great info and make a lot more sense the way you've laid it out. I sure am glad I joined this site!
If I were to add one or two deck jets, where would they be plumbed in? As part of the return circuit after the SWG?

I don't know what a deck jet is. Sorry.

And is there any detrimental effect going from 2" to 1.5" in parts of this system?

Yes. reduced flow. Take it down a few steps. If you run 2" pipe into a 1/2" pipe and then go back to 2" pipe, your effective flow is limited by how much water can go through the 1/2" pipe. So it is with stepping down to 1.5" from 2", just not as obvious. I was wondering why you stepped down to 1.5" at the heater. I'd keep the plumbing as large as possible all the way to the end, at the return eyeballs. If the surface flow is too low, put in smaller eyeballs.

 

[Lophat]

The step down is based on the specs of the heater. The actual unit hasn't arrived yet but the manuals were referencing 1.5" inlets unless I read that wrong.