New pool owner with leaky plumbing.

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Byrd3790

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Jun 27, 2016
9
Augusta, GA
I just found this forum from reddit.com/r/swimmingpools and figured I would ask my same question here.

Hello, So I just purchased a home that came with a pool. it is roughly 9700 gallons in ground with a Hayward pump and filter. the liner is brand new and I am getting into the swing of keeping up with the chemistry. however my problem lies with the plumbing around the pump and filter.

http://imgur.com/kGYrqeP

here is the pump house that is right next to the house.


http://imgur.com/U0rZKhS This is where I first noticed a problem, the water flowing through here was very turbulent and from what I know of pumps air in them is a bad thing leading to cavitation, at least with fire apparatus pumps.

So I did some more looking and noticed one of the PVC pipes coming off the Filter to the pump was leaking


http://imgur.com/2rsIa0W


I tried opening the box from before to allow water to drain (with the pump off and filter set in the closed position) but it just backflowed water, I assume from the pool. and while replacing the plastic piece I noticed the PVC pipe coming from the box was also leaking.


http://imgur.com/VKCeFTs


So my question is, how do I replace all this PVC, preferably without draining the actual pool. will it just free flow till the level is below the skimmer? there is no drain at the bottom. also wondering if I am missing some simple solution to isolate the pump/filter system from the pool. any help is appreciated thank you.

also this is the elevation change between the pump/filter and pool if that makes a difference.


http://imgur.com/j4Z2tak
The pool being on the right and pump house on the left. probably about 3-4 ft rise between the two.
 
The easiest way is to plug the bottom of the skimmers and the return jets (remove eyeballs, replace with...) with expandable rubber stoppers of the proper size. Usually this size (link below) will work for most plumbing, but you might have to go up or down a size depending on your fittings/plumbing. I'd buy them locally at a hardware store so it's easier to return if you get the wrong size...

Rubber Winterizing Expansion Plug 1.25 Pipe, Plug Size 9 - Bathtub Drains - Amazon.com
 
Looks like new plumbing above ground. Perhaps the last owner did not know how to do PVC properly and just messed up the new stuff. Are you sure you need to replace the stuff below ground? You can replace the above ground PVC without doing anything special to the pool (the water in the pipes will just drain back to the pool). If I was doing this, I would just replace the new PVC. I would add in unions and valves as well. This is definitely a DIY friendly project. If you have problems after replacing the above ground stuff, then the unions would allow you to work on the underground pipes without redoing the above ground work.

Oops, just looked at the elevation pic. Yep, +1 for the rubber plugs.
 
The plugs did their job wonderfully. Unfortunately trying to replace the sections of pvc that were leaking only lead to more leaks appearing because the pipes were not measured right the first time. So now I am looking at redoing all the aboveground plumbing when I get off work Saturday.
 
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